Near North District School Board Welcomes YMCA Child Care Program To Parry Sound High School

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Near North District School Board (NNDSB) is excited to welcome YMCA Child Care services to Parry Sound High School. The YMCA’s licensed preschool program, currently located at Smith Crescent, requires a new home to accommodate the upcoming construction of the West Parry Sound Recreation and Cultural Centre. NNDSB is pleased to expand its existing partnership with the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka to provide the space needed within Parry Sound High School and allow this community organization to continue providing quality care to local families.

The YMCA remains committed to providing high-quality, early childhood education to the community of Parry Sound. This new, larger space will allow for the growth of the preschool program, from 16 preschool children to 24 children. Once the NNDSB K-12 school is built, the program will expand to include infants and toddlers.

“Near North District School Board is pleased to assist the YMCA Child Care Services by providing space in our high school for the preschool program. The partnership was not anticipated to get underway until the JK-12 new build was complete,” says Superintendent Gay Smylie, supervisor of Early Years and Parry Sound High School. “This is a bonus for everyone. With increased space for the preschool program, there is a possibility to serve more children. When it does come time to move into the new school, it will be a simple move on the same property into the brand new childcare space,” says Smylie.

“We are extremely thankful for the opportunity to relocate to the Parry Sound High School. Our childcare centres located in high schools have provided unique opportunities to work collaboratively with the school community, including co-op placements and volunteer opportunities,” says Fiona Cascagnette, vice-president, YMCA Child Care.  Cascagnette adds, “The future expansion of our services to include infants and toddlers in the new JK-12 school will support even more families to access licensed childcare programs in Parry Sound.”

The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka and NNDSB look forward to working closely together with the Ministry of Education to meet the licensing requirements for the centre over the coming weeks. The new childcare space at Parry Sound High School is expected to be operational in early April. Further updates to childcare and school families will be provided as the project gets underway.

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