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The Times Advocate, 2004-01-07, Page 11Wednesday,January 7, 2004 Exeter Times–Advocate 11 Eighteen schools qualify for funding By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE SEAFORTH — With the final adjustments made to a formula weighted heavily towards the distance between small schools, 16 elementary and two secondary facili- ties in the Avon Maitland District School Board have most likely qualified for additional funding under the provincial government's Rural Education Strategy. Created in response to a public consultation process undertaken by the since -defeated Conservatives, the $50 -million initiative met with criticism earlier this year when school administrators discovered the information being used by Education ministry officials wasn't always correct. In the case of the Avon Maitland board, initial ministry figures indicated Brussels Public School was practically next door to Hullett Public School, and St. Mary's Central was treated as the closest school to Arthur Meighen, even though one serves primary students and the other serves Grades 4-8. Under a final readjustment of those figures, however, many inaccuracies were eliminated, according to Janet Baird -Jackson. The Avon Maitland business superintendent, in a Rural Education Strategy update provided at a regular meeting Dec. 9, stated, "we received information late Wed., Dec. 3, providing clarification around the ... rules and are currently calculating the impact of those changes." Baird -Jackson's latest estimates suggest the following elementary schools will receive Rural Education Strategy funding: Brookside, Brussels, Central Perth, Colborne, Downie, East Wawanosh, Elma, Grey, Hensall, Howick, Huron Centennial, North Easthope, Seaforth, Sprucedale, Stephen and Zurich. According to those estimates, Brookside, which is in the extreme north of Huron County and is the second farthest away from any other school at 17.3 kilometres, will receive the most money: $52,461. The school which is the far- thest from its closest neighbour is Howick, at 18.9 kilo- metres, but it would likely receive slightly less. The school on the list likely to receive the smallest amount is Zurich, with $19,985. The threshold distance for Rural Education Strategy money is eight kilometres, with North Easthope (near Amulree) and Sprucedale (in Shakespeare) just barely qualifying. The two schools lie 8.1 kilometres apart. The distance factor is larger for secondary schools, with F.E. Madill in Wingham and Goderich District Collegiate Institute the only Avon Maitland facilities expected to qualify. Baird -Jackson included a breakdown of how the Education ministry might direct boards to spend the money in each school. Specific envelopes, announced when the government introduced the Rural Education Strategy, include learning materials, in -school adminis- tration, and others. Huron East/Central trustee Shelley Kaastra wondered why Baird -Jackson's analysis included no learning resources money for any of the 18 schools. The busi- ness superintendent responded that her reading of the ministry's formula indicated no schools would qualify for such funding. Director of education Geoff Williams added the Rural Education Strategy could allow the board to take some money out of other areas to support learning resources. In the past, he noted, money has been taken from other areas to keep small schools as well -served as possible, and that money could now be put into learning resources. Baird -Jackson's board -wide estimate for additional funding is just over $600,000, which is not far off her initial hopes. The Avon Maitland board also expects to receive just over $130,000 as a result of the new Liberal govern- ment's recent announcement of funding to "Improve Student Literacy" for those in disadvantaged social classes. Although Premier Dalton McGuinty admitted much of the $112 million would end up in urban communities with many English as a Second Language (ESL) stu- dents, a portion is available based on other social fac- tors. Details on that initiative also arrived Dec. 3. Trustees approved a recommendation to place the money into a "student literacy" reserve, to "provide more adequate time to analyze the impact before making any decisions how to allocate this grant." Thompsons unveils new logo and name BLENHEIM — W.G. Thompson and Sons Limited has unveiled a new logo as part of a strategy to increase awareness of products and services available to both local and interna- tional customers who have come to know Thompsons as a reliable and prominent Canadian agri-business. As well, the company will be trimming its name simply to Thompsons. The new logo and compa- ny colours provide a stronger, more uniform and more identifiable look that will soon be seen on signage, stationary and company equipment. "After 80 years in busi- ness, we decided to update our logo. We rec- ognize that the same values that brought us to this point will also serve us well in the future," said president Wes Thompson. "I'm very proud of the innovative approach that we've had to our products and ser- vices and look forward to being an important part of the agri-food communi- ty for many years to come." T h e n e w symbol repre- sents the relation- ships within the company and with stakeholders throughout the agri-food industry. The logo's colours are deep gold and black. Since 1924, Thompsons THOMPSON5 has been delivering top quality products and ser- vices to the agri-food community through expertise in food prod- ucts, agronomics, seed research and grain mar- keting. Thompsons operates from 17 sites in Canada and the U.S. and exports products to over 25 coun- tries worldwide. The launch of the new logo coincides with Thompsons' celebration of 80 years in business as a family-owned company. Head office is in Blenheim. Curriculum -based Web site has worldwide appeal By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE SEAFORTH — Thousands of computer users across the world are taking advan- tage of research information compiled by Avon Maitland District School Board staff, geared towards greater success on the Ontario school curriculum. This information is all linked from a Web site described by its creator, Jacquie Vercruyssen, as "one -of -a -kind." And it's all being perused for free. Getting Students Connected, located at www.gsc.amdsb.ca , was launched in 2001 to provide a means by which stu- dents could conduct online research for their projects without having to weed through the copious amounts of useless information that tends to also appear on computer screens when a particular topic is entered into a mainstream Internet search engine. Since that time, it has evolved into a comprehensive Web site, with separate sections for each grade level and another geared towards "non graded" students, where career options and other informa- tion can be found. Within each grade level, the site is sepa- rated first into courses, then into particu- lar areas of study within those courses. From there, links are provided to actual online resource sites; one example, shown during a presentation to trustees at a regular Avon Maitland meeting Dec. 9, featured a site hosted by the University of Sheffield in England, describing how different types of rock form. According to Information Technology system principal Maggie Crane, Getting Students Connected received over 78,000 hits in November 2003, with those repre- senting a significantly larger number of actual users. That's because one student might log onto the Web site, but if that takes place at a school-based computer, there might be several others waiting in line to use the same Web site when the first person finishes. The popularity of the Web site's sec- ondary school section lags behind that of the elementary section, Crane admits. But she says that changes each year, as students who previously used the service while in elementary school continue to recognize its value — compared to estab- lished Internet search engines — when they move on to high school. The presentation by Crane and Vercruyssen made it clear the site is well - used by students and parents within Huron and Perth counties. A printed report, provided for trustees, notes "it is completely free to staff, students and par- ents of the Avon Maitland District School Board." The presentation also made it clear, however, that Getting Students Connected is just as free for anyone else with an Internet connection. Vercruyssen told trustees "about a quar- ter" of the Web site's hits come from users outside the board, including other Ontario school boards but also including computer users in the United States, Great Britain, Hong Kong and Taiwan. "We are the only board in Ontario that offers such an extensive resource for free. We are currently visited by over 5,000 people from around the world each day," she said. According to the board's communica- tions manager, Steve Howe, the site's creators looked into the idea of charging out -of -board users for connecting. But they discovered the process of assigning passwords and creating a security sys- tem would have been too cumbersome, complex and labour-intensive to make it worthwhile. Howe adds there are non -monetary benefits to the site's increasing profile — a profile which he says is apparent in the fact some Internet search engines have begun listing Getting Students Connected even though the board never registered the site with those search engines. Those benefits include "gaining credibility" with other educational institutions in Ontario. Without a money -generating aspect to the successful program, however, does that mean it could be cut from the budget during a lean year? According to direc- tor of education Geoff Williams, that's "always a risk." But he adds the per- ceived benefit to the board's own stu- dents would probably outweigh any move to eliminate it "Given the volume of our kids that are using (Getting Students Connected), it's unlikely staff would recommend" cutting the program, Williams said. OPP festive RIDE update ORILLIA — The Provincial Traffic and Marine Section of the Ontario Provincial Police released OPP RIDE statistics for the third week of the fes- tive season's driving initiative, for all OPP juris- dictions in the province of Ontario Dec. 23. During the week of Dec. 12-18 a total of 104,937 vehicles were checked at roadside checkpoints. A total of 203 12 -hour suspensions were issued and 102 persons were charged with alcohol related Criminal Code driving offences. This is an increase of eight from the same period in 2002. The Ontario Provincial Police issued 102 Administrative 90 Day Drivers Licence Suspensions during week three. During the first three weeks of the 2003 OPP RIDE campaign, a total of 298,159 vehicles have been checked 1 compared to 330,788 in the same peri- od of 2002. Persons charged with impaired driving offences for the same three weeks have also decreased from 285 in 2002 to 273 in 2003. 632 12- 1, hour suspensions have been issued so far in the 2003 campaign compared to 642 in 2002. Fatal collisions have decreased from 25 to 23 in the same three-week period in 2002. However, 31 people have tragically lost their lives in collisions compared to 30 in 2002. The Ontario Provincial Police reminds motorists to slow down and stay safe during the frequent winter storms that occur all winter. Increasing the distance between you and the vehicle you are following may mean the difference between a serious collision or a close call. If the roads are snow cov- ered and slippery, plan head and allow more time for travel.. Remember....arrive alive.... don't drink and drive.