The water bottles, sweatshirts, stray shoes, and countless other odds and ends that were gathered into a lost and found pile are a tribute to a summer full of action and laughter at the grounds of the Bowen Island Community School. Once again, the playground is quiet and school emptied, with even the Rec office having moved to a temporary location at the community hall. To help out parents stuck for childcare, Bowen Island Rec has organized day camps that are being run out of Collins Hall and the community fitness centre. The provincial government is offering a subsidy to help cover the costs of camps like these, but even parents who need the help seem to agree that camp season is over, and their kids belong in school, and if that’s not possible, parents will do what they can to get them learning.
Rebecca Salmon, a mother and a tutor, says that when the government announced the daily subsidy of $40 a day for children under the age of 13, she had plenty of inquiries from parents hoping she could set up some kind of classroom for their children.
“There were 11 kids lined up to come to my house every day for a makeshift school,” says Salmon. “But it turns out that legally, I can only take care of two kids who are not siblings at the same time. So that’s what we’re doing. Mostly, the kids are playing and I am trying to interject with what I’m calling learning brakes. Today we’re working on learning money and the provinces.”
Salmon says that she did log on to the government website in order to register for the subsidy she’s eligible for with her nine-year-old, but got an error message.
“I feel really guilty about it, because I think that money should be going into our schools,” she says. “No matter what, I stand by our teachers. And next week I’d like to set up a booth with stamped envelopes and encourage people to write letters to the government on their behalf. I might even take the kids with me to help, although I am not optimistic that it will actually help move things forward.”
Dionne Finch says she has registered for the subsidy because she needs it.
“The problem is that I won’t get any money until all of this is over. How am I supposed to pay for camps and get to work in the meantime? I was really looking forward to summer being over so I could finally get to work, but now that is not going to happen,” she says.
Finch has two boys in school at BICS (grade six and grade two) and one starting his first year of preschool.
“I can’t pull the youngest out of Children’s Centre or else he’ll lose his spot, but somehow I have to keep paying for that. The camps being put on by Bowen Rec only run between 9:30 am and 4:30. This leaves me with a very short work day when I have to go to West Vancouver and North Vancouver to see clients,” she says. “The camps cost $47 per day, and I qualify for a childcare subsidy, but because Bowen Island Rec is not a registered childcare provider, I can’t get that subsidy.”
Finch adds that while she can “wing it” with her older child at home, at friends’ houses, and at his father’s house, there are no programs for kids his age.
“And I’ve decided that playdate time is over, it’s math time. It feels like so long since they’ve received any kind of education, and they need to get their brains working. Today I’ve got Lewis (7) counting monopoly money and working on drawings and Oscar (11) reading a science book, and I’ve written up a bunch of questions he has to answer.”
If the strike continues for more than a few weeks, Finch says her business will suffer.
“The only thing I can think to do is to stop working at anything in my business beyond a supervisory role,” she says. “This week I am managing 10 hours of work. I’ll have to settle for that and hire some new employees in order to keep my existing clients. I will lose money for sure.”
Finch adds that while she supports the teachers, the situation is intolerable.
“It’s hard to smile and wave when I drive past the school,” she says.
Andrea Verwey says that she has not registered yet for the government subsidy, and in conversation with other parents has heard of a lot of people refusing the money.
“It’s a dumb bribe. I don’t want the money, but at the same time every week I am writing cheques because of this strike,” she says. “I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of gratitude for the people who are running the day camps right now, and I am grateful, but honestly summer’s over and I’m done with camps. It’s time for kids to get into the school.”
Verwey says she’s not concerned about her son falling behind on academics, necessarily, but wants to get him back into the routine of school.
“This kid is chomping at the bit to get back,” she says of her seven-year-old, Louw. “With all the excitement of back to school and getting his supplies from the pharmacy, this is a big disappointment for him. And I’m worried, that when school finally does start, the shine will have worn off. I’ll feel all too aware of the tensions.”
