Maryla Zylicz
Year: 2010-2011 – Province: Quebec
Certificate of Achievement Recipient
West End Childcare Centre / Centre de la petite enfance du Quartier Ouest
4171 Madison Avenue
Montreal, QC H4B 2V1
Fax: 514-489-8279
Email: westend@videotron.ca
Type of Setting: Childcare centre for children aged 4½ years
Philosophy of Care
Maryla Zylicz’s Sunshine Room is a bright and cheerful place where her small students thrive everyday. Driven by a passion for smiling faces, Ms. Zylicz creates activities to open little eyes on real events, stimulate learning, fun and curiosity for the world. And when her evil Halloween alter ego, Miss Viola Swamp makes an appearance, children enjoy the role-play, but are always happy to have their favorite teacher back.Support of Child Development
- Ms. Zylicz makes monthly trips to the library to find new books for her group. She teaches the children to respect the books and understand their message.
- Children in Ms. Zylicz’s classroom paint to music at an easel, bake bread and churn butter. They participate in outdoor activities, visit the local vet and learn about animal care and even get to know the architect and engineers at the local construction site.
- Ms. Zylicz attended a mock refugee camp with her students. She prepared them carefully for the experience, gave them information and answered their questions. Children also made their own passports as symbols of their visit to the site.
Involvement with Parents, Families and the Community
- Ms. Zylicz’s door is always open to parents who can volunteer and contribute time in the classroom; parents come in to play music and sing songs, or even bring in a new baby to nurture, bathe and play with.
- Every year, Ms. Zylicz invites a special visitor from the Montreal Association for the Blind to speak with her group. The visitor shares facts about being visually impaired and helps the children understand what her ‘see and eye’ dog does to make her life easier and better.
Rave Reviews
"Maryla was and still is a great mentor, an amazing educator and a respectful co-worker. Children, parents and other staff members look towards Maryla for inspiration. Even after four years in the field, I still find myself reminiscing about this experience and striving to be an influential educator such as Maryla."
Former ECE placement student
"Of all my children’s teachers, from daycare through university, there are only four teachers I remember. Although the youngest of my children is now 24, Maryla is one of those teachers. I am now the grandmother of a toddler who has just been enrolled at West End daycare, and I am already looking forward to the day that he becomes one of Maryla’s charges."
Parent
