ECE opening has been a success!

Kyle Berger

As the JCC works through preparations for a phased opening in the coming weeks, the staff have had the benefit of seeing how things went last week when the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Department opened up to children of essential workers.

ECE director, Jennifer Trickett, said that while the first week came with its challenges, it went quite well for her and her team.

“We had a good plan,” she said. “We had to adjust somethings as we were actually doing them, but for the most part it went as great as it could.

“Some were nervous on the first day, but most were all smiles and it was wonderful to connect with families again. Even at a distance.”

Trickett said that one of the bigger challenges was simple working out how many children and adults made sense for each space and how to balance time with the children while efficiently cleaning and sanitizing.

She said she expects things to continue much the same as they have been so far for at least the next few weeks, adding that parents are commenting that they've seen a positive mood shift in their children at home.

“We'll have to see as other places reopen and parents start returning to work what the needs of families will be and look at how what we can do to meet the needs of our community.”