community
since 1909
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© 2008, Day Nursery Centre Inc.
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Annotated History| 1909 The Mothers' Association established and opened the first day nursery at 303 Flora Avenue on March 12, 1909. | |||
| 1911 Mothers' Association of Winnipeg incorporated under the Charitable Association Act R.S.M. 1962, By Letters Patents December 28/10 | |||
| 1912 Larger quarters were necessary, so the Nursery moved to 378 Stella Avenue. | |||
| 1939 to 1944 Surveys were conducted re: the agency's service, reflecting a growing interest in raising standards in pre-school care. | |||
| 1951 Corporate name change to the Mothers Association Day Nursery Centre. | |||
| 1953 A "Self Study" was conducted as by request of the Board of Directors to the Welfare Council for assistance in studying the total program in the nursery. As a result of this study, a qualified staff was engaged and a nursery based on accepted minimum standards was set up and an integrated program of health, education and casework was planned. | |||
| 1954 Corporate name changed to Day Nursery Centre by Supplementary letters, Patent, dated November 12, 1954. |
| 1963 The first public financial support granted under the Social Allowance Act. |
| 1965 Day Nursery Centre received assistance from the Department of Welfare, City of St. James in March, on the same basis as was received from the City of Winnipeg. |
| 1968 Day Nursery Centre became eligible for financial assistance under the Canadian Assistance Plan in October. |
| 1970 The third unit of Day Nursery Centre was opened in Trinity Parish Hall, 256 Smith Street in February. |
| 1972 The official opening of the new unit at 336 Flora Avenue was held on March 22, 1972. |
| 1973 A reception was given on October 15, 1973, by the Board of Directors and staff of Day Nursery Centre, for Mrs. Gretta H. Brown in honour of her twenty years of service as Executive Director. The building at 336 Flora Avenue was officially named, "GRETTA H. BROWN UNIT". |
| 1976 Mrs. Gretta H. Brown retired on November 1, 1976 after 23 years of dedicated service. |
| 1976 Day Nursery Centre phased into the Child Day Care Program, a division of the Department of Health and Social Development, Province of Manitoba. Parents make application for subsidy and pay the fee assessed them by the Provincial Government. |
| 1979 The Smith Street Unit moved in April to new premises at 355 Kennedy Street. |
| 1984 A federally funded Core Area Initiative Program facilitated renovations to all three centres. |
| 1987 Two rooms were added to the Kennedy Unit - a staff room and a library. |
| 1990 The Province of Manitoba licenses for Early Childhood Educators are according to three classifications. The highest classification is ECE III (this represents a 4-year college degree, university degree, or Red River Community College diploma). As of August 1990, our staff is classified as follows: 13 ECE III, 8 ECE II, and 2 aides. |
| 1993 The Broadway Unit relocates in August to the new "Crossways in Common" complex at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Furby Street. The Broadway Unit is renamed "Crossways". |
| 1994 Infant Centre opens on August 2nd, 1994 at the Crossways Unit to care for eight children, ages 12 weeks to 2 years. |
| 1996 Day
Nursery Centre adopts a mission statement: Day Nursery Centre is a child care facility which emphasizes individual growth for children by promoting a safe, healthy and caring learning environment through its dedication to the family and the community. |
| 1997 to 1998 Day Nursery Centre, Gretta Brown Unit was approached by Manitoba Child and Youth Secretariat to be a research site for the new "Early Start Project" which Health Canada will fund. The main activity of this Project is "Home Visiting". |
| 1999 to 2000
Board and staff attended a Strategic
Planning Session in February 2000. Organizational
Review was completed. Gretta Brown received a new
playground structure. Kennedy
receives an overall "facelift".
Painting and replacement of flooring in the
entire centre, as well as minor repairs, etc.
were included in this overtaking by Manitoba
Housing. Open House for the Kennedy Centre was
held in October. |
| 2000 to
2001 A Staff Retreat was
held in Gimli, Manitoba on April 7th and 8th. Gretta Brown Addition and Renovation Project is completed with a Grand Opening held in June 2001. Organizational changes
within Day Nursery Centre took place as Board of
Directors voted to pursue the Organization
Structure Review in principle. The first step was
to split the present Executive Director/Crossways
Centre Director position as of June 1, 2001. |
| 2001 to
2002 New positions of
Inclusion Specialist and Children's Service
Manager are implemented. In addition to the core skills expected of an ECE, the Early Childhood Inclusion Specialist coordinates provision of developmental services and programming for children with special needs at a Day Nursery Centre site. The Children's Services
Manager is responsible for the development ,
implementation, and evaluations of all children's
programs operated by Day Nursery Centre. |
2002 to 2003 After discontinuing the hot lunch program in June of 2002 due to lack of funds, the Young Hearts Eat Smart fund raising campaign reached out to the community and managed to reinstate the program. Community partners and funders such as Edward Carrier Salon, the Winnipeg Foundation, Carpathia Credit Union, The Manitoba Nutrition Council, and Mazon Canada all supported us to the extent that we could again offer the much-needed program to families by October. A strategic planning session was held with Board and staff collaborating on five goals to work towards over the next few years. Worker's Compensation funded a Health, Safety & Professional Development Program as a pilot project to help reduce personal injuries at work and home, and to enhance staff's overall personal wellness. Emergent Curriculum was
also implemented in January with the Children's
Services Manager, now the Coordinator of
Children's Programs, assisting staff through the
transition. |
|
2003 to 2004 The Workplace Health, Safety & Wellness program funded by the Worker’s Compensation Board of Manitoba was fully implemented and evaluated with positive outcomes and results for the employee of Day Nursery Centre. |
| 2004 to 2005 Funding for the Coordinator of Children’s Programs position ended December 31st, 2004. Even though it was disappointing the project ended, this project was a success for Day Nursery Centre. It allowed the opportunity for our employees to be trained, supported and mentored in developmentally appropriate programming, inclusion and evaluation of the centres. A “PATH” session was held in February 2005 to strategize goals for the next two years for Day Nursery Centre. Board, staff and parents participated in creating six goals. Early Start programs merged with Babies First programs throughout the province on April 1st, 2005. The newly formed program is called “Families First.” It is being funded by Healthy Child Manitoba and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and is no longer housed out of child care facilities. The Federal Government made a commitment to establish a National Early Learning and Child Care Program. Manitoba was the first province to sign the bi-lateral agreement on Early Learning and Child Care with the Federal Government. The Worker’s Compensation Board of Manitoba approved a grant for a second phase to Day Nursery Centre’s Workplace Health, Safety and Wellness program. This new project will build on the successful activities and findings from our first project and will allow us to further investigate and share our findings with others in the field of Early Childhood Education. |
| 2005 to 2006 Day Nursery Centre’s commitment to inclusion and diversity is strengthened by approving a new Inclusion Statement which reads: “All Children are entitled to full participation and support to meet their individual needs. At Day Nursery Centre, we believe that all children have the right to be valued, accepted and included. We embrace inclusion and celebrate the diversity in our community such as culture, language, religion, socio-economic status and ability. Being an inclusive centre in which all children and families are welcome offers countless learning opportunities and benefits for everyone.” The newly elected Conservative government in January 2006 announces its child care plan, which cancels the bi-lateral agreement on Early Learning and Child Care as of April 1, 2007. There is a great deal of concern expressed from child care community and advocates, as to the uncertainty of funding and commitments made by the previous government. Work continues on Day Nursery Centre’s Workplace Health, Safety and Wellness program -Phase II. A third project is approved by Workers Compensation Board, Community Initiatives program, Day Nursery Centre’s Workplace Heath, Safety and Wellness Program- from ideas to results. This project produced a 15 minute DVD which summarized our findings and works with our first two projects. It is also intended to be used by others in our field as a training tool and a provocation for others to implement their own Workplace Health, Safety and Wellness program. “A Guide to Workplace Health Safety and Wellness“ premiered at the Annual General Meeting held at the Ellice Street Café and Theatre on June 23rd. Day Nursery Centre’s 100th Anniversary Committee is formed. A few meetings are held in preparation of the upcoming 100th AGM in 2008 and anniversary in 2009. The Manitoba Child Care Program grants Day Nursery Centre a one time grant of $25,000. This grant allows us to continue the Hot Lunch program for the children until at least the end of March 31, 2007. |
| 2006 to 2007 Day Nursery Centres Workplace health Safety and Wellness project continues to have a positive impact on Day Nursery Centre and the community, as the video “A guide to Workplace Health Safety and wellness is shared with the community. The committee provided a workshop at the Manitoba Child Care Association Conference, “Avoiding Pain and Strain in an Early Childhood Environment” A reward and recognition survey is given to staff, to help identify, what staff would find helpful and meaningful in this area. As a result a Reward and Recognition Committee is formed. The Early Learning and Child Care Capital Fund Program grant provides funding for the Crossways site to replace flooring, children’s bathroom vanities, sinks and facets, as well as partial funding for Gretta Browns furnaces and flooring. The Kiwanis Club of Winnipeg supports Day Nursery Centre with a grant to purchase toys and equipment. The Manitoba Child Care program implements a requirement that all CCA’s employed in a centre for more than a year must complete a 40 hour Early Childhood Education course through a Manitoba College. Many Day Nursery Centre CCA’s take a course and successfully complete them. The provincial government announced in April that there would be an overall 2% increase to unit funding as well as announcing, a 13% adjustment to subsidy levels was made, so low and middle income families will be eligible for subsidy. In addition, a 40 cent reduction to the $2.40 non-subsidized daily fee for subsidized families was implemented. This brought the fee for subsidized families down to $2 per day. |
| 2008 to 2009 The 100th Anniversary Committee of Day Nursery Centre, was busy this past year planning and implementing, anniversary events. Some of their activities included; Building a float and participating in the Power Smart/Winnipeg Jaycees Santa Clause parade on November 15/08. Holding birthday party celebrations on March 12/09 in all three centres. This was the date 100 years ago that the first centre opened at 303 Flora Ave. The Gretta Brown unit held a birthday breakfast and both Crossways and Kennedy had afternoon birthday parties where both families and community members attended. A Mothers Day tea, “Tea over time” was held on May 9/09 to commemorate the Mothers Association of Winnipeg, founders of Day Nursery Centre. This well attended event, included tea fare, such as fancy sandwiches, dainties and tea, historical displays, Entertainment throughout the afternoon as well as a silent auction table. Day Nursery Centre continued to support staff in their professional development-, Opportunities such as the Directors conference, The Manitoba Child Care conference, the Reggio Emilia Inspired conference amongst various other workshops, and courses were attended by staff. In-house workshops included Children and Sexuality and staff/board retreat at Pinewood Lodge in Dorothy Lake. A working alone/isolation policy, a child sexuality/gender policy, and a new salary scale, were approved by the board of directors. |
Day Nursery Centre
103-222 Furby Street
Winnipeg, MB
R3C 2A7