HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-03-23, Page 66
Exeter Times–Advocate
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Opinion Forum News
Reverend Ray Lawhead, of Precious Blood Parish in Exeter, blesses palms held by Sunday school children. After
Palm Sunday mass,Aggie Groenewegen (left) and Anna Marie Cook, of the Catholic Womens' League, unfurl a
commissioned quilt that now hangs in the nartex. It was designed and painted by Stratford artist Don Dolton.
The quilt was made by Donna Waddell, Doris Waddell and Lorna Kriesel. (photos/Stephanie Mandziuk)
Catholic board strives to improve
EQAO math test results
By Stew Slater
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE
DUBLIN — The Huron -Perth
Catholic District School Board
has "some challenges ahead,"
states education superintendent
Martha Dutrizac, as it works to
reverse a decreasing level of suc-
cess in provincially standardized
Grade 9 Math tests.
At a regular meeting Jan. 24,
Dutrizac delivered a report about
results from the board's two sec-
ondary schools in tests adminis-
tered last spring by the Education
Quality and Accountability Office
(EQAO).
"We definitely experienced a
notable decrease," she said.
Showing graphs comparing
results province -wide and in the
Huron -Perth board over the past
four years, Dutrizac explained
the success rates among students
from St. Anne's in Clinton and St.
Michael in Stratford gradually
increased from 2000 until 2003.
The board's success rates also
remained slightly above the
province -wide average during
those same years.
In 2004, however, the board
results in both Academic and
Applied streams slipped below
the previous year's levels, and
also below the Ontario average.
St. Michael results were particu-
larly low, with St. Anne's stu-
dents generally remaining close
to their provincial counterparts.
In the Academic stream, 57 per
cent of Huron -Perth Grade 9s
scored at or above the provincial
standard, compared to 65 per
cent throughout Ontario.
In the Applied stream, 22 per
cent achieved scores at or above
the standard, compared with 25
per cent province -wide.
Applied -level results have gen-
erally been quite low across the
province since the EQAO tests
were introduced — leading both
to alterations to the test and sug-
gestions the process should be
totally revamped. Dutrizac
agreed, suggesting the Huron -
Perth board's Applied -level
results are, at least in part,
symptomatic of a wider problem.
She admitted that last spring's
Academic -level results are cause
for concern. She said the board
will use the results as "an oppor-
tunity to look at what we're doing
in our schools."
One suggestion the superinten-
dent made was addressing the
teaching of Math in the years
leading up to Grade 9.
"We're always aware of the
generalist teachers in the inter-
mediate level who are not always
focussed, in their approach, on
an area of expertise such as
Mathematics," Dutrizac said.
As has been the case in previ-
ous years, last spring's Grade 9
EQAO Math results for the Avon
Maitland District School Board
were well above the provincial
average in both Academic and
Applied streams.
Principal's message
EXETER — Once again I would like to
remind everyone of the School Council's
Community Forum Thursday at
7 p.m. in the small gym.
The focus of this forum is
Internet safety, a topic that
should be of interest to all par-
ents. The vast majority of
young Canadians use the com-
puter daily for a variety of
communication and informa-
tion purposes, and the Internet
has developed into a wonderful
means of acquiring informa-
tion. However, like all forms of
technology, there is a dark side
to computer use and many young people are
naive to the dangers of cyber space.
This week's forum will provide parents
with valuable information about the various
issues associated with the Internet, along
with some suggestions on how to minimize
some of the risks. Just as we need to "street -
proof" our kids, we also need to alert them to
problems that may be only a mouse -click
away.
In particular, we will be focusing on the
risks of chat rooms. Marissa Nelson, a
reporter for the London Free Press, will
engage in a live chat with Karen Brown, the
chair of our School Council, to demonstrate
just how quickly and easily young people get
"approached" by adult males who have more
than idle conversation in mind. Nelson wrote
a newspaper article on this topic last fall,
and researched the issue by posing as a
teenager in a chat room: she will share her
findings with us and provide parents with
suggestions how to protect their children
from the creeps who lurk in chat rooms.
Increasingly we hear of individuals who have
been arrested for luring young people in this
manner, and this is something that can hap-
pen anywhere, not just in the big cities.
Representatives from the Avon Maitland
District School Board Information
Technology team will be on hand as well to
discuss some of the safeguards put in place
in schools and on our board and school web-
sites. They, too, will have suggestions on
what parents can do to minimize the risks for
their children to ensure that their Internet
activities are positive experiences. Our third
presenter, Michael Katchabaw, is a computer
sciences professor at UWO. He will discuss
online gaming and gambling and general
security issues related to the Internet. As you
may know, identity theft is one of the grow-
ing concerns, and, again, young people are
often naive and trusting when it comes to
giving out information about themselves and
their families. This is an area parents often
overlook when it comes to educating their
kids about computer use, and Katchabaw
will provide us with some valuable tips how
to protect our computers and our own per-
sonal information.
This promises to be an informative evening
for anyone who has an Internet connection,
whether they have children using the com-
puter or not. We hope to see a good crowd in
attendance.
Finally, I would like to remind parents that
we will be issuing an interim report in the
next few days. This report will be an infor-
mal one, similar to the first report we issued
back in October. Teachers will provide gen-
eral feedback on how students are doing in
their year-long and second semester courses.
The report will not provide specific marks,
but will give parents a clear indication of any
concerns teachers may have. The next par-
ent -teacher interview night will be held
April 7, after school and in the evening.
Parent -teacher interviews are important, and
we encourage parents to make arrangements
to see their son or daughter's teachers.
Parents unable to be in attendance April 7
may make alternate arrangements for inter-
views by calling or e -mailing the teachers
they wish to see. The next official report card
will be issued in the week starting April 25.
JEFF
REABURN
PRINCIPAL'S
MESSAGE