Oliver/Calder Head Start
Half Day Program Highlights

The Half Day Head Start program is located in the Calder community, but serves both the Calder and Oliver communities. This is a free program that runs from September until June, Monday to Friday, for half days either AM or PM classes. The program is available to children who are a minimum of 3 ½ years old. Families must live in the designated bussing areas for the respective area, and the program is only for low-income families.

The staff in the Head Start program is a multidisciplinary team providing the best practice and resources for children and their families. Each classroom is led by a Certified Teacher who follows the Alberta Education Kindergarten Program Statement. This provides the children with seven learning areas which include: early literacy, early numeracy, citizenship and identity, environment and community awareness, personal and social responsibility, physical skills and well-being, and creative expression. Also in the classrooms are Early Childhood Educator’s who possess an Early Childhood Education Diploma, Bachelor of Education Degree or equivalent. Educators are responsible for supporting children who may need enhancement with such skills as speech, language, motor, and so on. The program also provides the children with these identified needs with the assistance of Speech and Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, or whichever specialist is required to meet those specific needs. The Primary Health Care Team from Capital Health also provides the program with height, weight, vision, hearing, and dental screens. CASA is another partner that provides parents and classroom staff with strategies in working with children with behaviours.

Another member of the team is the Community Outreach Worker. Each classroom has a designated Community Outreach Worker who develops strategies and provides special events to encourage growth within the family unit. Another mandatory component of the program is parent involvement. Parents are expected to attended parent groups provided by the Community Outreach Workers. These parent groups start in October and are held 3 times per month. Parent groups include information to parents on such topics as different parenting skills, health, resources available to families, and literacy. Community Outreach Workers also visit families in their homes on a regular basis throughout the year to check in with families and update them on the progress of their children in the classroom. Our goal for families is to increase their sense of community and their support system.

To register your child(ren) in the Half Day Head Start program please call a Community Outreach Worker at 451-2191.

To register your child(ren) in the Half Day Head Start program please call a Community Outreach Worker:

At the Calder Site – 451-2191

There is a desperate need for more Head Start spaces. The services that are provided though the programs assist both the child and the family and are delivered in their community. However our waitlist continues to grow at both sites and we are never able to provide all families with this much needed program to prepare children for school.

Quotes from Parents

He was willing to go seven days a week. He asked every morning if it was a Head Start day.

This program has benefited my family in many ways. My children are more socialized and I try to be more positive.

The teachers are all positive and they are good role models for the children.

I look forward to coming back and sending my two year old when she is old enough.

They took real interest in my environment and gave helpful suggestions on how to make certain obstacles easier to overcome.