HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-06-23, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2011.Blyth principalnets Wingham
school top job
Stairway to heaven
This group of students at Grey Central Public School took to the Environmental Learning
Grounds to build new steps and benches for the outdoor amphitheatre. The school received
a $500 grant from the Municipality of Huron East and a $1,000 Speak Up grant. Back row,
from left: Austin Clarke, Kieran Jared and Mr. Maurice Wilson. Middle row, from left: Matt
Swart, Luke Seymour, Nick Kuepfer, Jason Baxter and Adam Baan. Front row, from left: Alison
Terpstra, Lexi Smith, Brianna Byerlay, Nikki Van Brugge, Samantha Subject and Nathan
Armstrong. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Transition committees set up
for students changing schools
With the closure of local public
schools, including Brussels, Blyth
and East Wawanosh public schools,
and the restructuring of the
catchment areas for existing and
new schools, preparations and plans
are a necessity to ensure smooth
transitions for students in the
coming years.
To that end, the Avon Maitland
District School Board has created a
transition committee for Wingham’s
as-of-yet unnamed new public
school, headed by current Blyth
Public School principal Alice
McDowell, who will be the principal
of the new school, to make sure the
transition process is as successful as
possible.
The group, which consists of
parents, students, teachers, school
administrators and municipal
representation, first met on Monday,
June 13.
While their next meeting won’t
happen until September, when
school is in session, the group did
set some important goals and
decided on one of the most
influential decisions they will
handle; the recommendation of a
new name for the school.
“We started with three tasks,”
McDowell explained. “First was to
outline a process, the second was to
establish fundraising committees
and practices and the last, and most
exciting, was to choose a new name
for the school.”
Suggestions were taken through
the school board’s website for the
new name and many of them had to
do with the Maitland River, which
through tributaries or on its own
passes through much of the
catchment area for the new school.
“We recommended the name
Maitland River Elementary School,”
McDowell said. “A lot of the
variations suggested Maitland, and
we liked the idea since the river, or
its tributaries, touch everyone.”
The decision on the school’s name
was arrived at through what
McDowell called a “dotmocracy”.
Each member of the board was given
three dots and could place any
number of them on any of the
suggestions.
North Huron Councillor Jim
Campbell, who was representing the
township on the committee, said that
he was happy with the name.
“It’s a great name,” he said.
“There were other options, but it’s a
good one.”
To start addressing their first task,
the group started to determine the
roles of committee members.
Members for the committee came
from all six schools involved; Blyth,
Brussels, East Wawanosh, Wingham
and Turnberry Central Public
Schools as well as F.E. Madill
Secondary School, council members
from Morris-Turnberry and North
Huron and trustees from the school
board.
Fundraising was addressed last,
with the group laying a foundation
for the effort by establishing a
committee and starting to
brainstorm on fundraising projects.
One of the major problems with
planning that far ahead is the
committee doesn’t know what will
be provided by the school board and
what will have to be bought through
fundraising.
“We know we are probably going
to need to raise money for
playground equipment,” McDowell
said.
Campbell stated that he was happy
with the way the meeting went.
“We were introduced to each other
and I’m looking forward to working
with the group,” he said. “The
meeting went very well.”
All the committee’s meetings are
public and will welcome questions
from the floor, and all reasonable
questions, according to McDowell,
will be answered, however the
meetings will be focused on the task
at hand.
“Questions will be answered at the
meetings if they an be,” she said. “If
they can’t be, we’ll have an answer
at a later date.”
Some of the questions that have
already been brought up at their first
meeting have shown how involved
the public wants to be in the process
according to McDowell.
“We had a student ask about how
the schools will be involved in
school fairs,” McDowell said.
“That’s the kind of question we need
to think about as we proceed.”
Morris-Turnberry Councillor
Jamie McCallum will represent his
council’s interests through the
transition process.
Another transition committee has
been created for students involved in
the closure of Brussels Public
School who will be attending Grey
Central Public School. The meeting
of that committee was held on June
21.
Huron East Councillor Dianne
Diehl of Grey will represent her
council on that board.
DAVID LAWRENCE COLLINS
Mr. David Lawrence Collins of
Hensall passed away at Clinton
Public Hospital, on Thursday, June
16, 2011, after his courageous battle
with brain cancer. He was in his 63rd
year.
He was the beloved husband of
Debbie Collins, and the loving father
and father-in-law of Colleen and
Chris Smith of Seaforth, Val
Schurter of Seaforth, Samantha
Funston and Chris Regier of Zurich,
Michael Collins and friend Becky
Schmidt of Hensall and Meghan
Collins and friend Jake Rothenburg
of Hensall.
David was the grandfather of Cam
and Colin Smith, Darren Schurter
and Spencer Funston and the dear
brother and brother-in-law of Jim
and Cheryl Collins of Stratford,
Sheron and John Stadelmann of
Blyth, Beth Collins of St. Joseph,
Don Hoytema and fiancée Pam of
Langley, British Columbia and
Michelle and Ed Toy of Edmonton,
Alberta. He will also be missed by
several nieces and nephews.
David was predeceased by his
parents Arthur and Marion Collins,
brothers George Collins and Gary
Collins and by sisters-in-law Donna
Hoytema, Lynnda Collins and Jackie
Collins.
Friends were received at the
Falconer Funeral Homes Ltd., 153
High St., Clinton on Sunday from 2
- 4 and 7 - 9 p.m. The funeral service
was held on Monday, June 20 at 2
p.m. Interment was in Clinton
Cemetery.
As expressions of sympathy,
memorial donations to the Clinton
Public Hospital Foundation or St.
Elizabeth Health Care would be
greatly appreciated.
DOUGLAS RACHO
Douglas Racho of RR 2, Dublin,
passed away peacefully at his
residence on Saturday, June 18,
2011. He was 89.
Douglas was the beloved husband
of Jackie (Brown) Racho and dear
father of Brenda (Larry) of Brussels
and John of RR 2, Dublin. He was
the loving grandfather of Sherri
Lynn, Douglas, Donald, Connie,
Michael and Brian. He was the
cherished great-grandfather of
Kele, Olivia, Shawn, Trisha,
Robert, Brittany, Brandon, April,
Cassandra and Adrian. He will
be lovingly remembered by his
nieces and nephews and the Brown
family.
Douglas was predeceased by his
parents Harvey and Annie
(Brodhagen) Racho and brother Lyle
(Marjorie).
Friends were received at the
Lockhart Funeral Home, Mitchell on
Tuesday, June 21 from noon until
time of the funeral service at
1 p.m. Interment was in Maitland
Bank Cemetery, Seaforth.
Memorial donations to the Cancer
Society or Community Care Access
Centre would be appreciated.
Online condolences may be left at
www.lockhartfuneralhome.com
Alice McDowell, the current
principal of Blyth Public School,
has been chosen to be the principal
of the new public school that is
proposed to be built in Wingham.
McDowell will be taking the
position on Sept. 1, 2011, meaning
she will simultaneously be the
principal of the new school, slated to
open in 2012, and Blyth Public
School.
Former Grey Central Public
School principal Mario Gagne will
become the vice-principal of Blyth
during the one year layover to
“handle the day-to-day operation of
Blyth Public School” McDowell
said. Gagne was on leave prior to
this.
Gagne came to Grey Central
Public School several years ago
after a stint as a vice-principal in
Stratford.
McDowell will be the principal of
both schools, preparing the new
school for students or the sites they
will be temporarily housed in
(Wingham Public School and East
Wawanosh Public School) while
running Blyth Public School.
McDowell anticipates that the
position will offer her some unique
experiences.
“I’m looking forward to creating
the new identity for the school. I will
get to do a lot of things that
educators don’t always get to do,”
she said.
McDowell said that, while
exciting, the opportunity will also be
a challenging one.
“There are five schools involved,
six if you count the transition of
Grades 7 and 8 to F.E. Madill
[Secondary School],” she said.
“It will offer some unique
challenges.”
Paramount among the challenges
will be bringing Blyth, Brussels,
Turnberry, East Wawanosh and
Wingham Public Schools together
under one banner.
This is a task she will be facing
both as a principal of the new school
and leader of the transition
committee, which held its first
meeting on June 13 at Hullett
Central Public School.
The committee’s next meeting
will be held in September.
“All the students need to be part of
one student body,” she said. “They
all need to come together.”
Avoiding the fragmentation that
can occur when amalgamating
multiple schools isn’t a new
experience for McDowell who
experienced it both when Walton
Public School was closed and when
Victoria Public School and
Robertson Memorial Public School
in Goderich amalgamated.
McDowell has been principal at
Blyth Public School for the last two
years and, as an East Wawanosh
resident, her three children
graduated from East Wawanosh
Public School, so she is familiar
with the new school’s catchment
area.
McDowell has a wealth of other
teaching experience in Huron
County as well.
She began her teaching career in
Goderich and moved through
several different schools including
Goderich’s Victoria Public School
and Robertson Memorial Public
School (now known as Goderich
Public School), Walton Public
School and Grey Central Public
School before coming to Blyth two
years ago.
McDowell originally became an
administrator while in Goderich in
the late 1990s.
McDowell earned her Bachelor of
Arts from the University of Western
Ontario before earning her Teacher’s
Degree from Brock University in St.
Catharines.
North St. West, Wingham
Mac & Donna Anderson
519-357-1910
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Obituaries
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Denny Scott
The Citizen