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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2001-01-31, Page 16You are invited to Worship at Brussels Mennonite 9:30 a.m. Worship Service 10:45 a.m. Christian Education Everyone Welcome Interim Pastor Art Byer n 1 887-6388 IF' • J. THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA You cue welcome thb, Sw TRINITY, BLYTH ST. JOHN'S, 9:30 A.M. BRUSSELS WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE 11:15 A.M. HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH Auburn - 526-7555 PASTOR DAVE WOOD - 523-9017 Sunday 9:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday 7:30 p.m. Friday 7:30 p.m. - Family Bible Hour • Morning Worship Service - Evening Worship Service - Family Night • Youth MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service Wheelchair accessible Nursery care available We welcome you to come and worship with us. Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 887-9831 BLYTH UNITED CHURCH Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street Come Worship The Lord With Us Sundays - 11:00 a.m. Worship Service & Sunday School Feb. 4 - "Sold Out in Body and Spirit" Feb. 6 - 7:30 p.m. Congregational ANNUAL MEETING Minister - Rev. Ernest Dow ALL ARE WELCOME 523-4224 Cornerstone Bible Fellowship Ethel Communion - 9:45 - 10:30 Family Bible Hour and Sunday School - 11:00 - 12:00 Prayer & Bible Study - Tuesday 8 p.m. Adventure Club for children ages 4-12 Third Friday of each month - 7:15 - 9:00 p.m. Ladies' Time Out - Last Thursday- of each month - 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Guest speakers, special music & interesting features. All ladies invited. John 14:6 - Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, no one comes to the Father, but through Me." Everyone Welcome For more information call 887-6665 You are Welcome at the BLYTH COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GOD 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School - for ages 3 to adult 11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship Bible Studies - Wednesday morning 10 a.m. Wednesday evening 7:30 p.m. Phone 523-4590 308 Blyth Rd., Blyth glea6e iain ma (04 wood tip thia Sunday Morning Worship Service - 10 a.m. Evening Worship Service 7:30 p.m. "To you, 0 Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I,trust, 0 my God." — Psalm 25:1 & 2a BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Rev. Adrian A. Van Geest zt, Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233 Wheelchair accessible BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Joan Golden - Diaconal Student Minister Church Office 887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wcl.on.ca Ethel United Church 9:30 am Worship Service & Sunday School Brussels United Church 11:00 am Worship Service & Sunday School AU are welcome to come and worship with us. 'PAGi'16. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2001. Separate school board looks at expulsion By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Though board officials say no one has ever been expelled from the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board, a committee will begin discussing policies on expul- sion and other disciplinary measures when it begins meeting at the end of January. A government-produced document entitled "Ontario Schools: Code of Conduct," 'came into effect in September, 2000, providing guide- lines for boards when implementing what are being called "standards of behaviour." In the past, Huron-Perth officials have said the board's current codes of conduct will meet newly-stated provincial requirements. But at the board's regular meeting Jan. 22, Superintendent of Education Ray Contois informed trustees about the formation of a committee to tackle issues such as suspension and expul- sion. "In the past, we may have had By Stew Sliter Special to The Citizen The two publicly-funded school boards in Huron and Perth Counties will join forces to apply for an inter- est-free loan to purchase specially- designed computer software for coordinating school bus routes. But they just aren't sure if they'll send in the application sooner or later. According to Gaetan Blanchette, director of education for the Huron- Perth Catholic District School Board, the deadline for applying to the provincial government for tire. loan is Jan. 31. But at a regular meeting of the board Monday, Jan. 22, Blanchette told trustees that it's "likely" that the board will, instead, send a letter to the education ministry asking for an extension on the appli- cation period. Blanchette said officials of Huron- Perth and its "coterminous board," the Avon Maitland District School Board, have met to discuss the soft- ware options being made available through the government's loan pro- gram. He explained the boards have found the process time-consuming and difficult. He added officials would like to wait until the 9-1-1 emergency rural address system is fully implemented and running smoothly in Huron County before purchasing a software program. However, he suggested such tech- nology could be beneficial if it can save time for those planning school bus routes, point to further possibili- ties for cross-board cooperation, or highlight inefficiencies in the route schedules. Trustees weren't so complimenta- ry. Board chair Ron Marcy wondered if the software would just replace the work now being done by people. He also criticized the government for only providing a loan instead of a grant for the technology. Management chair Mike Millar, who presented a report on the soft- ware at the Jan. 22 meeting, called it "an expensive acquisition. And, as we all know with computers and technology, it's going to only be a short while before we'll have to pur- chase again." A proposal for one of the ministry- approved software packages, received Dec. 15, 2000 from the Toronto and Virginia-based MicroAnalytics company, outlines costs of $11,875 for each board. This does not include further costs for some leeway in how we dealt with some situations," Contois said in an interview following the meeting. "We don't know if this will change yet, because those sections of the (Safe Schools) Act haven't come into force yet. But we have to establish how we'll deal with certain situa- tions before that happens." The Safe Schools Act was actually passed in June, 2000, but the govern- ment has only implemented small portions so far. And it appears the legislation will continue to come into effect incrementally. "(The education ministry) started out last year with the singing of the national anthem and the reciting of the pledge," Contois explained. "Then, with things like teachers hav- ing the right to suspend students, they had talked about that happening in the fall. Well, it didn't happen." Contois and staff co-ordinator Dennis Mackey, along with newly- elected education chair Mary- Catherine McKeon, attended a min- istry-sponsored information session recently in London, and learned training and the gathering of map data, which are approximately $7,000 and $2,000, respectively. Millar also suggested such soft- ware doesn't always take local reali- ties into account. He illustrated his argument by pointing out the trans- portation-related sections of a recent document prepared by the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association. "Each Catholic board must retain the,authority to determine and imple- ment its own transportation policy," states one of the recommendations in the document, entitled "A Brief to the Minister of Education, Ontario, re: Education Funding." "Each Catholic board must retain the authority to determine and imple- ment local service standards, includ- ing walking distances, time on the bus, pick-up and drop-off times, as well as safety standards and adminis- trative procedures," continues the report, which was included as infor- mation for trustees. When asked, following the meet- ing, if the purchase is being consid- ered solely to ensure the boards about the coming requirements with respect to the legislation. This winter, boards are expected to finalize their "standards of behav- iour." And indications are that, by next fall, sections of the bill dealing with suspension and expulsion will be in place. Hence the committee, which is scheduled to meet for the first time Jan. 30. Though not all members have been confirmed, Contois detailed the type of representation the committee is expected to include: one trustee (McKeon, who received support from fellow trustees at the Jan. 22 meeting), two administration staff members, two. principals (one sec- ondary and one elementary), school council representatives, a police offi- cial, and a representative from a Children's Aid Society. In addition, he said, board officials have already met with colleagues in the Avon Maitland District School Board to discuss the need for certain common policies. As an.example of such areas of common concern, remain in line for as much govern- ment funding as possible for trans- portation, Blanchette maintained there are more practical reasons for the softWare. However, a report prepared for the meeting by superintendent of busi- ness Gerry Thuss, who was absent due to illness, indicates the boards are being pressured to consider the software. "A new transportation funding model will be developed using trans- portation management software," states background information in the report. "The funding will be based on coterminous boards planning trans- portation cooperatively through the use of computer software." Blanchette says the MircoAnalytics proposal, as well as those from other companies, will be fully examined before a decision is made. And, in spite of the criticism, he remains hopeful the software will be beneficial when it does arrive. "Hopefully some of this technolo- gy will be helpful in this area. Time will tell." Contois cited the protocol under which police or social service agen- cies would be asked for involvement. In response to questioning from trustee Vincent McInnes, the super- intendent of education referred to information from the recent min- istry-sponsored sessibn to explain the alternative arrangements which might be put in place for expelled students. He said classroom space would not be provided on board property for the expelled student to take courses, but curriculum would be made available and an instructor would, potentially, be hired. Ideally, he added, school work — mainly core subjects like math and English — would take up 40 per cent of the student's supervised time, while other social services, such as counselling, would take up 60 per cent of the time. Contois was quick to add, howev- er, that no changes will be made until the government implements the appropriate portions of the Safe Schools Act. "At this time, we will still be oper- ating the way we normally have with suspensions and so on, until we can get something in place," he told trustees. School bds. apply for loan