By Chad Ingram

Published Nov. 24 2016

The Minden Ontario Early Years Centre was relocated to Archie Stouffer Elementary School at the beginning of the current school year that move celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new location on Nov. 21.

Pippa Stephenson executive director for Ontario Early Years Centres (OEYC) of Haliburton-Victoria-Brock said there are numerous advantages to locating OEYC inside schools.

“The children will become their students and they will become familiar with the halls and the building” Stephenson said. “They may even meet some future classmates.”

“We are thrilled to be in this relationship with the OEYC” said Trillium Lakelands District School Board director of education Larry Hope.

OEYCs provide early learning programs for children up to six years old as well as parenting services and programs.

As Stephenson told the Times earlier this year the relocation was based on a number of factors.

“As is often the case there wasn’t one particular factor” she wrote in an email. “The timing just worked. For well over a decade the OEYC had been leasing the spaces in Minden and Haliburton. We had great landlords however the OEYC board of directors recognized that we would need to move for a number of reasons including cost reduction and had been considering alternate spaces in both communities (in addition to Fenelon Falls) for over 18 months.

“Ideally it made sense to be in schools for children their families and the community. In early 2016 Trillium Lakelands District School Board shared their pupil accommodation review in the community which prompted conversations between [TLDSB director of education] Larry Hope and myself. As both TLDSB and OEYC are funded by the Ministry of Education a partnership makes sense.”

The OEYC in Haliburton was relocated to J.D. Hodgson Elementary School.

The Minden OEYC was previously located in the Sears building along Bobcaygeon Road for 25 years.