David Parker: Round City with the Expertise Trade Program

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The climate over these previous few months has hopeully impressed guests to our metropolis, that’s at its finest when the solar shines and it’s heat sufficient to stroll round with out layers of clothes. Let’s hope it continues a bit longer, as we now have quite a few educators from around the globe spending a complete of three weeks right here.

Thirty early childhood educators are collaborating within the Expertise Trade Program (TEP), an annual occasion held in a distinct location annually hosted by Busy Bee, the U.Okay.-based child-care firm with a major presence of roughly 1,000 child-care applications globally

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This yr’s occasion has invited delegates from the U.Okay., Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and the U.S. coming collectively to alternate finest practices and expertise a few of what Alberta has to supply. They are going to take part in academic occasions, coaching, skilled improvement alternatives, sightseeing and experiential excursions.

The delegates, who utilized to and have been chosen from their varied areas, are right here to alternate pedagogical insights and methodologies reflective of worldwide finest practices in areas corresponding to creating holistic studying environments, managing difficult behaviours, and the worth of individualized inquiry-based incomes. This multi-week alternate will showcase how worldwide co-operation can elevate the standard of care and schooling offered younger kids.

Pods of six delegates are based mostly in 5 of the native Calgary centres to analysis, develop and implement takeaway initiatives which they may current to senior management groups right here earlier than departing Canada to think about implementing of their house international locations.

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The Canadian workplace was launched right here in 2011 by an funding group with a ardour to ship top quality youngster care and thrilling alternatives to study.

Underneath the model title of BrightPath, they acquired 38 suppliers of small child-care operations all through town. It branched out into Ontario with the acquisition of Peekaboo in Toronto that gave them a complete of greater than 70 daycares, and others have been opened in Edmonton.

In Calgary, BrightPath has added 5 new builds of three-storey, 20,000-square foot daycares in greenfield areas in Creekside, Legacy, Mackenzie Towne, Chestermere and Richmond that accommodate between 250 and 270 kids. Comparable giant centres have additionally been opened at Windermere and West Hendy in Edmonton.

Every centre is daycare licensed to serve ages 0-6 all day and as much as 12 with after college applications and there are additionally in-house applications for youngsters with delicate to average skill wants.

In Alberta, households are capable of search monetary help from the provincial authorities in addition to the federal grants.

In 2017, Busy Bee purchased BrightPath, which is backed in Ontario by the OTPP (Ontario Academics Pension Plan). Its new CEO, Mary Ann Curran now resides in Toronto, however Calgary stays the regional head workplace with a workers depend of greater than 800.

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Among the many Calgary-based executives, Samaya Khattak serves as BrightPath chief schooling officer. With a love of all issues tutorial, she has an inexhaustible ardour for early studying and improvement and is at the moment supervising a BeeCurious proprietary curriculum framework that’s being utilized in North America and is being explored by different Busy Bee associates.

Additionally, a brand new Join App has been devised that can show a toddler’s improvement updates to their mother and father.

Busy Bees North America CEO Mary Ann Curran says, “We firmly imagine that collaborative efforts of bringing collectively gifted educators from various backgrounds will result in a really transformative studying expertise. TEP embodies our dedication to elevating the usual of early years of schooling and care the world over and fostering tradition and steady enchancment and excellence in service.”

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Calbridge Properties, a premium house builder in Calgary and space for 45 years, is wooing Torontonians by poking enjoyable at the place they reside in a cheeky video about the advantages of shifting to Calgary.

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Developed by its company of file Set off Promoting, it incorporates a couple from Ontario speaking of the various advantages of their transfer, together with dwelling close to actual mountains plus the power to afford an even bigger house with a yard for his or her canine.

Nicole Ziemann, managing director gross sales and advertising and marketing, Calbridge Properties, says, “It’s extra than simply the worth distinction; we provide a easy house shopping for course of that features a shifting concierge and paid authorized charges on closing, plus a wide range of fast possession houses.”

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David Parker seems often within the Herald. Learn his columns on-line at calgaryherald.com/enterprise. He might be reached at 403-830-4622 or by e mail at [email protected]

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