May 18th, 2020

Hello Families, I am happy to announce that the Whistler Children’s Centre will be re-opening June 15th. We are all looking forward to welcoming your children and family back to the facility soon! According to the Ministry of Health, “Based on the current epidemiology of COVID-19 in BC, and the fact that children are at a much lower risk of developing COVID-19, child care providers are encouraged to remain or re-open, while supporting the health and safety of children and adults.” This past Friday I received the new guidelines from the Ministry of Health that provide guidance for child care services to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and maintain safe and healthy environments for children and staff during the pandemic. I am still waiting on additional guidance from Work Safe BC that is expected shortly. Over the next few weeks I will be developing new policies and practices based on the guidelines provided to insure we have key infection prevention and control practices in place in our programs. These policies will encompass staying home when ill, minimizing physical contact, hand hygiene, and cleaning and disinfecting. Once these policies and practices are complete I will be meeting with our teachers to go over, test, and re-work them to ensure we are prepared to best care for your children upon their return to the Centre. I understand you will have questions about what child care will look like when your child returns next month. Though I do not have specific details right now I can assure you we will be taking all necessary precautions to ensure your child is cared for in a nurturing and safe environment. A couple key points to note is that maintaining physical distance is not practical nor developmentally appropriate when working with young children, instead our focus with the children will be on minimizing physical contact. Physical distancing will continue to be encouraged amongst the adults in the facility. Also, there is no evidence to support the use of medical grade, cloth, or homemade masks in child care settings and therefore not recommended. In young children in particular, masks can be irritating and may lead to increased touching of the face and eyes. It is a personal choice if a staff member chooses to wear a mask and they will be respected for making this choice. What you can expect moving forward: 1. An email from me confirming your child’s enrollment for June, based on the emails you sent to me last week. 2. An additional email from me sharing our new policies and practices and highlighting everything you will need to know to prepare you and your child for a safe return. 3. A welcome back email from your child’s program with more program specific details. In the words of Dr. Bonnie Henry, “We are in this together. It is new for all of us. We might not get it 100% right off the bat, but we’ll get through this, step by step and we need to work together with kindness and compassion.” I appreciate your understanding and patience as I work through the details of this next phase. See you soon, Kari Kari Gaudet, Executive Director .

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