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Preschool marks 45 years of bringing families together Adam Kveton
adam.kveton@metroland.com
Glen Cairn Co-operative Preschool is about to graduate its 45th class and is inviting the community it helped bring together to celebrate the milestone on June 20. The co-operative, run by a board of parents who hire educators and participate in classes, has been a part of the Glen Cairn community since opening its doors in 1969. Having moved to Glen Cairn in 1967, community activist Angela Kilby pushed for the creation of the preschool in 1968. With the help of local families and donations of equipment, books, toys and more, the Glen Cairn Co-operative Preschool opened in September 1969, and has been located at the Glen Cairn Community Centre ever since. Now, classes for children two-and-a-half to four years old are held by educators paid
by the co-operative, and with the help of parents who take part in classes, run fundraisers and handle the business side of the organization. Having parents involved in the co-operative has been a basic tenet of the preschool since it started, said teachers Shelley Bourgeois and Kim Joynt. low ratios
In addition to keeping costs low and the adult to child ratio at one-to-six, having parents involved allows them to meet their kids’ friends and other families with children, leading to valuable community connections. “It’s nice for (parents) to build relationships with kids who are nearby, and have other families who are in the same situation as you,” said Susan Rossy, the preschool board’s secretary. Rossy found out about the preschool through word-ofmouth, and soon after regis-
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tered her now three-and-a-half year old son, Wyatt, for classes. The positive change she has seen in her son has been drastic, she said. “For Wyatt, it was huge,” she said. “When he started, he was very shy and withdrawn and had a lot of separation anxiety,” said Rossy. “I mean he was having to be taken out of my arms just crying and screaming for me,” she said. Now, Rossy said her son is excited to go to preschool and rushes off to greet his teachers and friends. “The child he is now versus the child he was when he started is night and day,” she said. Being involved in Wyatt’s classes and developing friendships with other parents who can tell her how her son has been in class has also been a great experience, she said. With parents’ permission, teachers will also take photos of the kids throughout the day and send them to the parents so they can see how their child’s day has been. Despite the positive experience Rossy and others have had, registration for the Glen Cairn co-operative, and many other preschools and daycares, has been dropping over the years, said Bourgeois. “There is a trend all over the city,” she said, noting several other preschools that have closed in recent years, including one in Hintonburg that had been around for more than 60
Adam Kveton/Metroland
From left, Glen Cairn Co-operative Preschool teacher Shelley Bourgeois, Bridlewood resident Susan Rossy and her son, Wyatt, and co-op teacher Kim Joynt, hang out at the Glen Cairn Co-operative Preschool on June 5. The preschool will be celebrating its 45th graduating class with a carnival on June 20. years. “We are part of the nursery school network, and everyone is kind of like, ‘The registration is going down,’” said Bourgeois. CELEBRATION
Though she said she and others are not sure why registration has been low, she said she hopes more families find out about what groups like the
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Glen Cairn co-operative can do for their children. The preschool’s celebration will take place on June 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. A performance by the Junkyard Symphony and presentations by Ray’s Reptiles will form part of the entertainment, in addition to a bake sale, craft tables, face painting and more. The event is open to the community, including former students of the school, and par-
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ents interested in the school’s services. Bourgeois and Joynt said they are particularly excited to greet some of their former students who they hope will attend. “We always carry them in our hearts,” said Bourgeois. “They are there forever.” For anyone interested in finding out about early learning groups in their community, check out ottawabeststart.com.