HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-10-27, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1999.
Walton parents
voice concerns
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
It was an opportunity for the par
ents of Walton Public School chil
dren to voice their opinions on
school closures and hear about the
new curriculum which is impacting
those schools. ‘
Geoff Williams, superintendent
of education and supervisor of the
central district of the Avon Mait
land District School Board attended
the Oct. 25 meeting to speak with
the 15 parents, school council
members, teacher and community
representative present.
Williams said that compressing
13 years of material into 12 will be
the most challenging for the board,
particularly with the Grade 7/8 cur
riculum.
Because material from higher
grades is being shifted downward,
senior public school students are
now having to deal with informa
tion previously taught in Grade 9.
This could lead to difficulties,
said Williams. As an example.
Grade 9 science is taught with the
aid of science labs. Elementary
schools do not have the facilities or
the flexibility to use specialized
science teachers at the elementary
level for the course.
This may be one advantage for
moving Grades 7 and 8 into high
school buildings, to make use of
facilities while still maintaining
elementary school teachers for
course work.
“It may be a matter to trading off
a specialized elementary science
teacher to cover a Grade 9 science
class while the Grade 9 physical
education teacher takes the Grade 8
class,” he said.
The suggestion to move these
senior students into a secondary
school building may also help to
make efficient use of space vacated
once OAC is eliminated. Some
schools could lose as much as 15
per cent oMhe enrolment with no
OAC.
Williams noted the obvious con
cern expressed by parents about
putting 11-year-olds in with senior
high school students. “There are
pluses and minuses to any school
setting.”
When discussing math literacy,
Williams said there has been a
tremendous change in how teachers
are expected to deliver the pro
gram. Children are expected to
explain how they came up with the
answer rather than just the result,
he said.
The need to approach math in a
different way first came to light
through the Grade 3 testing when
children were faced with a different
type of question.
Williams expressed some con
Main, UW’s mane man
On Friday, Nov. 5, CKNX radio
morning man, Phil Main will take it
all off! (His hair that is).
Join the students of F. E. Madill
high school, Wingham, while they
cheer Main on. He will be the mane
event on the stage all in the name
of charity. CKNX Radio will open
the phone lines every day from
Nov. 1 - 5 between 9 - 10 a.m. to
accept pledges. Donations can be
made at the Toronto Dominion
Banks in Wingham and Seaforth
and the Royal Bank in Clinton,
Goderich and Exeter.
cern about the abstract concepts of
math being brought down to the
Grade 7/8 level, an area once
reserved for high school.
Some children will be able to do
well because they are abstract
thinkers, he said, but he was con
cerned about children who were
already having difficulty dealing
with math at the current level.
One parent of children in the
affected age group stated her dis
pleasure, noting that her child was
already having problems. “How
will he be able to cope with more?”
Williams agreed that Grade 9 stu
dents this year will have a more
difficult time as they are the first to
be given the compacted curriculum.
“We have moved from the indi
vidual needs of the child to a rigor
ous curriculum,” he said. “We
don't know yet if this is develop
mentally appropriate.”
Considerable discussion was also
held with regards to apprenticeship
programs, difficulties experienced
by younger boys in the system and
parental involvement in reinforcing
lessons.
When the issue of finance arose,
the problem of purchasing curricu
lum- appropriate material, teacher
training, program selection, trans
portation and school closures came
into the discussion.
“The government gave us a large
grant two years ago to buy text
books, but there were none for the
new curriculum. The money had to
be spent then and now that books
are available, there is no money.”
There is also a lack of money to
teach all the teachers equally, the
new material. The board is relying
on teachers to volunteer to attend
training sessions.
After telling how the government
allots “envelopes” of funds for spe
cific purposes, Williams said it will
be a challenge to find the money to
provide the programs children will
need over the next 10 years.
He said that money used to pay
for unused student spaces could be
used for program purposes.
With this, he was asked directly
if Walton Public School will be
closed.
“Truthfully, I don’t know,” he
said. The list of facilities to be stud
ied will be announced at the Nov.
23 school board meeting and a final
closure list is to be ready in Febru
ary.
Asked if the boundaries for
schools would be changed with clo
sures, Williams said this was a real
possibility.
Delegations wishing to speak to
the subject are invited to request
time -
Anyone wishing a copy of the
time line for the accommodation
review process should check with
their local school.
Read
FAST
To FIRE!GO!
Smoke
can kill.
Never enter
a smoky
corridor
or stairway.
Always protect
yourself from
smoke.
BRUCE PACKERS EX:eter
COTTAGE T OMATOES
ROLLS
328 KG 1.3 0 KG
49 eq
LB.■ VV
RAISIN H EINZ
BRAN RASTAS
775 G 14 oz.
99 3/ QA
IW v
NEILSON'S REI3 OR WHITE U.S.A.
CHOCOLATE
MILK
1L ■89 iape-k/^/^
uit !>/QQ
BONELESS FROZEN KRAFT SINGLES
CHICKEN 4 >99 CFIEESE
BREASTS a SL.ICES ' **
6.59 KG ■■■ LB. 50C
Specials in effect from Wednesday, October 27 - Friday, October 29, 1999
CORRIE’S
23 Huron Street
Clinton, Ontario
STORE HOURS
SAT. ...............8:30 AM - 6 PM
SUN....................12 PM - 5 PM
MON.-FRI.......8:30 AM - 9 PM