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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-04-22, Page 5Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - Page A5 Students document 100 years of education at Victoria award -micas_ signal -star staff Students at Victoria Public School are looking back to the past as the school nears 100 years of education in the town of God- erich. "Our Grade 8s are doing a his- tory project," said principal Alice McDowell. "We are planning an event to commemmorate the fact that Victoria will be closing in the spring and it will be 99 years old." Each student is busy research- ing a different decade of the school's past. Two of those stu- dents, Courtney Blok and Lauren Phillips -Grande, said the class is busy going to the library, digging through old newspapers, records and anything that might give them more historical perspective on the school's history. But it's -not always easy, they agreed. "There's like nothing," said Blok about her decade - 1909-1919. "I found an article about the school opening and nothing else." "It is hard," said Phillips - Grande, "We have some of the oldest decades... You can't go too far back on the Internet." However, it doesn't keep the girls from digging around in mi- crofiche for more information. Phillips -Grande has recently had a bit more luck with her as- signment - 1919-1929. "I found some old pictures from my decade," she said. "They used to have a greenhouse at the school." Blok said she was surprised to see that Victoria's first Kindergar- ten class was 150 students. Now, she said, there are 28. In addition to pictures and news- papers, students have been look- ing through the school's vaults and found, among other things, the precursor to modern-day de- tention. "There's an old strap in there," said Phillips -Grande. Other items include old school records and photographs. "It's very interesting to open that and see all the information," said Blok. Whatever gaps remain in the students' research, they hope the public will help fill. "We need lots of help," said Phillips -Grande. "On just about everything." Anyone with photographs, ar- ticles or just stories to share about the history of Victoria Public School is asked to share them with the Grade 8 research team. "They're looking for anyone in the community or area who would have information, who may have attended the school, or have mem- orabilia," said McDowell. "Bring it into the school so we can scan it .1 Anyone with information is asked to bring it in to Victoria between 2-3 p.m. McDowell said they can scan it on the spot if peo- ple don't want to leave their old photographs at the school. When all the research is com- pleted, the Grade 8 class will cre- ate a DVD presentation to share with the public at a special open - house May 30. "It seemed a natural way to do the project," said McDowell. "On the 30th, we're inviting everyone to come and share their stories... basically celebrate the fact that Victoria has been a great school and has a long history in Goder- ich." The open - house runs from 1-4 p.m. with the video at 3:30. Anyone who would like to con- tribute can 'contact the school at 519- 524-8306. Financial fair helps Volvo employees prepare for future From ROSS, Page A3 life and that includes whether you will retire now or get another job and you guys are the ones that are skilled." Admonishing the group to ensure that the financial planning process includes the spouse or significant other, the Dai- lys suggested through their experience that married couples often have differ- ent financial goals and different per- spectives on investing. Planning togeth- er, they agreed, was an important step in the process to secure financial stability. Other key elements in the process in- cluded gathering information on invest- ment products available, determining the tax implications of severance pay- ments, understanding the workings of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and de- termining the level of income required to cover living costs and the wants of retirement. The development of an effective re- tirement plan calls for specifics such as dates, sources of income, training alter- natives and transition times. Once retirement planning is thought- fully laid out, Daily said the time comes "to just do it." "A key step is implementation of the plan and you don't want to get stuck af- ter planning," he said. "You have to make sure to make appointments and make decisions. You can't get paralyzed." Every plan requires monitoring and adjustments and financial plans should not become a document for life. Finan- cial plans are made with some assump- tions on rates of return and investment products and the Dailys advocated look- ing at the plan and its efficacy every three to four months. • The job becomes much simpler if there is a partnership with the right financial planner or advisor, they claim, adding that the uncertainty of the market and its future direction, makes the selection of competent planner critical. The stock market is in the middle of a 17 -year cycle of ups and downs, Ross said, advising Volvo employees to be wary of their risk tolerance `with sever- ance money. "You can't afford to lose this so never take on more risk than you have to," he advised. "You have to rely on instinct, you have to know how your partner feels and you have to understand your needs relative to how much time you have and how much money you need." The manufacturing line of Volvo is schedule to close June 30. The financial air was just one of a series of seminars, workshops and training initiatives of- fered to Volvo employees over the past seven months. NEI _ MIN NMI _NEN INN _ OMNI __INN 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 CLEANING & INTERIOR DETAILING i AT 137 VICTORIA STREET • GODERICH IN THE SHELL GAS BAR BAY WASH • WAX SHAMPOO 1 1 FLEET DISCOUNTS • SENIORS 10% DISCOUNT Gift Certificates Available 519 -524r-441941 ppr1► when that'. ecu ret But thl in nitlncomeyvu need. _x. ' defined -contribution" penton plans -those where employee and employer conUl tt ere Weettleds but not the amount the employee will receive at retirement -moats many workers don't know in advance how much their pensions will provide. Payouts from these plans are based on the; returns earned by investments, with the level of income known only when it's time to retire, 0 investments perform well, you could have more income than you expect; if they underperform you could be left short. Defined-contrlbudon plans are different from "defined -benefit" plans, which spell out in advance how much pensioners will receive, based on salary and length of service with an employer. Defined -benefit plans were once the norm in Canada, but they're being rapidly replaced by defined -contribution plans. Most new pension plans are of the defined -contribution type, and many existing defined -benefit plans are being converted. Companies like defined -contribution plans because responsibility is shifted from the business to its employees. Employers don't have to come up with money to pay fixed benefits when investments perform poorly, as is the case with defined -benefit plans. Instead, their major responsibility is meeting contribution obligations. That doesn't mean that members of defined -contribution plans have no control over their future. They can usually choose how money contributed to the plan will be invested. Participants are provided with tax-sheltered investment options, ranging from conservative to higher growth. Their contributions are pooled with those of other plan members and invested by professionals. But with higher expectations comes higher risk. Por example, those who choose a growth option that invests largely in equities could suffer if the stock market has a few down years immediately before retirement. Even defined -benefit plans have risks. Today, many of these plans are underfunded and could fail to meet obligations to employees. This can be because of poor investment returns or a company's inability to make contributions. How can you protect yourself from the possibility of less pension income than you'll need? The best strategy is to have other sources of retirement income. The logical choice for generating increased income is a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RASP). if you belong to a pension plan, your yearly RASP contribution room will be reduced by a "pension adjustment," but you may still be able to build considerable wealth before retirement., That will provide additional ittrme, D OSP rooms, 1 tins AAr syajj� y�- ssens plan. Although have to pay tta + f e t ,. 1 + 1 r�pl dG i$* ttfi$fltL writh ilYeStn tt$ atich as stocks eligibia N y' i have flu toCtesaettwith t potential +ut'yinge. 1 , ;*,4 dam* / • 9 /