Pro D Day

At the end of May school districts around the province hosted professional development day for StrongStart facilitators and Early Years Coordinators.  Our school district hosted for the North Island.   It was a positive and enjoyable opportunity to get together and share what’s been happening at our centres.

Each district brought display boards which gave us a glimpse into what has
been happening in their programs.

Some districts brought sensory bins or activity kits

that they have to put together to share at each of their district centres.

             
           Some brought their inviting literacy kits.
     

We had opportunity to talk about certain topics such as;
"What is a vulnerable family?"
"How do we connect with families in need and encourage them to participate at a StrongStart centre?"
 and
"In what ways are we ensuring that programs are welcoming and accessible?"
    
We also spent time discussing the Ministry of Educations program reflection
tool called Reflecting on Quality.   It is a self reflective tool for each of us to use to really think about our program, our centre.  Is it meeting the needs of the families that attend our centres?  Does it meet the goals of the Early Learning Framework?

     
In between discussions we got up, sang songs, played with scarves,
had fun and got to know each other better. 
It is just as important for us to play as it is for children to play.