HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-04-08, Page 12Page Al2 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Merry Rags
HELLO
SPRING...
HELLO
RGEOUS!
OPEN
GOOD FRIDAY
AND
EASTER SUNDAY
2 1/4 kms South
of Grand Bend
on Hwy. #21
519-238-2818
Open 7 Days a Week
APRIL 17TH -- 19TH
SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO'S LARGEST
THE 33 .':) LONDON SPRING'
HOME . GARDEN
• The New Design Centre
• Outdoor 1 iving At. Its Best
• Porky's Outdoor Grill.in; & Entertaining School
• Rona. Back -To -Basics Demos & Eco Centre
• Ask The Decorating / Design Experts
• From Camera to Desktop to
Living Room
• Cooking The Thcrmador
Induction Way
• Landscape Showcase 2009
Ste
Tommy Smythe
of HGTV'S
Sarah's House
ti<tt. tmr.cld\
1rril 18
plus ...
AP 1. 8 idea Stege
Gardening Stage
Fabulous Prizes
Shop the Green Thumb Marketplace
Spring Flower Show;
Fri. 12-9. Sat. 10.9.
$10.00, Seniors, '
'Under 12Fre;
•
www.Jondonhomeandgardenshow.corn
',s,
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WES1 ERN FAIR G ROIJN DS
Schedule change
My column last week revolved around the
decision of our local school boards to begin the
2009-2010 school year on September 1, before
Labour Day, which has historically been the of-
ficial end to the summer vacation season.
I received several calls and comments from par-
ents who told me that they did not know about the
changes to the' school year start date.
They also had not received anything home as
notification or as a survey to canvass their views
on the change. In checking the school web sites
where school newsletters are posted, I didn't find notice
of the change.
Parents shared with me that they had already made
plans, booked cottages/trailers to include the week before
Labour Day. One small business oWner has a high-school
student working for them this summer and had assumed
that the student would be available in the week before
Labour Day. Still another parent told me that their child
had accepted a babysitting job for the summer up to the
Labour Day weekend.
In a telephone interview with Avon Maitland District
School Board's Superintendent of Education, Pat Stanley,
she informed me that school principals were instructed in
February to gather opinion from their school councils on
how they felt about the proposed early start date.
The board itself put out a statement in February to put
the proposed change out there early to prepare parents and
communities for the early start date, but recognized as
early as December of last year that they were going to be
short instructional days.
An explanation for parents not knowing or not being
canvassed could be that either the school councils haven't
yet met to discuss this issue with parents, or that parents
missed a newsletter item informing them of the change.
"When the principals reported back to the board, the
responses from school council chairs were mixed," said
Stanley. "Some parents didn't like it at all, while others
were.OK with shaving a week off their plans."
•
comes as surprise
It's evident to me that the school board trustees
did have a variety of things to think about and
came down with the best possible decision at the
time, taking the sharing of bussing into consider-
ation and working together toward a decision.
If parents feel that they were not included in
consultations or invited to offer their opinion, the
place to go is back to the school council represen-
tative and their respective school principals.
Since last week I have also learned that the
Minister of Education gave boards three options
from which to choose from when making a decision on the
2009-2010 school start date.
One is the one chosen by our two school boards in which
students would start school on Sept. 1.
A second option, as selected by the Thames Valley
School Board and the Bluewater District School Board
was to stick with the more tradition start date of the Tues-
day after Labour Day, and have teachers come back for
two days prior to Labour Day.
A third option would have been to shave a day off the
start and end of the Christmas break.
Many boards are still struggling with their decision, but
it's clear that we'll have a patchwork quilt of decisions to
work around.
I felt last week as I do now, that the Minister could have
made things much easier for boards to create a more uni-
form school year start date across the province.
"The reality is the education minister could, with the
stroke of a pen, end the uncertainty, the anxiety," said
former education minister Elizabeth Witmer. "Tourism is
important for every part of our province, especially this
year. There should be some coordination and some uni-
formity."
In preparing initial column on this issue last week, our
own Town of Goderich Tourism Coordinator was not
available for comment.
However, in following- up with him he realizes that
while it may have been preferable to have some consis-
tency he's not worried about the change at all.
"We will be affected in staffing a bit, but
we're flexible enough that we can work around
this change," said Bob Marshall.
This year has shaped up to be one very
unusual one from many different perspec-
tives, and while the timing of this hiccup to
the school year calendar which occurs every
few years, it's just one other in a long line
of issues which if handled inclusively should
work itself out.
FINANCIAL WORKSHOP:
Using Fixed Interest Investments
to Meet Your Income Needs
This afternoon course is being offered to assist
individuals in setting financial and investment goals.
This class also will provide a summary of the most
common investments used by individuals in
reaching their objectives.
During this course, you will learn about: using
government and corporate bonds to provide both
income and diversification for your investment
portfolio.
Call 519-524-4873 to reserve a seat. Seating is
limited and will be handled on a first-come,
first-served basis.
Date: 04/14/2009
Time: 3:00 - 4:30 PM
Place: Thyme on 21, 80 Hamilton St. Goderich
Erin Roy; CFP
108 Court House Square
Goderich, ON N7A 1M7
519-524-4873
•
www.edward)ones.com Member CIPF
IlAwardJones
MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING
Photo by Denny Scott
Exposure '09
The Goderich Co-op Co op gallery opened
Exposure '09, a show and competi-
tion for local artists, on the week-
end. Shown is artist Susan Hay with
some of her entries.
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