St. Thomas' Children's Day Care Centre
99 Ontario Street L2R 5J6 Saint Catharines, ON, Canada

To Child Care Providers Everywhere: The Hand Holder There is no job more important than yours,... no job anywhere else in the land. You are the keepers of the future: you hold the smallest of hands. Into your care you are trusted to nurture and care for the young, and for all of your everyday heroics, your talents and skills go unsung. You wipe tears from the eyes of the injured, you rock babies brand-new in your arms. You encourage the shy and unsure child. You make sure they are safe from all harm. You foster the bonds of friendships, letting no child go away mad. You respect and you honour their emotions. You give hugs to each child when they're sad. You have more impact than does a professor - a child's mind is molded by four; so whatever you lay on the table is whatever that child will explore. Give each child the tools for adventure, let them be artists and writers and more; let them fly in the wind and dance on the stars and build castles of sand on the shore! It is true that you don't make much money and you don't get a whole lot of praise, but when one small child says, "I love you," you're reminded of how the job pays. ~ By Dori Rossmann

Love and Best Wishes to our beloved Nancy as she begins a new chapter in her life. We'll miss you!

Graduation Day today!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

The 2014 FIFA World Cup gets underway today! Who are you cheering for?

Grateful today and everyday to those who paid the ultimate price so that we could live in freedom. #DDay70

At the end of the day people wont remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel. Maya Angelou, 1928-2014

Happy Mother's Day!

It's May Day! May Day has been a traditional day of festivities throughout the centuries, and is most associated with celebrating springtime fertility (of the soil, livestock, and people)...

Bunny rabbits and Easter eggs are signs that Spring is here, So celebrate this blessed time with all whom you hold dear! Happy Easter to all our Friends!

Can Spring finally be coming? 7/45 degrees today, maybe 14/57 tomorrow? It's Opening Day for baseball today... Can we dare hope? :)

It's International Women's Day today... Take a moment today to thank a woman who inspires you! "Established in 1911, International Women's Day is a day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. It's a day in which women from around the world unite in thoughts, prayers, struggles, hopes and dreams. Women's accomplishments in education, business, science, art, medicine, public service, athletics and every other field have made our world better and stronger." #IWD2014 #inspiringchange

Happy Valentine's Day to all our friends! Have a love-filled day!

How do you love to spend those precious few minutes?

"Each New Year, we have before us a brand new book containing 365 blank pages. Let us fill them with all the forgotten things from last year - the words we forgot to say, the love we forgot to show, and the charity we forgot to offer." Peggy Toney Horton Happy New Year!

On this most magical night of the year, we take this opportunity to wish all of our friends and their loved ones a very Merry Christmas, peace on Earth, and good will toward men...

What a fun day at St. Thomas' today! A very important visitor took some time out of his rather hectic schedule to stop by this afternoon at snack time! (Of course, when there's milk and cookies around, it didn't take much persuasion!) Thank you, Santa!

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013.

A reminder to the parents of St. Thomas' to help us help others... Help us fill our wagons with non-perishable food items for Community Care! The children will be making their donation on December 13th as part of the 13th Annual Great Holiday Food Drive. It's always a very special day in our City as the true holiday spirit shines bright thanks to the generosity of so many in our community! Thanks in advance for helping to Take a Bite Out of Hunger and making the holidays a little bit brighter for those less fortunate.

Our heartfelt thanks and gratitude are extended today, and everyday, to the men and women who served, who paid the ultimate price, and who continue to put themselves in harms way so that others can be free. Lest we forget.

Happy Hallowe'en! Wishing everyone a safe and frightfully-fun day!

Still looking for more to do this weekend? The Niagara Greek Festival runs this weekend too! It's the place to go for authentic Greek food, pastries, dancing, entertainment, live music and a Kidz Zone Play Area! Free parking and admission but donations of both perishable and non-perishable food goods for Community Care is appreciated... See niagaragreekfestival.com for more info.

The 20th Annual Niagara Food Festival takes place this weekend, Sept 6-8, in Downtown Welland and will feature more than 70 food, artisan, community and market vendors, celebrity chefs and lots of entertainment for all ages all weekend long - including a Kid's Tent and a Touch the Truck area! Admission is free and there's even a free shuttle from Seaway Mall to the Festival! See niagarafoodfestival.com for more info...

St. Thomas' Children's Day Care Centre is pleased to announce that we have teamed up with Mabel's Labels, the award-winning creators of high quality labels for the stuff kids lose! Mabel's Labels offers personalized, dishwasher, microwave, laundry-safe labels that are as tough and durable as they are cute... Use on clothing, shoes, backpacks, luggage, water bottles, toys - even household labels for toy rooms, craft rooms, the pantry and your garbage and recycling! Purchase o...n-line through a special website just for St. Thomas' and your order is delivered right to your door - and you help St. Thomas' raise much-needed funds! Go to www.stthomascdcc.mabelslabels.com today to order just in time for back to school, that last summer camping trip, or just to get organized! Your support is greatly appreciated!

Stay tuned for news on our next fundraiser with Mabel's Labels - just in time for back to school!

The Wiggles are coming! Join The Wiggles Live in Concert at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts on Saturday, August 24th at 11:30 am for their "Taking Off" tour! Buy tickets at the Box Office, Tickets.com or by calling 888-223-6000... And you can save $10 using the code FLYING!* (Some conditions may apply.)

Graduation Day today! Congratulations and best wishes to all our friends! "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow!" :)

Educational researchers have found that there is a strong correlation between reading and academic success... and we know it's fun too! Which of these are your favourite to read with your child?

Thank you to all who purchased coffee through our Beans4bucks Coffee Fundraiser! We hope you are enjoying your custom roasted coffee, and that you will enjoy it even more knowing you helped raise almost $500 for St. Thomas'! Congratulations go out to the Flora Family and the Bigford Family who each won a $25 iTunes card for their extraordinary fundraising efforts! Well done!

Did you know that young children (ages 5 and under) have a higher risk of complications from food poisoning? Their developing immune systems make them unable to fight off infection as well as adults can. Young children also produce less of the stomach acid that kills harmful bacteria, which makes it easier for them to get sick. Proper food safety practices can help you protect your child. Visit HealthyCanadians.gc.ca/foodsafety or call 1 800 O Canada to get a free booklet.

Last chance to place your coffee order! Please call Janet at St. Thomas' at 905.688.3191 by tomorrow afternoon and help us meet our fundraising goal... Just $15 for a 12-oz bag...

We are very sorry to announce that the Rick & Judy Concert scheduled for this coming Saturday has been cancelled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

Beans4bucks Coffee Fundraiser! From April 22 - May 3, 2013, we will be raising money for new toys and equipment! Who doesn't love/want/need their coffee each day? :) A 12-oz bag of some of the world's best Arabica roasted coffee that is organic and fairly traded from Beans4bucks Coffee Company, ground just the way you want and custom roasted to ensure freshness and quality, is just $15 - or .23 cents per cup! - And you'll be helping us to meet our fundraising goal to benef...it the kids! Win-Win! For more information, or to place an order, please call Janet at St. Thomas' at 905.688.3191!

Spring Electives start next week at St. Thomas' - Dance will run on Tuesdays from April 16 to June 4, and Musically Inclined will run on Fridays from April 19th to June 7!