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The Citizen, 1992-12-09, Page 28PAGE 28. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1992. Size of kindergarten class cause of concern for parents By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot A parent delegation from Hullett Central Public School says the school's kindergarten enrollment is too high for successful learning. "Each child has his own needs, own personality and should not be lost in a crowd," said Joyce Bean, who addressed the board at their Monday meeting on behalf of the delegation. She presented trustees with a let­ ter signed by eight parents. The let­ ter asked the board to consider splitting the class or hiring a teacher's aide. Currently there are 26 students in the class being taught by one teach­ er. The teacher plays a vital role in maintaining the enthusiasm of each B. Dawson Bd. Chair for second term By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot Walton's Graeme Craig has been unanimously elected for a second term as the vice-chair of the Huron County Board of Education at the board's inaugural meeting Monday. The trustee for McKillop Twp. was nominated by Trustee Jim Chapman who said Mr. Craig is very conscientious about his work on the board. "We should capitalize on Grae­ me's experience,"he said. The board's chair, Zurich Trustee Bea Dawson, was also re-elected for another year. The Hensall-area resident was nominated by Trustee Roxanne Brown who said 'T feel the board has run very smoothly under her leadership." Ms. Dawson said she was "very pleased" to be the chair and added "with your cooperation, the year ahead won't be insurmountable." Election for commitee chairper­ son was also held. Norman Picked, the trustee for Goderich was re­ elected as chair of the management committee. Hensall Trustee Allan Carter is the new chair of the management committee. Another new chair is Roxanne Brown who will head the personnel committee for the 1993 year. After the chairs were voted in, trustees were asked to choose what committees they would like to sit on. Il was decided Della Baum­ garten, Vicki Culbert, Bob Burton and Doug Gamiss would sit on the education committee; John Jewitt, Rick Rompf, Bob Heywood, and Liliane Nolan on the management committee and Don McDonald, Joan Van den Broeck, Graeme Craig and Jim Chapman on the per­ sonnel committee. Don’t close the book on your child’s future. Read together tonight. ABC CANADA THE FOUNDATION TO PROMOTE LITERACY IN CANADA. child," said Ms Bean. "But at a ratio of 1-26, that makes this formidable and it also makes it dif­ ficult to recognize learning disabili­ ties in students." She also expressed concern about the time needed just to dress and undress children for outdoor activi­ ties. "We estimate it takes five to 10 minutes to dress and undress the children. That means 30 to 60 min­ utes per day is spent ensuring warmth which shortens the actual time left for learning," she said. Another concern was lack of space in the classroom. "There's not enough room for all the children to lie down at nap time," she said. Despite their concerns, the dele­ gation stated it didn't wish to criti­ cize the teacher. "We believe she is ding a superb job given the condi­ tions she is working with." Trustees were also presented with a letter from a Gorrie mother who had similar concerns about kindergarten classroom size at Howick Central School. Judith Anne Douglas stated "My HOSTESS POTATO 4 Q A ALJIHA ASSORTED VARIETIES] < VIUrilro 220 G. BAG 1 ■ BEATRICE/SEALTEST CHIP QQ DIP 250 ML. TUB ■ Jz Cz 9V, C 2's, D 2's, & AA 4's Pkg. DURACELL Q "7Q BATTERIES COFFEE CRISP, KIT KAT, SMARTIES OR o / AftA EDA OR SELECTED REGULAR ^1 VS V]MLlTU VARIETIES BARS *■■/ ■ V KZ BEATRICE/SEALTEST 1/2 & 1/2 10% 1 QQ CREAM 500 ML CARTON | ■ VJ W GREEN GIANT ASSORTED VARIETIES FROZEN 750G q qq VEGETABLES i kg bag ^.yy VALU CLUB ALL PURPOSE o CLEANER 4LITREJUG 3-99 ASSORTED VARIETIES DOLE qq pineapple 540MLT1N ,yy PRODUCT OF MOROCCO SWEET JUICY CLEMENTINE Q QQ ORANGES 2.27 KG. BOX SCHNEIDER S SLICED side 9 4Q BACON 500 G PKG. LARGE SELECTION OF CHRISTMAS CANDY & CHOCOLATES CHRISTMAS BAKING SUPPLIES Glazed Cherries, Mixed Fruit, Peel, Chocolate & Butterscotch Chips, Caramels ”Pn i PI QPttiPI 6 "Pots 5-7 BloomsrOinseuias Redjpink,white, QQ Peppermint, Jingle Bells JS’*^**^ 41/2" Pots Red Only 2.99 ’’Christmas Trees’’ 6-- ? vz FROM BRUSSELS VILLAGE MARKET" pine & child and others are not getting the attention required at this age, to encourage them in school." She said her son, being bom in December, needed extra attention to prepare him for Grade 1 but the teacher wasn't able to attend to these needs because of the size of the class. After these concerns were revealed, Blyth Trustee John Jewitt said it would be hard to justify a split given the cost it would create. "We pay wonderful salaries and when we split class size we are doubling salaries," he said. "There is pressure on us to make good use of our money and it’s hard to justify a split before the government requires us to." Given the number of children in the class, trustees may have to decide to split the class given a condition in their own procedure manuals. According to board documents, class sizes are split once they reach over 25 students. The board agreed to refer the matter to the personnel commitee for discussion. It’s a celebrity? Marj Simpson made her appearance at the Brussels Santa Claus parade on Saturday much to the delight of this youngster, who appeared rather surprised to see the celebrity cartoon character so close.