2009 February « Women’s Equality Prince Edward Island

Archive for February, 2009

Community Notices

February 27, 2009 at 12:46 pm · Filed under Community Notices

STATUS OF WOMEN BLOG

Visit our blog at http://peiacsw.wordpress.com/ .

NEW LISTINGS THIS WEEK

1. Women’s Art Show at Beanz Espresso Cafe for March 2009 – Openings Still Available – Accepting Artwork tomorrow, February 28th

Female artists are invited to participate in a month-long non-juried art show and sale at BEANZ Café in celebration of United Nations-declared International Women’s Day (March 8).

On Saturday from 1 to 5 pm, February 28th, please drop off ready-to-hang small to medium-sized art pieces, at BEANZ Espresso Café, University Avenue, Charlottetown. Each artist may drop off a maximum of two pieces. Pieces will be accepted as long as space allows. Clearly attach your name, contact information, title and dimensions of artwork, and desired price to the back of the artwork.

This is a volunteer art promotion event organized by the 2009 IWD Planning Committee, who gratefully thanks Lori Kays, Owner of BEANZ, for her support. Neither BEANZ Espresso Café nor the IWD Planning Committee is liable for artwork.

Committee volunteers will hang the pieces so they will be ready for viewing and sale beginning Monday, March 2, and ending Tuesday, March 31. Artwork sold will be provided to the buyer at point-of-sale. Artists will be expected to pick up unsold pieces on Wednesday, April 1, between the hours of 1 and 5 pm.

Please contact IWD Planning Committee member Lisa Murphy, ED for PEI Status of Women, for further details about this event.

Her phone number is 368-4510 and email address is lmstatusofwomen@eastlink.ca

2. International Women’s Day Celebration – Leaders Among Us: Champions in the Arts – Sunday, March 8, 2009

For International Women’s Day 2009, the Together in Courage Committee 2009 invites you to an International Women’s Day evening celebration, “Leaders Among Us,” on Sunday, March 8, from 7:00 pm - 9:00 in the Georgian Room of the Charlottetown Rodd Hotel on Kent Street.

Join us to help celebrate Island women champions in the arts, with a panel discussion moderated by Laurie Brinklow, guest performances by Karen vocalists from Burma, Htoo K’mu and Eh B, and a reception to follow.

Panelists for the discussion:

Teresa Doyle
Donnalee Downe
Vian Emery
Jane Ledwell
JoDee Samuelson
Julia Sauvé
Sylvie Toupin
Cynthia Dunsford, MLA, will be the guest em-cee for the event.

ALL WELCOME – NO CHARGE

For event information, call CUSO at 892-2610 or the PEI Status of Women at 368-4510.

3. Self Mastery, the New Self Esteem for Women Workshop

is for women wanting more mastery of their lives even in the face of adversity. Self Mastery is being offered Friday, March 6 and Saturday March 7th at the whY Lofts, 252 Prince St. Charlottetown. Women wanting to learn and practice self mastery concepts and tools, such as calming the busy mind to allow greater access to the wisdom mind, end self-doubt and self-sabotage, uncover new competency and confidence and experience inner gladness and knowing. Workshop is designed and facilitated by Joan McDonald, RSW and Alice Taylor, Adult Educator and Life Coach. Workshop Program: Friday, March 6, 6:30-10pm session concluding with a wine and cheese reception, resuming Saturday, March 7, 8:30am-9pm sessions will include, light breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening celebration. Pre-Registration is required by Monday, March 2. Call 314 4678 or email redmondka@yahoo.ca

4. ProfitLearn PEI Workshop

Internet Marketing Awareness for Business Owners
Information to give your company an immediate competitive edge

This session showed me how to make my website work for me and immediately expand my internet marketing opportunities. Time well spent!” Michelle MacEwen On the Edge Stanley Bridge PEI

Some of the workshop topics:
Grow your business on-line with customer interaction; Marketing-led site design; Keep visitors on your website longer; How to avoid 15 common mistakes; And more…

Please note – this workshop is about using website marketing to build your business; this is not a session about creating a website.

Dates of workshop and where to register:

- Tuesday March 24, 2009 Barachois Inn, Rustico TIAPEI jamie@tiapei.pe.ca
- Wednesday March 25, 2009 Souris cconohan@sourispei.com
- Thursday March 26, 2009 Rodd Royalty Inn, Charlottetown PEIBWA nina@peibwa.org
- Friday March 27, 2009 Kensington Chamber 55 Victoria St. KACC kacc@pei.aibn.com

Facilitator : Louis-Philippe Gauthier, Electronic Commerce Centre, UNBSJ
Cost: $105.00 cheque payable to Electronic Commerce Centre UNBSJ; fee includes workshop, large binder of information, lunch,snacks and one half – hour consultation with an internet marketing expert (booked for a later date by email following this session). More information: ProfitLearn PEI 1-800-270-4795

5. PEIBWA Upcoming Lunch and Learn Workshops

Balancing Family/Work – Charlottetown
Presenter: Sarah Henry, Take: 30 for the Family Program

Parents today are busier than ever. Join us for this session and learn more about the Take: 30 for the Family program, family friendly work policies and how to incorporate them into your business. Receive tips on how every business can help parents, grandparents and communities make the early years count.

Islanders know that taking time to enjoy their kids doesn’t have to cost a lot, in time or money. Even the busiest parents and caregivers say that taking 30 minutes for the family is a great thing to do.

Location:           Quality Inn on the Hill, 150 Euston Street, Charlottetown
Date:                Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Time:                12:00 – 1:30 pm
Cost:                $15 + GST for members, $20 + GST for non-members

To register, contact Nina Costain by e-mail at nina@peibwa.org or by phone at (902) 892-6040 . Registration deadline: Friday, February 27, 2009 at 4:00 pm.

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Presenting with Panache…It’s all in the delivery! – Summerside
Presenter: Ronda Bellefontaine, Like Nobody’s Business

We’ve all experienced being in the audience during a terrific presentation. What appears simple and easy just doesn’t happen but the skills necessary to be successful can be acquired through training and practice. Giving a presentation is an opportunity for you to expose others to an idea, a product, knowledge, a service or yourself. This session will help you make the most of those opportunities by focusing on the who, what, when, where and why of your presentation.

Location:           Loyalist Country Inn, 195 Harbour Drive, Summerside
Date:                Thursday, March 12, 2009
Time:                12:00 – 1:30 pm
Cost:                $15 + GST for members, $20 + GST for non-members
To register, contact Elizabeth Noonan by e-mail at elizabeth@peibwa.org or by phone at (902) 436-0386 . Registration deadline: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 4:00 pm.

_______________________________________________

SOME PREVIOUS LISTINGS

1. Maude Barlow visiting UPEI on March 4, 2009

Maude Barlow’s, National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians, will visit the University of Prince Edward Island. Maude will be giving a presentation on global water issues. Her talk is as follows:

The Global Water crisis and the coming fight for the Right to Water.

International Speaker Series Finale
March 4, 2009
Duffy Lecture Theatre (Room 135)
2:30-4:00pm

The world is running out of clean water. This growing water shortage is perhaps the greatest ecological and human threat of our time and will affect two thirds of the planet by 2050. Maude will explain the impact of the crisis (especially on women) and give us a recipe for both a water-secure future and hope. She will also expose Canada’s shameful position against the right to water for the world’s poor. For more info, contact 566-0576.

2. Presentations offered at the Confederation Centre Public Library

February is psychology month and the Confederation Centre Public Library is pleased to welcome members of the Psychological

Association of PEI for a number of presentations on various Psychology related themes:

Sat. Feb. 28 at 2 pm – Depression with Dr. Christine Beck

3. NGOs Breakfast Meeting

You are invited to join Island members of ACIC – Atlantic Council for International Cooperation for a breakfast meeting on Friday, March 13th at Murphy Community Centre at 8:30. Guest speaker will be Michel Daoust, youth Intern who spent 6 months in El Salvador working with an environment group.
Call CUSO-VSO at 892-2610 for details.

4. FREE Swims for Individuals with Autism and their families and friends

There are regular weekly swims at the Cari pool at the UPEI. These swims are held every Saturday of the February (7th, 14th, 21st, 28th) from 7:00-8:00pm at the Cari pool and are generously sponsored by D.P Murphy. The swims are free for all those with autism and their family and friends. Everyone is encouraged to attend!

5. Attention: All PEI Women Artists – Women’s Work(s) Art Promotion and Fundraiser

Call for Submissions

Women’s Work(s) Art Promotion and Fundraiser is calling for submissions of artwork from PEI Women artists. This juried art promotion will feature:

·   Art supplies commissions paid to 50 women artists
·   An art auction – artists receive 50%
·   Fundraising for Island-wide Family Violence Prevention Services Inc capital building fund
·   Celebration of women’s paid and unpaid work
·   Promotion of women’s contribution to art

The art created for Women’s Work(s) will thematically reflect the nature, scope and reality of women’s work in all its diversity. All fine art work will be considered, i.e. painting, sculpture, photography, fabric, printmaking, etc.

Please include in your submission:

    * Contact information
    * 3 – 5 good quality images (JPEG format) or photographs of recent art work
    * curriculum vitae or resume (2 page max)
    * a brief description (50 words max) of the proposed artwork and how it relates to the theme of women’s work

Deadline for submissions: March 16
Selected artists notified by: April 1
Artwork must be completed by: June 22
Artwork will be auctioned in July.

Mail submissions to:

Women’s Work(s)
c/o PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women
PO Box 2000
Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8

Or by email to: womensworks@eastlink.ca

For more information call Sandy Kowalik, Artistic Coordinator at 902-368-4510 . The Women’s Work(s) blog is presently being set up…more information will be added soon. Check it out at http://womensworks.wordpress.com/

Women’s Work(s) has been made possible through the generous support of Senator Catherine Callbeck, E Anne Smith, and Patricia Schurman.

6. Women’s Community Kitchen Events

As part of a Life Skills Project, funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Homelessness Partnership Initiative, PEI Family Violence Prevention Services Inc. is offering a series of Women’s Community Kitchen Events. Women will come together once a week and participate in an open forum to learn, share and discuss topics that may be helpful to their situations.

The sessions are as follows:

March 6: Pet First Aid
Speaker TBA

These free sessions will be held Fridays from 11:30am-1:30pm and participants must register by Wednesdays at noon. A lunch will be provided at no cost. Call for the location and to register at 368-8658. Childcare is available upon request.

__________________________________

For further information or questions specifically relating to these notices, please contact the individual or organization hosting the community event.

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Celebrate International Women’s Day 2009

February 26, 2009 at 3:19 pm · Filed under Features, Quick Pics

For International Women’s Day 2009, the Together in Courage Committee 2009 invites you to an International Women’s Day evening celebration, “Leaders Among Us,” on Sunday, March 8, at 7:00 p.m. in the Georgian Room of the Charlottetown Hotel.

Panelists for the discussion:

Teresa Doyle
Donnalee Downe
Vian Emery
Jane Ledwell
JoDee Samuelson
Julia Sauvé
Sylvie Toupin

Cynthia Dunsford, MLA, will be the guest em-cee for the event.

ALL WELCOME – NO CHARGE

For event information, call CUSO at 902 892 2610 the PEI Status of Women at 902-368-4510.

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New Activities Update

February 26, 2009 at 1:27 pm · Filed under News and Views, Now Available

actup

We’ve just posted a new, brief Activities Update in time for International Women’s Day on March 8th.

If you are on our mailing list, expect a mail-out promoting International Women’s Day activities! If you’re not, drop us a line at peistatusofwomen@eastlink.ca to add your name and address to our list.

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Community Notices

February 20, 2009 at 1:25 pm · Filed under Community Notices

STATUS OF WOMEN BLOG

Visit our blog at http://peiacsw.wordpress.com/ .

NEW LISTINGS THIS WEEK

1. Job Opportunity- Dandelion Festival

The Children’s Environmental Health Network is seeking a part-time coordinator for this year’s Dandelion Festival to be held May 31st, 2009. The selected individual would work approximately 10 hrs per week for twelve or thirteen weeks, ending shortly after the festival. Tasks would involve organizing workshop presenters, organizing musical entertainment, publicity, working with a children’s activities coordinator, organizing food vendors and display booths, organizing participation of school children in art contests, working with a team of volunteers on the above activities and other related duties. Members of the PEI Environmtental Health Coop will provide direction and advice. To apply please send a resume to peiehc@gmail.com.

Deadline for applications Wednesday Feb. 25. For more information please call Marion at 675-4093.

2. Navigating the System

The PEI Association for Community Living, in partnership with the Children with Exceptional Needs Network is involved in a project to develop navigational maps on services available in PEI for families who have children ages 0-8 years with exceptional needs.

This project will also identify needed supports that would not only benefit the individual with exceptional needs, but their families and /or caregivers.

The maps will be broken down into genders and will include:
. Intellectual, learning, physical disabilities
. Emotional, behavioral, communication, health and neurological
disorders
. Gifted and talented
. Sensory impairments
. Global developmental delays.

The Association is currently seeking families and professionals to participate in parental/family interviews to be carried out either: in person, over the phone, or through focus groups. For more information on this project, or to become involved in the interviews, please contact the PEI ACL office at 566-4844 or email juliesmith@pei.sympatico.ca.

3. Sleigh Ride for Persons with Autism and their families & friends

On Saturday, February 28th at 1:00pm, the Autism Society of PEI will be hosting a Sleigh Ride at Terpstra Farms in Winsloe at 992 Rustico Road.

This event is free for all those with autism and their family and friends! This is going to be a wonderful day for the whole family, their will be cookies and hot chocolate following the sleigh ride as well as a chance
to visit the animals in the barns and go sledding!

Please RSVP as soon as possible by email at autism@peiacl.ca or by phone 566-4844!

4. Maude Barlow visiting UPEI on March 4, 2009

The Global Water crisis and the coming fight for the Right to Water.

International Speaker Series Finale
March 4, 2009
Duffy Lecture Theatre (Room 135)
2:30-4:00pm

_______________________________________________

SOME PREVIOUS LISTINGS

1. Presentations offered at the Confederation Centre Public Library

February is psychology month and the Confederation Centre Public Library is pleased to welcome members of the Psychological

Association of PEI for a number of presentations on various Psychology related themes:

Sat. Feb. 7 at 2 pm – Dementia with Dr. Christine Beck
Tues. Feb. 10 at 7 pm – Learning disabilities with Rebecca Hooley
Sat. Feb. 14 at 2 pm – Childhood Depression with Dr. George Mallia
Tues. Feb. 17 at 7 pm – Anxiety in Children with Loretta Hawley-McAleer
Sat. Feb. 28 at 2 pm – Depression with Dr. Christine Beck

2. The Montgomery Theatre 2009

“Plays from the Life & Times of L.M. Montgomery”

Tuesdays – Sundays JULY 14 – AUGUST 23

The Fourposter by Jan de Hartog
From a wedding night in 1890 to widowhood in 1925, all the scenes in this romantic comedy are acted out in and around the couple’s fourposter bed. The wedding night jitters, the onset of labour for their first child, the trials of parenthood and the sometime storms of marital life create ilarious scenes to make this a memorable and moving story. Bring a handkerchief – for tears of sympathy and laughter.
===================================================
GROUP RATE DISCOUNTS FOR GROUPS OF 10 OR MORE:
20% Discount on all tickets (20% deposit required)
                    Regular Rate        Group Rate
Balcony    $ 20 + tax           $ 16 + tax
Side            $ 25 + tax           $ 20 + tax
Premier    $ 32 + tax           $ 25.60 + tax

Group rates do not apply to Opening Nights

Book and Pay before March 1st for Earlybird Group Special :
Any Seat in the House for $16 + tax ! Book now to save!
Call the Theatre Office 902 963 3847 or email kathy@themontgomerytheatre.com

4. PEI Food Security Network Workshop

Join the PEI Food Security Network for a workshop called Sowing the Seeds: Food Security on PEI. The day will include a moderated panel discussion that will bring four different perspectives on what food security is and what needs to be done in our community.

There will be a mini-workshop to explore what we can do as a community to improve food security on PEI.

Details:
    * Tuesday, February 24th, 10am-4pm
    * Murchison Centre (15-17 St. Pius X Avenue, Charlottetown – off St. Peter’s Road)
    * Coffee break and lunch will be provided using mostly local, organic food.
    * To Register call Michelle or Sara at Women’s Network PEI 368- 5040 or email us at michelle@wnpei.org

Our panel discussion will be moderated by Marie Burge from Cooper Institute.

The panelists are:
    * Gerard Steele, Fisheries
    * Steven MacKinnon, Agriculture
    * Jennifer Taylor, Health promotion and food skills
    * Ann Wheatley, Livable income/access to healthy food

Hope to see you there!
Sara Roach Lewis

Women’s Network
Women for Environmental Sustainabilty (WES)
Work: (902) 368-5040
Home: (902) 687-1768

5. FREE Swims for Individuals with Autism and their families and friends

6. Attention: All PEI Women Artists

Call for Submissions

Women’s Work(s) Art Promotion and Fundraiser is calling for submissions of artwork from PEI Women artists. This juried art promotion will feature:

Please include in your submission:

Deadline for submissions: March 16
Selected artists notified by: April 1
Artwork must be completed by: June 22
Artwork will be auctioned in July.

Mail submissions to:

Women’s Work(s)
c/o PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women
PO Box 2000
Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8

Or by email to: womensworks@eastlink.ca

Women’s Work(s) has been made possible through the generous support of Senator Catherine Callbeck, E Anne Smith, and Patricia Schurman.

7. 2009 International Women’s Day Events

International Women’s Day Celebration
Sunday, March 8, 2009

Celebrate Island Women Artistic Leaders in Social Change
7:00 pm at the Georgian Room
Charlottetown Rodd Hotel on Kent Street

Reception to follow.

For more info contact Committee member:
Marian White, c/o CUSO-VSO, Public Engagement Officer, 902 892-2610 marian.white@cuso-vso.org

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Openings in a Women’s Art Show at Beanz Espresso Cafe for March 2009

Female artists are invited to participate in a month-long non-juried art show and sale at BEANZ Café in celebration of United Nations-declared International Women’s Day (March 8).

On Saturday from 1 to 5 pm, February 28th, please drop off ready-to-hang small to medium-sized art pieces, at BEANZ Espresso Café, University Avenue, Charlottetown. Each artist may drop off a maximum of two pieces. Pieces will be accepted as long as space allows. Clearly attach your name, contact information, title and dimensions of artwork, and desired price to the back of the artwork.

Please contact IWD Planning Committee member Lisa Murphy, ED for PEI Status of Women, for further details about this event.

Her phone number is 368-4510 and email address is lmstatusofwomen@eastlink.ca

8. Women’s Community Kitchen Events

The sessions are as follows:
February 27: Spring Gardening
Pauline Thompson

March 6: Pet First Aid
Speaker TBA

__________________________________

For further information or questions specifically relating to these notices, please contact the individual or organization hosting the community event.

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Advice for the 2009 Provincial Budget

February 20, 2009 at 12:40 pm · Filed under Equality Report Card, News and Views

On Wednesday, February 4, PEI Status of Women Chairperson Isabelle Christian and researcher Jane Ledwell made a presentation to Provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan as part of budget consultation sessions leading up to the 2009 PEI Provincial Budget. The Status of Women took the opportunity to initiate what we hope will be ongoing discussion about gender budgetting. We also drew the Treasurer’s attention to priority recommendations with potential budget implications in the 2009 Equality Report Card.

PRIORITY ACTION AREAS: 2009 EQUALITY REPORT CARD
A REVIEW FOR 2009 BUDGET CONSULTATIONS
February 4, 2009

The members of the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women initiated the Equality Report Card for PEI in 2007 to assess the PEI government’s progress towards women’s equality goals. The Report Card is also a tool for increasing communication, collaboration, and understanding between the Advisory Council and government about government’s obligations to women and women’s equality. We thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today in the lead-up to the 2009 Provincial Budget. We will be reviewing this year’s budget and budget address with great interest.

When the Advisory Council set priority recommendations for assessment, Council did not want the Report Card to be all about money. Council members worked hard to ensure that many recommendations could be accomplished without significant new investment. They put strong emphasis on recommendations that address changes in legislation or that require more emphasis on women’s equality in public statements and in departments’ planning. In addition to asking about bottom lines, the Report Card asks departments to talk about processes: meetings and consultations founded on good principles and process, and steps, no matter how small, towards implementing complex recommendations.

Again this year, government can achieve good grades on many of the Advisory Council’s recommendations based on good legislation, policy development, consultations, and processes that are based on gender- and diversity-based analysis. Many of the goals we discuss can be reached simply by taking women and the reality of women’s lives into consideration in public policy, and by setting priorities that will lead to more equitable outcomes for women and men citizens of Prince Edward Island, with special consideration for diversity groups that may face particular vulnerabilities. We acknowledge that sometimes this will have indirect costs, especially in terms of human resources; however, the benefits from better, and more responsive policy making in the long term are worth the effort.

That being said, many barriers to women’s equality have an economic element. Some of the barriers to equality we identify can only be overcome with new or additional resources. Many of the recommendations we make could be implemented more quickly or easily with more funding. Budget increases are also easy to identify, to measure, and to reward. It is for this reason we are pleased to have a chance to make you aware of our 2009 priority recommendations for the Equality Report Card during your consultations on the 2009 Budget.

When governments take systematic account of potentially different outcomes of budget decisions on women and on men, this is referred to as “gender budgetting.” In addition to reviewing Report Card recommendations with you today, our second goal today is to introduce the idea of gender budgets and to open a dialogue about how gender budgetting could be applied in Prince Edward Island for the benefit of citizens.

Thank you for the opportunity to talk with you today about the Equality Report Card and gender budgetting.

View full PDF overview of budget implications of Equality Report Card priorities.

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Advice to the Public Kindergarten Commissioner

February 20, 2009 at 12:34 pm · Filed under News and Views

Pat Mella is the Prince Edward Island Public Kindergarten Commissioner, and she held public information and consultation sessions across the Island in January. The following is a February 6th letter from the PEI Status of Women in response to the issues Ms. Mella has been mandated to address.

Also available in PDF.

Dear Ms. Mella:

Representatives from the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women were able to attend the recent Charlottetown information session on your work as PEI’s Public Kindergarten Commissioner, and we would like to thank you and the colleagues working with you for your diligent work on the topic. The consultation you’ve done with early childhood educators and the organizations that represent them has crucially informed your work so far, and we are happy that you are continuing to seek input from parents and citizens to help shape your recommendations for the transition of kindergarten into the public school system.

Last year, our Council identified some positive directions to support early childhood development in the province, notably the move of Early Childhood Development into the Department of Education and the new play-based kindergarten curriculum. We were concerned that government failed to consult with early childhood educators, parents, and citizens prior to the decision to move kindergarten into the public school system: this decision left too many questions unanswered and too many concerns unaddressed. We respect the challenge you have taken on to answer many of these questions and allay many of these concerns. Your information session was a great help.

While you outlined the many challenges involved in the transition period for drawing kindergarten programs into the schools, it is clear that addressing these challenges will potentially make our schools better for all children and create opportunities for educators. We’d like to add our support for some of the recommendations your consultation and research point to.

OUR INTERESTS

Our interests are

to ensure fairness for owner/operators of child-care centres (mostly women) who in many cases created and built kindergarten systems in absence of government commitment or adequate investment and who continue to offer child care and early childhood education that are essential to families but that are still drastically underfunded by governments.
to ensure fairness for kindergarten teachers (mostly women) who choose to transition into the public school system.
to ensure public schools maintain and build on the benefits to children we see in the current kindergarten systems, with small class sizes, an excellent and highly touted play-based curriculum, access to supports for children with special needs, and space, materials, and equipment to learn.
to enhance the collective value we place on children in the early years, on accessible quality early childhood care and education, and on our collective understanding of early years development.
to make our schools better places for children to learn and better places for communities, including parents and children, to come together and support children’s and young people’s development.

Women’s continuing role caring for young children means that issues of early childhood care and education remain strongly intertwined with women’s equality concerns. Supporting the work of early childhood care and education is important both to educators (most of whom are women) and parents in the workforce (a significant proportion of whom are women).

DELIVERY MODEL

Your sense from educators and research is that kindergarten should be full day, and in addition to looking at the best experiences for children, you were very sensitive in your analysis to the needs of women with young children who participate in the PEI workforce. We recommend that kindergarten programs be full-day.

Your research has shown that the most practical option is for kindergarten to be the mandatory school entry point (with some flexibility for parents to keep their child home an extra year if they choose). We recommend that attendance at kindergarten be mandatory, but that the entry age fall within a reasonable range (for instance, from 4 years 8 months to 6 years old).

RATIO

It was disconcerting to learn that in the current school system student to teacher ratios tend to be based on averages and practical considerations more than on children’s developmental and academic requirements at various ages and stages. It was surprising to learn that in some provinces, kindergarten classes can range up to 22 students. The current kindergarten maximum ratio of 12 students per teacher is optimal and worth maintaining. Early Childhood Educators have identified that the current curriculum is not possible to deliver with a ratio of more than 15 students per teacher. We recommend that the maximum student to teacher ratio be set at 12, with a maximum of 15 to accommodate incoming new students, but with teacher assistants required the moment a kindergarten class becomes larger than 15 students.

SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS

You noted that supports and services for special needs children in kindergartens and schools are spread over two departments of government, and this causes difficulties for parents and challenges for children. We recommend that government consult with parents and community organizations to examine the impacts of moving special-needs supports for children into the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Your consultation with educators and parents of special needs children led you to observe discrepancies between what supports are currently available in kindergarten programs and what supports are available in the school system. You observed that this may create an argument for more supports and more assistance for all children with special needs in the public school system. This is an important observation.

We recommend that early interventions and early supports for children continue to receive ample resources.

Where supports and services for children currently in kindergarten are better than supports and services for children currently in the school system, we urge that government use the higher as the target (as developmentally appropriate to the children and their needs).

CURRICULUM

Your best information from educators and research suggests that the recently updated kindergarten curriculum is one of the best features of the Island kindergarten system. We recommend that the current kindergarten curriculum be maintained, and that student-teacher ratios, space, materials, equipment, and learning resources that support this curriculum’s delivery be given very high priority.

STAFFING

Individual kindergarten teachers have invested their love, their time, their training, and their careers in teaching kindergarten. They have much knowledge and experience to offer the public school system. These teachers, so many of whom are women, must be given the option and opportunity to transition to working in the public school system. You were clear in your presentation that teachers who currently do not have a B.Ed. degree will need to make a commitment to pursue this credential if they choose to work in the public school system. You were also clear that their commitment must be matched by the school system’s commitment to hire them and admit them fully into the community of teachers, which includes union membership and protection, better salaries (compared to the current kindergarten system), in-service training, benefits, and eventual mobility within the school system.

Your observation is well taken that all teachers would benefit from greater training regarding early childhood development, and that university Education programs will likewise benefit from increased specialization in early childhood development (and other specializations).

We recommend a preferential hiring system for kindergarten teachers who wish to enter the school system and who commit to completing a Bachelor of Education program within a set number of years.

We further recommend that the preference for hiring current kindergarten teachers be in place for at least two years, to better include trained teachers who may be out of the workforce for caregiving reasons, or, in case of a surplus of teachers compared to school-system spaces, to give teachers who are unsuccessful in finding a place in the first year a second chance if spaces open.

We recommend that transitioning teachers be offered some funding for labour force readjustment and retraining to allow them to take full advantage of their studies towards their Bachelor of Education. (For instance, this may take the form of special days of leave for educational purposes, a stipend for textbooks and materials, funded access to high-speed Internet or facilities for distance learning, or other similar supports.)

We recommend that the Province explore funding opportunities through federal labour force readjustment programs currently moving to the Province.

IMPACTS

We appreciate your sensitivity to the many difficult choices that are going to face kindergarten teachers and the owner/operators of early childhood centres as a result of kindergarten moving into the public school system. We share your grave concern for the survival of early childhood centres and for access to early childhood care and education for families across the Island. We have in the past been strong advocates for provincial and nationwide systems for early childhood care and education and will continue to be so. The importance of high-quality, universal, affordable, accessible, and developmentally focused early childhood care and education to women’s equality cannot be overstated.

We hope that your report will capture, in no uncertain terms, the importance of immediate and substantial government investment in the early childhood care and education system, which is currently characterized by uneven access to care, high costs to parents, and low-paid educators.

It is our hope that the Province will recognize and be able to access supports for educators through labour force adjustment programs which are devolving to the Provinces. Governments are planning for labour force changes in (frequently male-dominated) manufacturing and industrial sectors as they respond to recessionary conditions; likewise, government have a responsibility to plan for labour force changes in (frequently female-dominated) sectors such as early childhood care and education.

We recommend supports to early childhood centres that currently have kindergarten-aged children to assist them through the transition period and support their future sustainability.

We recommend an immediate investment in a funding program for centres to undertake strategic planning or business planning (or other facilitated processes they identify) that could help them prepare for a changed future.

We recommend that the Province explore labour force adjustment and retraining dollars to support educators and owner/operators to adjust to changing circumstances in their labour force.

We recommend that the owner/operators of any stand-alone kindergartens that have to close their doors are fully and fairly compensated.

The focus on kindergarten-age children has obviously shed a great deal of light on what we are doing well and what we could be doing better for children school-age and older. But what about younger children? As kindergarten moves into the public school system, our Council sees it as essential for government to keep the needs of young children in focus. We recommend that after the transition of kindergarten into the public school system, an Early Childhood Development Commissioner quickly be appointed to consult with educators and parents and to recommend systemic supports for the care and development of all children in their early years.

LOGISTICS

Like you, we are waiting to see what more comes of the current discussion of potential school closures to determine logistics for the transition of kindergarten. What is important to emphasize, however, is that the logistics for kindergarten programs have to be in place as soon as possible in 2009 if kindergarten-aged children are entering the public school system in September 2010. Parents, educators, and children must know at the earliest possible date which school their children will attend, what classrooms will accommodate their children, and which buses on what routes will take their children to school. When these logistics are announced, you can rely on parents to be active and vocal advocates for their children’s safety and well-being and optimal learning environments.

LINKAGES

We agree with your observations that structured improvement will be needed in the linkages between parents and schools, between kindergarten and Grade One teachers, and (increasingly) between pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten teachers. Within these linkages, communications about assessment will continue to be crucial.

***

Thank you for the work that you and the researchers working with you have put into the thorny questions of transition so far. We hope that this letter helps provide support for recommendations we see as important. If further consultation and research lead you in different directions with your recommendations, we are open to be persuaded by new information.

It will be important for decision-makers to act quickly on the recommendations your report makes; the implications for teachers, early childhood centres, parents, and children are very clear, and the time between now and September 2010 is very short. The Prince Edward Island Advisory Council on the Status of Women will watch the progress of your recommendations very carefully and will be strong advocates to government to ensure that good recommendations are implemented swiftly and to ensure that as soon as possible, every kindergarten teacher and parent of a kindergarten-aged child knows precisely where they will fit in the public school system in September 2010.

Thank you for the opportunity to learn about your findings so far and to provide these reflections on your emerging recommendations.

Sincerely,
Isabelle Christian
Chairperson

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Community Notices

February 13, 2009 at 2:47 pm · Filed under Community Notices

STATUS OF WOMEN BLOG

Visit our blog at http://peiacsw.wordpress.com/ .

NEW LISTINGS THIS WEEK

1. Prince Edward Island/IBS Social Forums

The Institute for Bioregional Studies Ltd. (IBS), invites you to join our Social Forums. Each event begins at 7:00 p.m. with a potluck dinner, presentation and informal discussion. The intent is to share ideas and inform each other about social issues affecting our future. Each forum is held at 114 Upper Prince Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

For more information call: 367-0390

2. Presentations offered at the Confederation Centre Public Library

February is psychology month and the Confederation Centre Public Library is pleased to welcome members of the Psychological Association of PEI for a number of presentations on various Psychology related themes:

3. The Montgomery Theatre 2009

“Plays from the Life & Times of L.M. Montgomery”

Tuesdays – Sundays JULY 14 – AUGUST 23

All performances 7:30 pm in the Church at Avonlea Village, Cavendish
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Private Lives by Noel Coward
Directed by Duncan McIntosh
Written in 1929, Private Lives contains some of the funniest, wittiest dialogue ever. Like last year’s hit The Importance of Being Earnest, this is a first rate comedy. A divorced couple has each acquired a new spouse and find themselves on honeymoons in adjoining hotel suites. It only takes a few minutes together again to realize they are still in love. Then the excitement really begins!
The Fourposter
by Jan de Hartog
From a wedding night in 1890 to widowhood in 1925, all the scenes in this romantic comedy are acted out in and around the couple’s fourposter bed. The wedding night jitters, the onset of labour for their first child, the trials of parenthood and the sometime storms of marital life create hilarious scenes to make this a memorable and moving story. Bring a handkerchief – for tears of sympathy and laughter.
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GROUP RATE DISCOUNTS FOR GROUPS OF 10 OR MORE:
20% Discount on all tickets (20% deposit required)
                    Regular Rate        Group Rate
Balcony    $ 20 + tax           $ 16 + tax
Side            $ 25 + tax           $ 20 + tax
Premier    $ 32 + tax           $ 25.60 + tax

Group rates do not apply to Opening Nights

Book and Pay before March 1st for Earlybird Group Special :
Any Seat in the House for $16 + tax ! Book now to save!
Call the Theatre Office 902 963 3847 or email kathy@themontgomerytheatre.com

4. NGOs Breakfast Meeting

You are invited to join Island members of ACIC – Atlantic Council for International Cooperation for a breakfast meeting on Friday, March 13th at Murphy Community Centre at 8:30. Guest speaker will be Michel Daoust, youth Intern who spent 6 months in El Salvador working with an environment group.
Call CUSO-VSO at 892-2610 for details

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SOME PREVIOUS LISTINGS

1. An invitation

To all friends, and friends of friends, of PEI Citizen Advocacy,…and anyone else…to come out and dance at our fifth annual Valentine’s dance. With live music by Retro Statik, a popular Charlottetown rock-and-roll band.

In aid of PEI Citizen Advocacy.
Saturday, February 14th,
at the Charlottetown Legion on Pownal Street, Charlottetown.
Doors open at 9 p.m. Cash bar.
Only $8……………..and $5 for People First members and those living on low incomes.

It’s fun. Please bring along all your friends…Any questions, call the Citizen Advocacy office at 566-3523

2. PEI Food Security Network Workshop

There will be a mini-workshop to explore what we can do as a community to improve food security on PEI.

Our panel discussion will be moderated by Marie Burge from Cooper Institute.

The panelists are:
    * Gerard Steele, Fisheries
    * Steven MacKinnon, Agriculture
    * Jennifer Taylor, Health promotion and food skills
    * Ann Wheatley, Livable income/access to healthy food

Hope to see you there!
Sara Roach Lewis

Women’s Network
Women for Environmental Sustainabilty (WES)
Work: (902) 368-5040
Home: (902) 687-1768

3. St. Valentine’s Salon – Delight in Your Senses

Saturday, February 14, 2-5pm in the inspirational elegance of the Dantzer’s Salon, whY Lofts, will be transformed into a celebration of the universal day of love, Valentine’s Day. A festival atmosphere offering relaxation and sensual arts, massage, Reiki, cranial sacral energy massage, Arbonne facials, and sea salt hand massages, intuitive readings for individuals and couples, and romantic bedroom design. Enjoy the sultry sounds of the Persian Entertainment Industry and Teresa Doyle’s sassy swing and Latin tunes from her Late Night Parlour album. Beverages and treats served.

Tickets $15 available at Timothy’s and Beanz and include samplings of all services and three draws: dinner for 2, desserts for 2 and a jewellery gift. A donation from proceeds will be made to SAGE towards production costs on their book, Beyond Silence, Voices of Childhood Abuse. For more information, please call, 368 8637 or 314 4678

4. PEIBWA Workshops

Tips for the Meeting Planner

Presenter: Michelle McAulay, PEI Convention Partnership

Planning a meeting? We can help! Learn all there is to know about hosting a meeting for ten to one thousand people. Learn what things have worked for past meeting planners who have hosted events both big and small on PEI. Topics include: bid processes, facilities, volunteers/committees, food & beverage, transportation, registration, hospitality and more. You will also find out more about the complimentary services available from the Prince Edward Island Convention Partnership to assist you in planning your event.

Location:           Loyalist Country Inn, 195 Harbour Drive, Summerside
Date:                Thursday, February 19, 2009
Time:                12:00 – 1:30 pm
Cost:                $15 + GST for members, $20 + GST for non-members

To register, contact Elizabeth Noonan by e-mail at elizabeth@peibwa.org or by phone at (902) 436-0386. Registration deadline: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 4:00 pm.

5. FREE Swims for Individuals with Autism and their families and friends

6. Attention: All PEI Women Artists

Call for Submissions

Women’s Work(s) Art Promotion and Fundraiser is calling for submissions of artwork from PEI Women artists. This juried art promotion will feature:

Please include in your submission:

Deadline for submissions: March 16
Selected artists notified by: April 1
Artwork must be completed by: June 22
Artwork will be auctioned in July.

Mail submissions to:

Women’s Work(s)
c/o PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women
PO Box 2000
Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8

Or by email to: womensworks@eastlink.ca

For more information call Sandy Kowalik, Artistic Coordinator at 902-368-4510. The Women’s Work(s) blog is presently being set up…more information will be added soon. Check it out at http://womensworks.wordpress.com/

Women’s Work(s) has been made possible through the generous support of Senator Catherine Callbeck, E Anne Smith, and Patricia Schurman.

7. Lifestyle Makeover Contest

Welcome to the About Face New Year, New to You Contest presented by About Face Cosmetics by Jenepher, K-Rock 105.5 and Ocean 100.3.

Contest ends on February 18 so check out the contest details at this link soon:

http://www.newyearnewyoucontest.com/

8. 2009 International Women’s Day Events

International Women’s Day Celebration
Sunday, March 8, 2009

Celebrate Island Women Artistic Leaders in Social Change
7:00 pm at the Georgian Room
Charlottetown Rodd Hotel on Kent Street

Reception to follow.

For more info contact Committee member:
Marian White, c/o CUSO-VSO, Public Engagement Officer, 902 892-2610 902 393-4550 Cell marian.white@cuso-vso.org

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Openings in a Women’s Art Show at Beanz Espresso Cafe for March 2009

Female artists are invited to participate in a month-long non-juried art show and sale at BEANZ Café in celebration of United Nations-declared International Women’s Day (March 8).

Please contact IWD Planning Committee member Lisa Murphy, ED for PEI Status of Women, for further details about this event.

Her phone number is 368-4510 and email address is lmstatusofwomen@eastlink.ca

9. Scrabble Tournament – Open to all

Saturday, February 14th
8:00 a.m. at the Seniors Active Living Centre in the CARI Complex at UPEI

Fee $5.00

Pot Luck Lunch

To register call Linda Pierce at 628-1755, please leave a message.

Registration deadline Feb 10th. For more information call Michele at 368-7452.

10. Women’s Secretariat Grant

The Interministerial Women’s Secretariat is requesting project proposals from non-profit women’s organizations in Prince Edward Island whose mandates align with the promotion of the legal, health, social and economic equality of women. To access a copy of the Application Form and Application Guidelines, please call (902) 368-6494. Application forms and copies of the funding guidelines can also be picked up at the Access PEI locations across PEI, as well as the Island Information Services centre, located at 11 Kent Street, Charlottetown (Jones Building). All project proposals must be received by 5:00 pm, February 16, 2009. Please call (902) 368-6494 for further information.

11. Women’s Community Kitchen Events

The sessions are as follows:
February 20: What Islanders Need To Know About Family Law
Community Legal Information Association

February 27: Spring Gardening
Pauline Thompson

March 6: Pet First Aid
Speaker TBA

12. Book Dates for Women’s Speaker Series

Here is information on Resilience and Dreams: Women as Global Citizens speaker series at UPEI, with some amazing speakers in January to March 2009.

Women’s Speaker Series Finale, March 5, 2009
UPEI, Don and Marion MacDougall Hall
Speaker: Maude Barlow, National Chairperson, Council of Canadians
Included is a book launch of Maude Barlow’s latest work, Blue Covenant.
2:30pm and the photo exhibit “Resilience and Dreams” will be moving to Eptek Centre in Summerside, with an opening there in early January. The opening speaker at Eptek will be Kristin Roe. For more information visit http://upei.ca/internationalization/
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For further information or questions specifically relating to these notices, please contact the individual or organization hosting the community event.

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