"To whom concerned,

We welcome the opportunity to have MTI students at our centre for a variety of reasons. Having the students on-site is beneficial for the daycare in many ways. We are able to have an extra set of hands to help with the children which can be very useful when children are adjusting to the centre or when we’re planning field trips or other special activities for the children. The students that come usually have activities they need do for their course work and the infusion of new ideas is always welcome. The children enjoy different people and a small break from routine.

Many of the MTI students we’ve had at the centre have gone on to complete their 500 hours at our centre and then gone on our on-call list. We have a permanent staff person who came on board first as and MTI student doing her practicum, then by subbing and then finally applying for a position when one became available.

The supervisors who come from MTI to observe their students are always professional and conscientious. They minimize interruption to the program when they come to do their observations and take very little of our time. Any concerns we have had with students they have been dealt with promptly.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or would like to discuss any of this further.

Sincerely,

Elspeth Nicholson, Centre Manager"

"To whom concerned,

Tong Louie Family YMCA

To Whom It May Concerned,

As Senior Supervisor at the Surrey Junior YMCA Child Care Centre & Preschool Programs, I value the opportunity to take on Early Childhood Education students from Community Colleges in the Surrey and Langley area.

The YMCA is able to help students take the theory that they have studied and put it into practice while provide them with a positive environment and good role models. This helps them to develop their skills further and hopefully learn some new ones. We encourage them to take risks and go outside their comfort zone during their practicum with us and we look forward to learning from the students as they bring in new ideas and more importantly current theories and practices in the ECE field.

This philosophy for practicum learning as well as our child care philosophy of “Play to Learn E Emergent Curriculum and Reggio goes hand in hand to what is being taught at the MTI Community College ECE program, therefore this allows for continuity, consistency, understanding and good bridging between their students and our programs.

It have been just over a year since our partnership with the MTI Early Childhood Education Department began and it has been one that is respectful, professional, courteous, supportive and appreciative. My staff and I feel that we are part of a team working towards the same goal, which is developing the best Early Childhood Educator we can. The college’s ECE Program Co-ordinator and the Practicum Supervisors trust our instincts and knowledge. I feel that our relationship and partnership in training, influencing and enhancing the skills of the students as well as their commitment to the ECE field is an ongoing process and we look forward to being part of it.

Sincerely,

Kathy Gardner
Senior Supervisor, Surrey Junior YMCA Child Care & Preschool"