The Citizen, 2005-02-03, Page 23At the Branch
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005. PAGE 23.
Only 10 turn out to Legion meeting
By Jo-Ann McDonald
The Brussels Legion general
meeting was held Tuesday evening
with only 10 people attending.
The regular business was dealt
with as well as extended discussions
on promoting the Legion for more
attendance and ways to improve the
financial position. Memberships are
down with quite a number being late
in paying their 2005 dues.
A newsletter is in the mail to all
Group of St. Mike students
learn in new environment
By Stewart Slater
Special to The Citizen
In February, a small group of
struggling students from St. Michael
Catholic Secondary School in
Stratford will begin attending
classes in an entirely different
environment — perhaps even the
back of a store in the Festival City’s
downtown core.
And later in the semester,
depending on how the Stratford
program works and how much it
costs, a similar plan could be
implemented for Clinton’s St.
Anne’s Catholic high school.
“These are . . . not special needs
students, but they’ve fallen through
the cracks in some other way,”
explained Dan Parr, At-Risk
program lead for the Huron-
Perth Catholic District School
Challenges face HPCDSB
By Stewart Slater
Special to The Citizen
The Huron-Perth Catholic District
School Board has “some challenges
ahead,” states education
superintendent Martha Dutrizac, as
it works to reverse a decreasing level
of success in provincially
standardized Grade 9 math tests.
At a regular meeting Monday, Jan.
24, Dutrizac delivered a report about
results from the board’s two
secondary schools in tests
administered last spring by the
Education Quality and
Accountability Office (EQAO).
“We definitely experienced a
notable decrease,” she said.
Showing graphs comparing results
province-wide and in the Huron-
Perth board, over the past four years,
Dutrizac explained the success rates
among students from St. Anne’s in
Clinton and St. Michael in Stratford
gradually increased from 2000 until
2003. The board’s success rates also
remained slightly above the
province-wide average during those
Comrades explaining the Branch
position and options that are being
looked at. Consider joining in on
one of the many committees as well
as attending the next general
meeting to vote.
Comrade Shirley Taylor is a
patient in Walkerton hospital at this
time.
Thursday night darts had 14
darters take aim at the boards. The
first-place team was Marlene Little
Board.
The initiative is a pilot project,
brought about by an offer from the
provincial government to supply
additional grants to any board which
created a suitable program aimed at
keeping potential drop-outs,
between the ages of 16 and 18, in
school.
In early January, a proposal
submitted by Parr received approval
from the Education ministry, which
committed $125,000 to the project.
Describing the pilot as “an
alternative-site, highly-
individualized school program,”
Parr told trustees at a meeting on
Monday, Jan. 24 that “larger, more
urban boards have economics of
scale to make such projects
feasible.”
Now, he said, with the approval of
the grant, it has become possible in
same years.
In 2004, however, the board
results in both Academic and
Applied streams slipped below the
previous year’s levels, and also
below the Ontario average. St.
Michael results were particularly
low, with St. Anne’s students
generally remaining close to their
provincial counterparts.
In the Academic stream, 57 per
cent of Huron-Perth Grade 9s scored
at or above the provincial standard,
compared to 65 per cent throughout
Ontario.
In the Applied stream, 22 per cent
achieved scores at or above the
standard, compared with 25 per cent
province-wide.
Applied-level results have
generally been quite low across the
province, since the EQAO tests were
introduced — leading both to
alterations to the test and
suggestions the process should be
totally revamped. Dutrizac agreed,
suggesting the Huron-Perth board’s
Applied-level results are, at least in
part, symptomatic of a wider
problem.
^OPENHOUSE
O ANTJE
ry VERBURG
\ A Celebrating her
If
/ SY Birthday
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
/|O) REFORMED CHURCH
I Inr Saturday,
uPj February 12, 2005V / Time: 2:00-4:00 p.m.
V I Best Wishes only
and Tim Harrison. In second place
were Harry Smith and Sandra
Josling. The high shot was by Tim
Harrison with 121 and high start was
by Harry Smith with 107.
New darters are always welcome.
The Friday night supper of ham
and scalloped potatoes had a great
crowd attend. This week is
Shepherd's pie. Saturday is the
branch fish fry.
There were 18 tables of euchre
Huron-Perth.
Part of the criteria during the
application process for the grant was
that the proposal must be repeatable
in other similar school boards.
With just nine per cent of the
board’s students leaving school
before graduating, the Huron-Perth
drop-out rate is well below the
provincial average of 24 per cent.
Parr, however, stressed “nine per
cent is still something we’d like to
work on to improve.”
Asked about the possible number
of students in the initial phase of the
pilot project, Parr suggested there
would only be about four or five.
The students would work on a one-
on-one basis, away from the
traditional school setting, on
completing high school credits as
well as preparing for a transition to
the labour force.
She admitted, however, that last
spring’s Academic-level results are
cause for concern. She said the
board will use the results as “an
opportunity to look at what we’re
doing in our schools.”
One suggestion the superintendent
made was addressing the teaching of
math in the years leading up to
Grade 9.
“We’re always aware of the
generalist teachers in the
intermediate level who are not
always focussed, in their approach,
on an area of expertise such as
mathematics,’’.Dutrizac said.
As has been the case in previous
years, last spring’s Grade 9 EQAO
Math results for the Avon Maitland
District School Board were well
above the provincial average in both
Academic and Applied streams.
ctwHlMG
Happy 65th
Poppa
(Mac Brooks)
V Colton, Kelsey &
Connor
Also Grams and our
dads & moms
Hope U catch a
BIG ONE in Florida!
players. Winners were Jim and Mac
Smith with 77 points. Close behind
with 76 points were Len and Betty
Archambault. Also with 76 points
were Charlie and Millie Johnston, so
second and third-place prize money
was split.
The not-so-lucky card players
were Jeanne Ireland and F.lunid
McNair. The lone-hand winners
were Lillian Appleby and Tom
Sloan.
Euchre is every two weeks.
Good Golly,
Miss Dolly is 2!
Jtappy, fBvMday,
Feb. 2, 2005
Love Mommy, Daddy,
William & Wyatt
xoxoxoxoxo
THE
INN i
422 Queen St., Blyth, ON 523-9381
Upcoming Events
We will be open on Monday, February 7
from 11 am - 11 pm
when the Rankin Sisters are performing
at the Blyth Memorial Hall.
Tues.Wed.Thurs.Fri.Sat.Sun.
1
2 Fori
Fish &
Chips
2
Kids
Eat Free
3
Wing Nile
4 FUTURE
TEQ TODAY
Karaoke
Contest
5 High
Diving Act
Crib Toumamtnt
1 pm
6
Roast Reef
Dinner
$10.95
8
2 For 1
Fish &
Chips
9
Kids
Eat Free
10
Wing Nile
11FUTURE
TEQ TODAY
Karaoke
Contest
12Michael
Keith
Jazz Hand
13 „ ,
Roast Beef
Dinner
$10.95
FUTURE TEQ TODAY Karaoke
Contest Semi Finals begins this
Friday The top 4 contestants
will represent the Blyth Inn
Inc. at the finals in London for
a chance to win cash.
We will be open on Monday, February 14 from 11 am - 11 pm
for Valentine's Day. Make your reservations early.
Menu will be available Fri., Sat., Sun. 4 Mon.
Call for details. Menu will be announced in next week's paper.
BANQUET FACILITIES & HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS AVAILABLE
A crowd of 80 people enjoyed the
music of Country Ways on Sunday
evening. Dancing is every two
weeks.
We still collect pop tabs and have
walkers, canes and wheelchairs to
loan. Items must be returned when
the need is over so they can help
someone else.
• te •• ••
T?9/ AM/ AM/ AM/ Th
Z Wad 60 x
ft 4 OfM i
(Pete Albers)
k on February 1
From Lanie, Ann Marie & Paul,
o Marlene & Dean,
| Patricia & Chris,
*
s5
J JC Pete & Leisa, Paul
w and your 7 grandchildren &