HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-11-22, Page 15As the superintendent in charge ofthe Avon Maitland District SchoolBoard’s elementary curriculum, Pat
Stanley doesn’t get to spend much
time in the board’s secondary
schools.
But when the board took its twice-
monthly regular meetings on the
road recently, bringing top
administrators and trustees to South
Huron District High School’s library
on Tuesday, Nov. 13, she was clearly
impressed by the techniques used to
display reading material.
Stanley, in preparation for herpresentation about the DistrictImprovement Plan – in response toresults from annual provincially-standardized tests for Grade 3 and 6students – gathered a series of
magazines that are prominently
displayed in the library.
Among them were the most recent
editions of Car and Driver, Sports
Illustrated, Guitar World and –
obviously the most well-read of them
all, judging by its well-worn corners
– Four Wheeler.
“I think this demonstrates a real
commitment on the part of this
school and this library to develop a
culture of reading among studentswho haven’t traditionally been strongreaders,” she commented.The District Improvement Planmakes commitments to suchactivities as sharing best practices
among different schools, developing
literacy skills among students in
younger grades, and shifting the
focus away from reading – where
improvements have been achieved in
standardized tests – towards writing.
But following the presentation,
Stanley boiled down the strategies to
a few tangible targets: attracting the
attention of boys in both reading and
writing by concentrating more on
non-fiction topics; involving studentsin daily writing; and moving readingmaterials off the dusty libraryshelves so the front cover can beeasily viewed.“Many schools are now ordering
or having built racks which display
the cover of the book, much like the
ones in this library,” Stanley said,
while gesturing around the South
Huron library. “And what we’re
hearing back from these schools is
that books that have sat on the
shelves for years without being
checked out are now off the shelves
almost all the time.”
Stanley encountered some negative
feedback from Perth East trusteeTina Traschel, who related the storyof one student who was discouragedby school staff from bringing toschool a hunting-themed magazine. Traschel noted the school’s library
contains reading materials about war,
yet the student was told there was too
much of a connotation of violence in
the hunting magazine.
Stanley responded it’s not board
policy to prohibit reading materials
about hunting, and that the matter
requires further investigation.
“We anticipate that schools and
students would use good judgment in
terms of resources,” she said.
THE CITIZEN. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2007. PAGE 15.Reading material impresses Stanley
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By Stew SlaterSpecial to The Citizen
ROBERT COCHRANE
A farm boy
Have you ever awakened and
known exactly what you want to be
for the rest of your life? Well I have.
I am a co-op student at F.E. Madill
Secondary School. I started my
placement at JN Cardiff Farms on
Sept. 17.
Co-op is certainly all about the
learning experience of the
workplace. The program allows
students to see what it would be like
in the workplace before they actually
get there. My classmates and I are all
sent out to a career of our choice for
one school semester. During this we
perform most of the duties of a
regular employee.
I chose farming. Life as a farmer is
all that I expected it to be. I have
many responsibilities, including
feeding and bedding the sheep,
cleaning pens and using the
machinery.
My supervisor is Andre
Schwering. He has taught me almost
everything I know about farming.
Farming isn’t just planting the seeds
and managing the animals; it’s an
honour. Farmers may not always
make a great profit off everything
they grow or raise, but they are
certainly important in this world.
When you think of it, a farmer is
responsible for a great number of
people.
Most of our food comes from
farms. It takes a lot of hard work and
management.
A farmer’s day starts bright and
early. On the sheep farm where I’m
co-oping, we start each day at 5 a.m.
to milk the sheep, then they need
their bedding and feed done so they
are comfortable and stay healthy.
Their feed is a well-balanced ration
of haylage, corn silage and pellets.
Sheep milk from the farm is
shipped to Tavistock to a cheese
factory, where it is then made from
milk that is seven per cent fat and 5.3
per cent protein, into cheese and
yogurt.
Without farmers you wouldn’t
have this healthy snack. It takes a
hard-working person to get up every
morning and manage a farm so that
you are able to have fresh food on
your table. I am looking forward to
continuing to learn about farming.
Congratulations
Scott McLellan
Scott graduated from
Conestoga College with
distinction in the Computer
Programmer/Analyst course.
He is employed with Lone Wolf
Real Estate Tech as a
Programmer/Developer in
Cambridge. We are so proud of
you. Mom, Al, Stacy and
Grandma Mole
Co-op student learns value of farming
By Geri Kamenz, President,
Ontario Federation of
Agriculture
Because the ability to produce
food efficiently is so important to
Ontario farmers, securing the best
possible deal for electricity is
critical – not just for the farmers of
the province, but for the consumers
depending on a safe and healthy
food supply.
Electricity is a key ingredient in
the production, processing and
preservation of food in Ontario,
making it an essential part of the
food chain. The Ontario Federation
of Agriculture has long recognized
how valuable a safe and secure
source of electricity is at all stages
of the food industry.
That's why OFA has developed a
farm policy for electricity. That's
also why OFA is continually
pushing the provincial government
for improvements to the province's
power grid, for rates that will allow
Ontario farmers to be competitive
with neighbouring jurisdictions, and
for ways of ensuring on-farm
production of electricity has
equitable access to the grid.
Today's electric power industry in
Ontario is very different from that of
a few decades ago. In the past,
Ontario generated enough electricity
that it could export the surplus and
turn it into a profit. Now, with
demand growing everywhere, there's
an opportunity for Ontario to
generate revenue, but that can't
happen without an increased supply
of electricity.
We need to convince government,
the energy board and the power
authority to introduce innovative
changes to the electric power
industry.
It is obvious Ontario must
accelerate its debt retirement. OFA
believes the hydro debt needs to be
paid off in less than 25 years.
And at the same time Ontario
must focus on increased generation
capacity, major conservation efforts,
an improved delivery network and
innovative ways to encourage
private contribution to the grid.
Regretfully, OFA realizes rates
must be increased to more
realistically reflect the costs
involved in producing and delivery
electric power. Today, consumers
are paying 11 cents per kilowatt
hour, and we know that's not enough
to pay the interest on the old Hydro's
debt.
Realistically, hydro customers
need to be paying seven cents for the
power, four cents for delivery, up to
2.8 cents for debt retirement, half a
cent for market operations, and an
investment of half a cent per kwh to
ensure a new power supply will be
available for the future. That makes
a total of up to 14.8 cents per kwh to
pay past debts and ensure future
supplies the people of Ontario can
depend on for years.
OFA is calling for changes to the
rate structure for hydro that will
reflect peak and off-peak
consumption. We believe farmers,
Can’t decide what
to give for Christmas?
FOR A BOOK
A gift certificate lets the recipient choose
the book they want.
We have shelves of books to choose from.
Everything from books on trains to
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The Citizen
541 Turnberry St., Brussels
519-887-9114
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519-523-4792
OFA Commentary
Hydro policy needs changes
Continued on page 16