Reference Letters
Letter 1:
June 2004
Dear Board of Directors,
In the 5 years I have been at Deer Park, Ms A.W. has provided outstanding leadership and directorship to the Deer Park Extended Program.
Ms W.demonstrates profound and deep understanding of children's development, reflected in the manner she manages her staff, the program DPEP offers, and most importantly her relationships with children and their parents. The DPEP children are the best testimony to the care and educational experiences that Ms W.and her staff provide. They all come very ready and prepared for school and to learn. The transition each child experiences is seamless owing to the individualised attention each child receives.
Deer Park has benefited tremendously from the partnership with DPEP in many ways. The most important is, owing to the high quality of care DPEP is known for, our school enrollment has shown a steady increase each year.
On a personal note, Ms W. has been a joy to work with. My hope and dream is if only DPEP is able to extend its programs to provide for primary school-age care.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Ms W. and her staff for their excellence and support, their professionalism and commitment to Early Childhood Education.
Ms GL.C.
Principal
Deer Park School
Letter 2:
Dear Supervisor
While I always feel our family is privileged to have DPEP for our children to attend, whenever I come away from Duty Day, I feel even more strongly about it. You and your staff are such special people. You treat the children with respect while creating a safe and fun learning environment that promotes self reliance and respect of self and others. It is easy enough for me as a parent to come in with a cheerful face and be helpful and patient with the children for half a day a month but I really have to applaud you and your team for doing it day in and day out with such consistency. You also seem to approach your role as if each day is a fresh start and each child incredibly special (which I know they are).
Again, my thanks and respect to you and your DPEP team.
Parent J.L.
Letter 3:
Dear Teachers,
It is with sincere and genuine appreciation that I say, on behalf of the board members and families of DPEP, thank you very much!! You are a great team, and have added so much to the learning and development process of our children. It is nice to enter the classroom and see a happy place where children are blossoming.
DPEP President
Letter 4:
For Dear 'Supervisor',
My best wishes and thanks for your constant guiding light to the children at DPEP. I'm full of admiration for your cheerful and firm words and actions their little spirits benefit from daily. The foundation that you are giving each child will prepare them for a certain bright future. I believe that your teaching could be counted among the best in the country-and that the children could go on to the best schools with DPEP at the beginning. I feel fortunate and proud that my daughter is with you. I hope that you will feel fulfilled and inspired in your work for many more families to come.
Parent: Beth T.R.
Letter 5:
NORTH EDUCATION OFFICE
Toronto Board of Education
82 Davisville Ave., Toronto
March 27
To:
Association for Early Childhood Education
Toronto Library Building
40, Orchard View Blvd, Suite 217
Toronto, Ontario
From : J.P.
Child Care Program Advisor
Re - 11th Annual Margaret Fletcher Award
Deer Park Extended Primary Education Program
My observations at Deer Park Primary Education Program have been a very positive experience. The Supervisor has developed a uniquely creative, stimulating environment that captures the imagination of young children.
The program is uniquely balanced between a very active volunteer parent group and highly motivated staff members.
The enrichment program includes music, art, drama, cooking and creative movement. The scheduled activities are taught by specialists in their area of expertise and are offered at different times weekly. This program enrichment combined with regular scheduled child care programs create the fun and exciting balance unique to Deer Park Enrichment Program.
The excellence of the program is reflected in the faces of the children and the relaxed welcoming atmosphere from the staff. It is a pleasure and delight to visit this program. I highly recommend Deer Park Extended Program for the 11th Annual Margaret Fletcher Award for the most innovative Early Childhood Program.
I wish them the best of luck.
J.P.
Letter 6:
Toronto and District Parent Co-operative Preschool Corporation,
4 Bucannan Road,
Scarborough, Ontario
April 6
To whom it may concern :
re: Margaret Fletcher Program Award
It gives us great pleasure to support the nomination of the Deer Park Extended Program for the Margaret Fletcher Program Award.
Deer Park Extended Program, or "DPEP" as it is usually called, is a parent co-operative and has been a member of PCPC since it opened its doors in 1984. In our opinion, it more than meets your judging criteria for this award.
DPEP was established by a group of parents in the community who recognized the importance of being involved in their children's education and wanted to extend the co-operative model to the kindergarten level. It is an innovative program offering a very flexible and varied program for 2 1/2 to 5 year olds. In addition to a nursery school it operates a kindergarten enrichment program that serves as an adjunct to the regular kindergarten classes in Deer Park School.
Through its modular structure, parents can select a program that best suits their child's interests and their family needs (full or part-time care, nursery school, kindergarten enrichment, before & after school care). Each child can have his/her own individualized program which is made possible through the combined efforts of DPEP's highly motivated staff and the active parent group.
The staff are committed to the co-operative philosophy and thereby recognize the importance of parent involvement and the partnership of parents and early childhood educators. They have been able to put this philosophy into practice. Although the parent population is largely working parents, DPEP has proven that working parents and 'co-oping' can mix, and very successfully. Adult-child ratios are well above the Day Nurseries standards. The staff, in particular the supervisor and Head Teacher display a high degree of professionalism and participate in professional development activities on a regular basis.
We highly recommend DPEP for the Margaret Fletcher Award.
Sincerely,
B.E.
President on Behalf of the Board of Directors