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Home My WebLink AboutWingham Advance-Times, 1981-12-30, Page 12ti interview Mr. .Ritter, principal What .exactly does . the principal do during the school day? "The .principal never knows exactly what he'll face on a day-to-day basis. I talk to parents, students, teachers,board officials; 1 mainly do a lot of . listening and talking." "I observe teachers teach; I observe students in the building and try to get a feel of the pulse of the place. I review expenditures for various departments and decide what they can or cannot spend; I review curriculum. There's never a dull moment in this position because I'm expected to solve everyone's problems." Do you ever substitute for an absent or sick teacher? "Very rarely. However;. I have one period'of guidance counselling per day this year," is more rewarding; tear ng or being principal? "I .find teaching more rewarding because you are in closer contact with .the students. I find the principal too far removed from the process of education, there's too much administration and paper work." How do you become the principal of the school? • '`There are three qualifications: you must have demonstrated com- petency and experience in the classroom; you have th` Ministry of Education qualifications “ ' that are required for a principal;: you have obtained the trust of the community,'the staff andthe students." Were -you ever the principal of .another ; school, either public or high school? "Nair: this is my first and onlysehook Do you it,,make .the float decision; • ,s, 'io whether ::a student passes Or One. "I have,tie power to make the final. decision, but it is rarely hat the �...- .._..... ma : eciston c�onlfsulltn prop principal ultinlateauthority, ti iir your • opinion, :is' principal really the he about talking to me. On the other hand I know some do not feel comfortable around me but they are a minority. I feel I can communicate with most of the students in this school," How do you feel when students can talk with you comfortably? "I feel good that students can approach and talk to me. I would not want the prin- cipalto be unapproachable." What does being principal of a school mean to you? "It is an honor, a privilege and a very weighty respon- sibility. I must have the trust of the students, staff and t, then I would move on to something else. I enjoy it because it's a challenge." —By Elizabeth Wilkins As the school turns Are we to find out what shall happen to Petty Peevishville today? Let us continue with the never- ending saga of ... As The School Turns! When Petty was dressed, she came downstairs where her mother had breakfast ready. "Morning Mom," she said, "Good morning, dear." 4, `Mom, why were you Y. • looking'at Rodney last night kinda strange like. He told Me that you looked as if you bad seen him before." "Oh, ' it's. nothing," her mother replied. "I `just thought he looked ;like your father in a way." , " "Yes, he does look rather dignified and handsome, e. doesn't- he? ' Then what makes you think he looks like Dad?„ • .i , "Well, he doesn't look, 'Much like . your father does now. But he has a remarkable resemblance to Ted° hen l was dating him."' ve ingot to be kid- , iflg! ", Petty Iaughed and • d •her breakfast. • `"Gott ii); see ya later." She sled but the door and onto the schoolbus. Ails' was sitting by herself and"(Rodneywasn't on the bus th s'morning so Petty sat . • down with Jaris. y 111,,,What's eating you?" Petty rooked . at her friend - who' was sitting with a sour expression on her face. • "Oh, I got stood up last night. Snake, you remember Snake, don't you, Petty?" "Oh, do I," Petty sighed. She could just imagine why Snake had called it off with Jaris. "Well, we were supposed to go to a movie last night and he never showed up. Oh, Petty, I think he's got someone else." Jaris looked up at her friend with a sorrowful expression covering her entire physiognomy. "Come off it Jaris. He probably had a problem with his+iar or something." "Then why didn't he call?" "I don't know. I'm just suggesting reasons why he the Ufa school? Does--hegainenough. respect from ,he .student" body? . "I like to think that the principal 'is the head of the schoolbut not in the authoritarian sense. ' He looks to the department heads 'as the cabinet of the school. Not many :policies are enunciated without first consulting the department head's acid the staff." What 'roves to be • the greates dsatisfaction in your position as principal? "I find it very satisfying to see students fulfill their potential;- to go on and achieve success and" in knowing that they graduated from my school." Do students feel they can talk to you or do they clam up the moment they see the principal walking down the hall? "I like to think that `students feel free and easy Student interview ..Question: What are your views concerning the school page? "I think my name should be mentioned in the paper more often," —Rob Perry. "I think they should have different artists with new ideas all the time," —Vickie Belanger. "It's okay, but it should be more interesting," —Karen Beecroft. "I don't know, I can't read," —Paula Kieffer. "What school page?" — Tracey MacKay. "No comment," —Sue Proud. "1 think the school page is very informative, but those book reviews are no good," —Dave Eadie. ' "I think most of the ar- ticles are usually good, espe- cially the one about selling Htlp Your Of0 CROSS TO HELP gum in the cafeteria," -- Lynn Lynn Brown. "It's all right, but they should have juicier stories and more gossip. Did you hear the one about Nathan Peel ... " —Karen Campbell. Overall reaction: I was surprised to find a definite lack of interest in the school page. Since the school page is one of the main sources of communication within the community, it seems it should receive more atten- tion than it appears to be get- ting. Perhaps this shows the lack of school spirit or may- be I just talked to the wrong people! NOTE: From time to time we receive answers to the student questions which border on tastelessness. In the future we would advise you to think about your ans- wers because we reserve the right to edit any answers which we feel do not reflect our high standards. , —Editor and Co -Editor didn't make it to your place." The rest of the trip was complete silence. Both girls were tired of listening to each other's problems and by the time they reached the school,they were glad to get off the bus. At lunch time, Petty arrived at the cafeteria to find no one waiting for her. Rodney must not have made it to school at all today. She diidh't let it worry her and sat down to eat her lunch. Suddenly, she saw across about two tables, a group of Grade Nines wishing someone a happy birthday. They had a cake, candles • and everything. And right in the middle of them was Rodney Rottingdale. It was one girl's birthday and Rodney planted a big kiss on her cheek, which Made Petty quickly lose her appetite. The girl was Jaris! Of course, it was Jaris' birthday. Petty got up and slammed her lunch bag into the gar- bage pail, imagining that it was Rodney's head. Then she walked over and glared at both Rodney, and Jaris. They looked so innocent, but she was no fool. She prom- ptly . stomped out of the cafeteria, collected some books and sat in the library brooding. No one was going IP to get the best of her, especially not those two! On the bus - that night, Petty ignored and avoided Jails like she had the plague. As Petty went to get off the bus, Jaris piped up: "What's eating you?" "Nothing, I just hope you had fun in thecafeteria this afternoon. Happy Birthday," then she ran off the bus and upto her house. Record review "PHYSICAL" OLIViA NEWTON -JOHN One of the most dynamic, vibrant and popular albums to hit the record stands, is Physical by Olivia Newton - John. A few years ago, Olivia Newton -John sang such country songs as "Country Roads", "Free The People", "Mary Skiffington" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". Just within the past few years she has gotten onto a new sound track — rock and roll. Her new release, Physical, is every bit as successful and more. The underlying theme of this record, as indicated by the photographs on 'the cover, are dolphins. She wrote the lyrics to a song en- Iitled, "The Promise } i)olphin Song)". The among begins 'with the sound of waves crashing against a beach, and dolphin "noises" in the background. Jinn Farrar, QiIvIa New - on -John" manager, wrote lyrics to many of the songs. Barry Gibb wrote one song, sung beautifully by Olivia. If you like contemporary music, with a slight flavor of rock, then Olivia Newton - John's Physical, is for you. Get into shape with a good "Physical". —Liz Brydges 04.1 "That fink, that low-down stinking rat!" Petty mut- tered to herself as she walked into the house and slaaned the door. "WI 's a low-down stinkinrat?" her mother asked. "That Rodney Rot- tingdale," Petty answered sneeringly. "The same Rodney Rot- tingdale who was a dreamboat and who was your entire life? He's now a low-down stinking rat?" "Yes, imagine him wanting Jaris over me, oh, forget it. What's for sup- per?" "Just a minute. I have something I want to show: you. It's in here. This may .startle you so I think you had better sit down. Her mother showed her a book that was very old. It looked like it had been -in the family for cen- turies. . ' • "What's this?" "It's your . Grandmother, on your father's side, it's her diary." "So, what am I supposed to do with it?" • "Open it to October 5 and read what itsays." "October 5: "Today was bright and sunny whichis unusual for October, must be Indian Summer," Mother what am I reading this for? "Because . . . well, just read on." "All right .... My sister had a baby girl last night. She's nine pounds eight ounces, quite big for my sister who is so tiny. She died while giving birth and has given the baby to. Harold and I so, Gramma got a baby that wasn't hers. This really is not a big deal, Mom". "Yes it is. . You see your Grandmother's maiden name was Rottingdale and . . . well, I have something else to shove you, dear. This, I am sure, will startle you. Please do not turn against your father when you read this:" STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK: When, we find out what is so startling about Petty's Grandmother inheriting a baby girl. When we discover if Rodney is actually playing around with Jaris. When we find out just who exactly thinks they know who actually wrote down the name of who thinks they know who wrote this script! By: Fred Just For Kicks Justly R. Solomon ENCHANTMENT The morning comes, the morning goes As time rolls by, the en- chantment flows Across the page, across the line Some are good and some are fine As I sit here, my pen in hand I think of seas, I think of sand Of places that never were, never have been No one but I have ever seen As days are born, and as days die I can't help but give a little sigh ` As people, places, and years pass on There for an instant ..., then are gone Bon Burchill ell -known fact that bei aft into hibernation 00*P the, cold, winter molntila,.l►ey eat their way throughtamer and fall and it le=ave ;;fat roly-poly that its den for the long; winter sleep. Spring produpes,; a completely dif- ferenit`animal. It is a skinny, starting hear that comes out of itswinter home. The 1 nan also goes into hiberna on„ during the frolientseason., Unfortunate - 134 fat snot,` lost by constant sleep' t gained from con- stank:Oiling combined with 11tt10tercise: W?,� e:oa the move all. suln ne"t) playing and work= ing f 'om :dawn to dusk and it is a:,, efl, fit body that ap- peara , the mirror. Fall rolls; around; we begin slow- ing'up,aa it is too cool to do much activity outside of the house,.. . But;: it is in winter when we, like the bear, come to almost a complete halt. Yet, unlik'e,the bear, the sleep. Being warmth -seeking creatures, we huddle under blankets, sipping hot choc- olate and the . most energy - consuming task is changing channaf els, of the• television. Nocka sev , case o lazi- ness sets:in.an mes a great' effort tog out of a wand bed before 11 o'clock - each Meriting, In preparation for ' the Christmas holidays, we be- come master chefs. Of course,' we must sample our works Of creativity constant- ly, at the same time adding to an eiipanding waistline. The human metamor- phosis has.begun. The sleek, ?Y nil • priSter Dear Mr. Trudeau:' So ;i'iu ,think.: you; know everything; :eel? You think you're ,,the most important person in the 'world just be- cause you think you` know everything eh? Well, Mr. Pierre Trudeau, I don't think you know every- thing. In fact;, 1 think you knew absolutely nothing. If I had the chance,. I would kick you out of office and take on the problems of the world all by myself. You don't know any of the answers because you don't know the problems or the questions. You don't live and work the way,those who are angry at you must work. SO how can ' you , Make things better when you don't know how things are? If I had your office and position, I would first of all drop all the wages of the cab- inet ministers and my own salary. I would not receive nearly a quartet of a million dollors per -shear, •or a jet plane for my use alone or a great big house to live in — they aren't used all thetime anyway. This lowering of wages of myself and my aides would, be an incentive to the wagearners (t lose whomuht work in the fields and fac- tories) that We can take the cut first. After that, I would cut food prices and then follow that with loweripgr,the wages of labor -workers just a bit — the problem here is that they feel we are getting too much money for slapping desks and making speeches. And I. think they're right. The main factor and the main difference between now and years ago is that we are handling more money. The ratio is the same; it's just that prices have gone way up and wages have gone up and instead of paying $500 for a car we are paying be- tween $5,000 and $100000. But I'm aftaid 1 can't take over that office, Mr. Trudeau because then j wouldn't have any fun. I think your job is very boring, arid, even though I could do a better job, I don't think I'll take over your job because I ex- pect you to read this and fix up the countr ► all by your- self. So, now I'rn going to sit down and watch television and hope to see you making a better world for me. —Joey Prentice Age, 10 years bel on 's rvation di' wishmo fit'into last gem" , " Why► gp through alb 'that hassle?. Spring Wu lime to enjoy new.life, not tokill our. selves Keep: the fat Win the winter bystaytngjfit, We• an. ttiave tq be super athletes to have at wiinter. spore though ,>u:are no*t� ,a Bayne G�(4�''r1ppektzk�y,'t 1�'aa M* hockey. Get -the, I R• hole family "put for Oast' paced game Of 'road hockey Who knows, maybe a scout for the Toronto;Maple Leafs will be passing your street that day. If skating is not yourntyle, take up cross country skiing. What is more beautiful than a visit to nature,' swooshing through` -a bareforest, listen ing to the winter birds chat- tering hatteringamong themselves or racing 4.... jack rabbit across the snow or watching a litter offox pups following your every move. If downhill skiing is your preference, get out and show Steve Podborski a few tricks of ;'the. sport. You will feel fantastic when you return to the fireplace, wiping the sweat from your brow and enjoying the memoriea. of beating the four-year-old down the beginner's slope. Still, getting out in the cold may not appeal to you. Christmas and New Year's is the time for big parties and dances. But do not let your only activity all night be tip- ping back gallons' of Christ- mas Cheer.' Get moving! "Tramp"• around until you find a few friends and catch up on the latest gossip; then Move on to another group, getting more tidbits of in- formation. Here is your chance toget that girl or boy, that you have been smiling at from the distance, up for a dance. When you get to the dance floor, do not hide in the crowd; impress your partner • On% n��•r ��e' . olIe'' eo,.. �, oticead haw elihke lu Stout inn,§1:u a mon .• 0 tlltte.snin thein; laughter and ga es;. Help. thein build •the world's larg snow fort, chase. them* a, snowball fight, show them how n make the perfect, snowman and'enow.angeh`or • run With ,, them catching. snowflakes on your tongugi. Do notfeel embarassetlaf the - "mature" people stare at you; they probably wishthat they were doing the same thing, ,Leave winter hibernatioa to the bears.'Tak ,.off and enjoy the Great WhiteNorth that we have been so lucky to be born in. —By Suzanne Regenstein THE SNOWMAN' IN FRONT of .th'e •a residence on Wllliarn $$;eet .should have !1 keeping warm in his hal,'Ooarf and boots M creatures, large and Sineilg popped up atter,ia snowfall which was perfect for'tnaking snow FUN IN THE SNOW—Last week's abundant anowfall made for a rash of snpW men,;: forts and creatures around the town: Lon''Sw,tzer. sof "JohriStr et' .was nottced: last: Wednesday afternoon in her hilltop fort. Millions of children desperately needbasic food, shelter, schooling and health care. Your help is needed. Send your donation today. CARE Canada . 1312 Bank Street Ottawa K1S 5H7