Sharebear Playschool will be opening two weeks later on Sept. 28, instead of the earlier announced date of Sept. 14 because of construction delays and incompletion of acquisition of permits.
With the purchase of a new facility and zoning requirements, besides inspection and other code-specific guidelines that had to be met for playschool, the process took longer than expected.
“Sharebear board and staff have been communicating on a regular basis and on Friday, Sept. 4, we met with the individuals and agencies involved to make a decision on the opening date,” said Lynne Potter, teacher at the playschool. “It was then decided we would push back open house to Sept. 28 because we wanted to ensure we had enough time to finish renovations, and have all necessary inspections completed before opening doors.”
Although the open house date had been chosen as early as April 2015, even before the purchase of the new facility, liasing and getting the project permits in place have taken some time.
Potter added, “We have had five months to find a new facility, ensure zoning, move contents, and complete all renovations, meeting code requirements, and it is our belief it will be worth the wait.”
With a social-media savvy community, Sharebear Playschool has already posted a Facebook update informing parents of the delay on Saturday, Sept. 5, but will ensure that they get in touch with those parents, who have not responded to the update.
This is the fourth year for Sharlene Huska and her family with Sharebear.
One of the parents who responded to the delay, Huska will be sending her daughter Eden Huska to playschool this year and did not seem to be worried about the delay of two weeks.
“I know the dates have been pushed for starting this year but the wait will definitely be worth it,” said Huska. “I trust in the teachers and the board that this was the best decision for our children, to provide a safe finished new school for our little ones.”
For Ruby MacDonell, whose three-year old son Vance MacDonell will be starting with Sharebear this year, it is a homecoming of sorts.
“My mother had chosen Sharebear for my sibling and I 25 years ago,” said MacDonell. “I am very excited that my child gets to go to the same playschool I did.”
MacDonell is quite certain that the delay in opening is keeping the kids’ best interest in mind and has been quite happy with Sharebear keeping her posted about the progress and dates.
“I know that the playschool has moved locations and within such a short time they have had to do major renovations, so this delay is really minor,” said MacDonell. “The kids will still get the same amount of school in the end and I'm sure they won't even know the difference.”
Sharebear Playschool’s open house will be held on Monday, Sept. 28 from 3 to 5 p.m., with tours of the new facility running every half hour and refreshments being served.