South East Cornerstone Public School Division and Legacy Park Elementary School (LPES) announced that the Sunrise Early Learning and Teen Parent Support Centre Inc. (Sunrise) currently operating out of the Weyburn Comprehensive School has been selected to operate the brand-new Legacy Park Early Learning Centre slated to open on September 1, 2021 in Weyburn.
The new 51-seat childcare centre, which will function as a non-profit organization under Sunrise’s Board of Directors, with anticipated recruitment of new members from the Legacy Park location, will be dedicated to families, quality childcare and early childhood education and will be funded by the Ministry of Education. Staff will work to support families to be successful and children to achieve their individual optimal holistic development in a home-like environment.
With the expansion of Sunrise’s program, current childcare Director Lori Hiltz, who has worked in the field of early childhood education for the past 27 years, will see her role expand to include oversight of the new childcare centre at LPES. She expressed excitement in working hand-in-hand with Arlene Dobson, Principal of Legacy Park Elementary School, and Jacquelene Gibbs, SECPSD’s Coordinator of Early Learning, to ensure that Weyburn and area families will have the best start for their child(ren), stating, “Together this partnership will open many avenues to make the transition from early learning to elementary education seamless.”
On behalf of LPES, Dobson stated, “I am extremely pleased to be starting this partnership with Lori and the Legacy Park Early Learning Centre. We are looking forward to the many opportunities this partnership will bring for the children and our students. We are excited to build upon our early learning philosophy together as we embark on this new journey. Congratulations to Lori and her team at Legacy Park Early Learning Centre!”
Gibbs shared, “Research has very clearly demonstrated that the environment experienced by a young child literally sculpts the brain and establishes the trajectory for long term cognitive and social-emotional outcomes. We know that children who regularly participate in quality early childhood programs are excited about learning, make gains in reading and math, develop strong social skills, and are more likely to graduate from high school. SECPSD looks forward to this new partnership and joins Sunrise in celebrating the potential that these 51 additional childcare spots offer to the young families of Weyburn and area.”
