Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1998-10-28, Page 1osl or Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 — Seaforth, Ontario Small size an advantage for SDHS Classes a minute shorter BY SCOTT HILGENDORFF Expositor Editor • The size of Seaforth District High School may have worked to its advantage for a change .as high schools across the school hoard have had to cancel classes. "There • arc some advantages to being a small, school.'* s.ivs principal Bruce Eccles. -. Since contracts have heen finalized with public school teachers. classes are being restructuring to accommodate changes tieing made in the aftermath of Bill 160. "We're changing .10 accommodate this new -contract,".says Eccles. • in some schools. it has meant more than'a month into the -school year. certain classes had to he cancelled leaying'students looking for other courses . or correspondence courses to get the courses they need. , Scaforth's small size and limited number of classes inade it easier • to. accommodate the changes. But while classes have not been cut this semester. students in some classes were faced With different teaches'at the front 'of the rooms. Lffccti ve Oct, -13. For example, Tcrri- Brintnell. teaches the co- operative education program now instead of a narentin,• class. Darlene Frketrich gives up a geography class to, take over the parenting and John Ball. gives up his co-operative education for the geography class. Three classes will he cancelled in the next semester: math 3A. science 2B and a co-operative education class. Fccles says the guidance t!:• lartment- is currently woresing on accommodating those students. At the same time, the .school is making other scheduling changes to end the -school day five minutes earlier. Home room has moved. from mid-morning to the first period and each class has •heen cut by one minute -from 76 minutes to 75. • Tne school year has been lengthened by- five days and this change ,accommodates the required number of -hours for classes. Busses run at the same time with students having .five extra •minutes for getting extra help of extracurricular activities with the school day starting foul- minutes earlier. Classes used to Start at 8:54 a.m. hut now start at 8:50 a.m. Lunch used to run from 11:36. a.m. to 12:33 p.m.. but now lasts from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.. "We just sort of tidied • up the day." say. Eccles. October 28, 1998 — $1.00 includes GST FOUR DECADES - Gordon and Ada Sports slides in popularity at high BY GREGOR CAMPBELL • Expositor Staff The shine seems to he oft the Golden Bears. as the popularity of sports,declines at Seatotth District High Schooi. ' The 'school has always had a limited program -because of its relatively' small size. say, physical education team leader Ian Hastic. a teacher at the school and .pasi president of the Huron -Perth Conference - But these days the sports program at the Seaforth high school is getting even more limited. Some teams have novo tolded and'thc future of others is up in the air. The recently resolvcd.labour dispute between secondary school teachers and the Avon -Maitland board of education meant sports was "slow getting- started" in all district. high schools this fall. says Hastic , That's only part of the problem; • "We don't have enough coaches and participation is down." he says. "We are not getting enough commitnlent from .the athletes.': Some. teams may have continued in the past. the SDHS team leader feels. only because of this commitment from Its better • athletes. A good example is the senior boys' basketball team two very :ennewies concentrates on co ouring a lac "lantern as early years students at Walton Public School began preparations for Halloween last week. Blanchard. CAMPBELL PHOTO Seaforth couple honoured by Children's Aid Foster parents for 40 years in Huron BY GREGOR CAMPBELL Expositor Staff They get a pile of cards at Christmas. But, its quieter around the Blanchards' house these days. The Seaforth couple has been foster parenting for 40 years, longer than anyone ever in Huron County. but only as holiday relief now. They haven't had any foster children on a permanent basis for the past six years. Last week was "Canadian Foster Parent Week" and the Blanchards, Gordon and Ada. were honoured Thursday evening at the Children's Aid Society of Huron County's volunteer foster parent appreciation night at Holtnesville. The society Blanchards' four county record service. They don't know how many children they have fostered iii that time. roughly 50. officially 25 of them full-time placements. Children's Aid records don't go back that far., Many of thesc kids were officially labeled "developmentally handicapped" .by the society before ending up on the Blanchards' doorstep. Gordon, 74 next month. and says the: decades is a for active •1 71, now live on Main s c li o o l Street South. They fanned near Winthrop in McKillop wears ago Those C>'olden Bears were so short of bench Township before moving to 983 strength sometimes that -when players touted out the team had Seaforth i TO to play short,handed for the remainder of the game. 'HARD the HANDLE' But that 'basketball squad made it through the season. and "We liked rdon 'hard to won its shard of games, because the coach was willing to put handle' waons lots for them sato do up with the lack of depth. and loved -the sport as much as his There was n for is of .committed players: on the farm, and often lots of COMMITMENT GONE kids too. The Blanchards have • But that volunteer coach from outsidc•the school. Paul three.childrenof .tthehem. own, Menary. has -left' because of new responsibilities at Seaforth and counting .ere 1 one Public School: •Those 'senior players have also .11()%v summeroshare were 13 under graduated ' foot at thg farmstead. And whether Seaforth high school even has- a senior boy's • The Blanchards were used to it. Gordon comes from basketball team this year is "one of those T questions that family of five children. and remains up in thc.au. • • Ada a family of seven. Other coaches and athletes have also gone. • Some of their foster children The tennis teams at the school.have alrcady-liilded because- were short-term. and others there wasn't enough participation. Hasue Says.' • long-term. anywhere from Boys volleyball is also gone.•Cross country is in dire straits. ages three through 17. Only seveh runner, showed any interest at all. • Nine years whs the longest The number of girls willing to, participate in basketball at any stayed. SDHS thisfall is down by half. ••"We're still 'Mom and Dad' The school has junior and senior girls basketball, but nom him," Ada says. midget this season. with teams playing a shortened five -game They remain "parents" to schedule because of their late start. with two of these on their more than 14 former foster hnmr r nhiri children. Hastic says he doesn'tknow where the commitment has gone. and perhaps kids are just interested in doing different "Often it depends on their situation when they came in," things these days. "We don't have that commitment right now•," he says. she adds. "whether they stay in Jen DelVecchio. 'president of the SONS athletic council, contact." says there wasn't a teacher to coach boys volleyball and One of their former foster would-be players didn't show'a lot of.interest, so student children now has foster kids of 'Everett Smith started a noon -hour house league for those who her own. still wanted to participate. Both Blanchards say they JOBS/OTHER SPORTS applied- to adopt before first She says not enough girls showed an interest in midget girls Betting into foster parenting in basketball. but this is cyclical. DelVecchio.who is now in.the late 1950s, and then they t. Grade. 11. says when .she played- in Grade 9 there were only just ey t'aeallyi enjoy it" and eight players. Last year there were 18. This year interest is „ down again, so the midget and junior girls teams combined. like working with kids." It depends on the grade that comes in. she says. All three Both describe themselves as Gordon says. NO HAVE, NO MISS Both Blanchards were children of the Depression. Times and kids have both changed, they say. "When we started you could describe them as 'hungr Bitty urchins' and for most of them you could probably put all the toys and clothes they owned into a six -quart basket." Ada -sans. "When you get to the point when you love things and use people, you're in trouble." ' Gordon Blanchard "Not today though.omc have got more stuff than what , we've got." "More come from 'troubled• homes'". "You don't miss what you don't have." Gordon adds. "Morc of them have got a bigger chip on their, shoulder today. ' He feels this is because ';thee 'are the children' of the 'Flower Children- of the '60s." ' "Neighbourliness was 'more , •pronounced." in the dirty -'30s. He doesn't agree with some of the trehds he sees in sociciv today. such as parents can't hit and you can't hug. This makes foster parenting harder. • • Some things still remain the same -though. , , "You've got to he careful.'• Ada says.."Sometimes you have to change them. always without running down their circumstances when they came in." • "Some foster parents get• a bad rap." Gordon says. "There are three words you can always use to describe it - diplomacy. diplomacy and diplomacy." DO WHAT YOU CAN The hardest part of. foster parenting for 40 years'' "Teaching kids who arc 12 and 14 what they should -have been taught when they were five and si x -years -old." says Ada. The best part'' "To see • them making something out of themselves." Ada says. "The changes you can shake. in time. on them. You can make I.difference. "Watching their characters grow up to become stable citizens." "You can't- become too attached to them." she says. "and you've got to he ready to let them go." "You do what you can while you have them," Gordon says. These days the Blanchards have more time than they are used to on their hands. •Ada enjoys quilting, and Gordon stays busy with all manner of little chores. for instance sharpening saws and repair work in his well-equipped , shop behind their house, Time, or lack of it, is the members of this year's athletic council executive arc in Grade Christians and are regular reason many people say they dant want to get involved 11 (Steele Wick and Jill Houston arc the other two) and church -goers, as were all their , children, foster and otherwise. these days. newcomers at it, -but this year's Grade lOs don't appear as At an older age they "That's an excuse not a sports-ntinded she says._ g gave ason, re" Gordon sa s . Commitment is difficult for a lot of older students who now their foster children the option y • of attending. "We all find time for what have after-school jobs, she adds, and play other sports Dirt of "If you get to the point when school, such as hockey or ringeue. we want to do. You're missing a lot in life if that's your you love things and use "It's not fair to our employers to take time off for school people, you're in trouble," attitude." sports too." DelVecchio says. Wallace honoured with Huron F of A annual award The premier award at this year's Huron County Federation of Agriculture's annual dinner at Holmesville Friday night went to a Seaforth-area man. Past president Bill Wallace of RR 4 Seaforth won the Huron County annual award for outstanding contributions to agriculture and the community. Wallace and his wife Rowena are partners at Rowill Holsteins at RR 4 Seaforth, encompassing 150 acres with 50 milking Jerseys. Among his many accomplishments, Wallace is a director and member of the mimagement team at Quality kraey Products in Seaforth. a direct r of the Hensall District Co-op. a director of the Seaforth Afir cultural Society. it was through his initiative, beginning in 1996, that the local federation of agriculture became involved in the Huron County Economic Impact Study. in partnership with the University of Guelph, where he originally graduated with a BSc, and from 1987 to 89 in advanced agricultural leadership. Wallace has also been involved with the Seaforth Farmers Co-op since 1977, at various times as director, secretary, vice- president and president. Pat Down of RR 1 Hensall was named the new president of the Huron F of A at Friday's annual meeting. Past president is Henry Boot of RR 4 Clinton, first vice-president is Charles Regale of RR 1 Dublin and second v -p is now Neil Vincent of RR 3 Windham. • • •