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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1996-04-17, Page 25COM IINITY Welcome to Canada Four students from China are welcomed as the first to be enrolled in an English-as-a- Second-Lanuage program at Centralia International Academy on Monday. At left, College President Lauren Sorichetti, Xu Jiang Ning (Richard), Yuan Yi He (Sarah), Sonl Yinl (Amy), Liu Yan (Lou) and Bob Swartman, special assistant to Huron -Bruce MP, Paul Steckle. Your Views Letters to the editor Separate school board has right to be different The rights of Roman Catholics to gov- ern_ their own separate school system in Ontario was guaranteed at Confederation Dear Editor: Over the past few weeks a few of the towns and townships in Huron and Perth counties have passed resolutions calling on the Ontario government to re- move the traditional rights of Roman Catholics to govern their own school system, as a means of re- ducing costs. This has been followed by the launch- ing of a campaign by the Huron County Board of Education to petition riding MLA Helen Johns and the Ontario government to create "a single publicly funded school system" in Huron County. Presuma- bly this action by the Huron County Board of Edu- cation has been undertaken in order to save money, and not solely for the purpose of taking away the aforementioned traditional rights of Roman Catho- tics it it tjucatiogtofil R t 1 v., In ,fin .ort to have'members of the public more knowlcTgeahle about this issue, and to separate fact from myth, please allow us to offer the following in- formation: I. The right of Roman Catholics to govern their own separate school systems in Ontario was guaran- teed at Confederation. This was part of the constitu- tional compromise necessary to create our country m 1867. Our ancestors made great personal sacrific- es to obtain and preserve this right. As a result, the constitutional guarantee continues today. 2. The Report of the Ontario School Board Reduc- tion Task Force indicated that the Huron -Perth County R.C.S.S. Board is a viable entity, and that it should be left as it is. Dividing, this school board along county lines would do nothing to enhance the education of Ronian Catholic children. 3. The separate school trustees and the separate school ratepayers in Huron and Perth counties made their wishes known to the Task Force: they stated clearly that they wanted their school board retained as it is, and that they did not wish it to be amalga- mated with any other school board. The campaign by the Huron County Board of Education to create "a single publicly funded school system" in Huron County is being undertaken in direct opposition to the clearly expressed wishes of the Catholic com- munity. 4. The overwhelming body of research surround- ing the issue of. school board size clearly demon- strates that increasing the size of school boards (e.g., merging systems, creating confederated boards, etc.) produces no cost savings. As well, it often results in a significant reduction in student achievement. 5. According to Ministry of Education and Train- ing statistics, the average separate school board spends $932 less per pupil than does the average public school board in Ontario. Locally, the Huron - Perth County R.C.S.S. Board spends $692 less per pupil than the Perth County Board of Education and $856 less per pupil than the Huron County Board of Euducation. How would the creation of "a single publicly funded school system" benefit separate school ratepayers or students? Does anyone actually believe that a public school board would reduce its spending level to match the separate school board? Or would the merging of services serve to reduce the cost of the public school board's operation be off-loading some of their expenditures onto the sep- arate school ratepayers? 6. The suggestion that "a single publicly funded school system" for Huron county could provide for all sectors and protect the language and religious ri tats, of i parties c es of ImIet Il _ denm u lying religiously -based (separate school) education. While the Catholic school system does not pretend, to be unaffected by our secular society, it continues to present a distinctive view of the origin, dignity' and destiny of human life. The Catholic community" believes that this distinctive approach to education would be compromised within the context of "a sin- gle publicly funded school system" where financial and administrative control could be in the hands of people who do not support or even oppose the vi- sion of education. Our faith permeates all parts of our system's operation, including the business and support services. Education is facing some of the most significant challenges in the history of this province. The mem- bers of those Councils who have taken it upon them- selves to meddle in the affairs of school boards would better serve the ratepayers who elected them by concentrating on providing the services for which they have authority in a high quality and fis- cally responsible manner. As well, perhaps the Hu- ron County Board of Education would be better to agree to respect the separate school board's right to be different, and to focus its energy on meeting the needs of its own students and ratepayers. In this way, the two boards could enter into voluntary co- operative partnerships based on a spirit of mutual re- spect and good will as the Huron -Perth County R.C.S.S. Board and the Perth County Board of Edu- cation do at the present time. Yours sincerely, Mike Miller, Chairperson of the Board James S. Brown, M.A., Ed. D., Director of Educa- tion- Cooperation i,s needed "Instead of forcing a wedge be- tween groups, we should be look- ing ooking for common ground and con- ; tinue our cooperation." Dear Editor: It' was with a great deal of interest and concern that I recently read the letters of Paul Carroll ad- dreSsed to all staff members of the Huron Public Education System and to the Editor re: the forma- tion of one Huron County Board of Education. I was encouraged by the fact that he acknowledg- es ttiat reform in educational finance is necessary and would benefit Huron County students. The Sweeney report states that financial funding is need- ed for the rest of the reform recommendations to be successful. >I}ecause both the Huron Public and Hu- ron -Perth Separate School Boards are rural based, this Should be a prime concern for both School Boards. Mr. Carroll disagrees with the proposal of amal- gamation with the Perth County Board of Educa- tion. We in the Huron -Perth Separate School Board have been working with this for over 25 years. The Huron -Perth Separate School Board already works closely with both the Huron and Perth county boards to reduce costs by combining services. What Mr. Carroll suggests is just another layer of Administration that could slow the process of change and adaptation to the constant demands of the Ministry of Education. "Collective agreements and approaches to labour relations are just two of the significant differences between counties. Sala- ries, benefits, access to vacation and(other working conditions also differ." His words may be valid when comparing the Huron and Perth Boards but are just as valid when comparing the Public and Separate School Boards of Huron County. To solve a problem, Mr. Carroll attacks the consti- tutional rights of the Roman Catholics. Instead of joining forces with not only the Huron -Perth County Separate School Board, but with all small or rural underfunded boards and demanding reform of edu- cational financing, a Sweeney recommendation that he himself admits is the most important, he tries to drive a blunt wedge between us. If he attacks one group's Constitutional rights now, what other minority group may he target next to solve a problem. Instead of forcing a wedge be- tween groups, we should be looking for common ground and continue our cooperation. Terry Wilhelm, President, Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association Huron -Perth Elentetttmr Teachers Times -Advocate, April 17,1996 40.-41100 Cromarty women host coffee hour The group enjoyed a speaker from the Aus- able Bayfield Authority. Roberta Templeman Sto o correspondent STAI*A - The Marian Ritchie W.M.S. of Cromarty Presbyterian Church held their annual potluck dinner and service on Good Friday with over 25 women sitting down to u bountiful lunch. Following the meal, a very meaningful service was held with Jean Carey leading in the worship service entitled 'Dazed, Amazed and Praising'. She was assisted by several members of the Marian Ritchie W.M.S. Follow- ing the worship service, Alice Gar- diner introduced the guest speaker Gail Smyth, who showed pictures and told the group about the trip she and Mary F. Dow had enjoyed to the Holy Land. They enjoyed a solo "Jerusalem" sung by Smyth, accompanied by Dow. Cromarty women had the Harrington W.M.S. women as their guests for the din- ner and afternoon. The two groups, Harrington and Cromarty are twinned for the coming two years. A joint Good Friday service was held at Hibbert United Church on April 5, with Pastor Irene Richard- son giving the call to worship and members from both congregations participating in the scripture read- ings. Rev. Kevin Steeper gave the sermon and music was presented by a joint choir from Hibbert and Cromarty, accompanied by Gwen Christie on the organ. A social time in Daynard Hall followed the ser- vice. The Cromarty Church women hosted their first "coffee hour" in the church basement on Tuesday, April 9 at 10 a.m. There were over 30 women and two gentlemen present. The guest speaker was Kate Monk from the Ausabte Bay- field Conservation Authority. She showed slides and spoke on "Birds in your backyard." 4-H Staffs N1 4-H club have finished their latest project entitled "A Walk on the Wild Side" with leaders Doris Jeffery and Peggy Kerslake. The club's executive were: Presi- dent Sasha Wall; Vice president Meghan Worden; Secretary Kim McKenzie; Assistant secretary Jackie Riley; Treasurer Samantha Waugh and Press reporter Bridget Norris. Other members were Ben Allan, Jeff Allan, Amanda Ander- son, Stacy Burke, Tessa Dill, Car- rie Harris, Heather Kerslake, Brad Klaver, Kyle Klaver, Kim McKen- zie, Jenny McKenzie, Pam Miller, Bridget Norris, Chris Pennings, Amanda Pullmann, Jackie Riley, Curtis Vessie, Josh Visscher, Me- lissa Wall, Sasha Wall, Meghan Worden, Sarah Wareing, Samantha Waugh, and Ashley Wettlaufer. The group went on some very in- teresting hikes. During the first meeting they learned about topi- graphical maps and how to prepare a knap-sack with everything you might need to go on a hiking trip. At the second meeting they hiked around the town of Staffa. They learned first-aid treatment from guest Linda Pullman at their third meeting. At the fourth meeting, the group hiked to Peggy Kerslake's bush, just outside Staffa. Afterward they made a bon -fire and smpres. At the fifth meeting Mrs. Daynard gave an interesting talk on wildlife and different kinds of trees. Achievement Night was held April 9 in Daynard Hall with a pot- luck supper followed by entertain- ment by club members. They pre- sented piano solos, duets, step - dancing and a reading. Kim McKenzie gave a report of the club's activities to parents, family members and Staffa Women's In- stitute, who were the club spon- sors, Personals Pat, Joanne, Mathew and Kelly Donovan of Val D'or Quebec, vis- ited over the Easter weekend with Joanne's family. The J. Templeman family all met at the home of Hank and Nancy Bertens for Easter Sunday dinner, Neighbors and friends honored Marjorie Visscher, bride elect, on Thursday evening at the township hall in Staffa, with a shower. Joan Kerslake chaired the evening, wel- coming everyone and asking all present to introduce themselves and tell when and how they had met Marjorie. Roberta Templeman conducted -a couple of contests and Margaret Daynard gave some interesting say- ings from "around the world." Ker- slake read an address of good wish- es afterwhich the bride -elect and her mother Marie were invited to the front of the hall, where Marjo- rie was the recipient of many love- ly and useful gifts. She expressed her thanks to everyone afterwhich everyone enjoyed lunch and good conversation. The evening was planned by Freda and Joan Ker- slake and Roberta Templeman. Eileen Greer, Ormstown, Que- bec, is visiting for a few days with John and Roberta Templeman. Family members joined John and Marjorie Drake for a Saturday eve- ning Easter dinner. Morgan Leigh Flanagan, daugh- ter of Pat and Joanne Flanagan was baptized on Easter Sunday at the St. Columban Church. Following the baptism, everyone returned to the home of Pat and Joanne for the afternoon. Huron County Agricultural Awareness Committee It a R r Ontario Cattlemen's Association Huron County Beef Producers Huron County Beef Herd Improvement Association CKNX Radio CKNX TV Ron McKay Hensall Co-op Huron County Pork Producers Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board Hensall Calf Club Beef Information Centre Dave Linton Roger & Carol Anne Klingenberg Veal's Meat Market Wayne & Marie Scott Deer Farmers Association Seaforth Co-op Pioneer Hi -Bred International Cook's - Hensall Donna Corbett Brad & Trina McBride Dave Boersma Rick Branderhorst Al Heyink Ontario Chicken Producers Marketing Board Carolyn Van Dorp Bill & Rowena Wallace Janet & Henry Boot Tony Van Dorp McIntosh Poultry Farms McKinley Hatchery Ontario Egg Producers Marketing HES TO a Board Huron County Egg Producers Lenard Griedanus Leo Griedanus Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, Clinton Hensall, Seaforth, Exeter, Clinton, Kirkton Agricultural Societies Agri -Food Network Clinton Christian School Board Huron -Perth Separate Board of Education Huron County Board of Education Perth FM. Communication Seaforth District Community Centre Foodland Ontario Apple Commission of Ontario Huron County Fruit Growers Wayne Shapton Barb Storey Bruce Quinn - AITC Consultant Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board Don Dalton Sharon Flanagan Yvonne Hogged Kittie MacGregor Doug Schroeder Milton Dietz Ltd. Vincent Farm Equipment Harold Coleman Godfathers Pizza New Orleans Pizza Pizza Train Don Dearing Ben Ritzona Gerrit & Gerdien Dykman Alex Veens Doug & Jan Easton Dick Dongall Greg & Chris Hackett Nellie Hoogendoorn Koostra Farms Perth Huron Veterinary Association Tammy Sperling Ernst Cubelman Harold Van Aaken Clarence Denens Huron County Milk Committee Andrew McBride Kevin Delbridge Seaforth Co-op Perth -Huron Jersey Club Huron County Holstein Club Lenco Dairy Supply Carol Bowman - Dairy Educator Dairylane Supplies Gerald Martene Walter Bell Margie Ridder W.G. Thompson & Sons Huron County Federation of Agriculture Harwood Holsteins Lorraine Franken We thank the Huron County Women's Institute for preparing the noon meals for our volunteers. Supplies were donated by: Visscher Farms Mcraggart's Food Market Nabisco, Exeter Seip's Valu -Mart Holtzman's 'GA Hayter Turkey Seaforth Creamery Quality Produce Darling's Huron County Beef Producers W. G. Thompson & Sons Huron County Women's Institute Schneiders - Kitchener Apple Growers - Huron Egg Producers - Huron Hutton Farm Supplies Metzger Meats - Hensall Thank you to those who attended our Thursday night Open House/ Family Night and for the food items you donated. Items donated went to Seaforth Food Bank. THANKS TO ALL VOLUNTEERS Chairman: Deb Campbell 4