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The Times Advocate, 2008-10-01, Page 3Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Times–Advocate 3 Usborne review meeting set By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE SEAFORTH — During last year's public deliberations about school closures in Goderich and Mitchell, adminis- trators of the Avon Maitland District School Board were — in the words of education superintendent Ted Doherty, who oversaw the 2007-08 public consultation — "basically fol- lowing the letter of the law in terms of the Ministry's accommodation review guidelines." This year, the board's interpreta- tion of that law will change. Members of the community-based groups that gathered input — offi- cially called Accommodation Review Committees (ARCs) — were asked to provide feedback about those consultations last June. On Sept. 9, that feedback was discussed by trustees and senior staff. Then a report from that dis- cussion was provided as information at the board's reg- ular meeting Sept. 23. According to the report, the board "decided to make some changes to the process (for this year's accommo- dation reviews in Exeter and Wingham), while retaining most of the features of the process used in 2007-08." In an interview after the meeting, Doherty said, "one of the really cumber- some items was the school evaluation." He suggested community members resented being asked first to fill out intri- cate Education Ministry -generated "school evaluation" templates outlining the services and resources in the existing schools, before ever looking at future edu- cational configurations in their towns. "So (ARC members) asked (the board) to do a lot of that background with school councils before the process began," he said. After the ARC orientation meetings, each community- based committee must hold a minimum of four public meetings within a prescribed time period.The earliest possible dates for the final ARC meetings are Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, 2009. Board hears benefits of "Smart Boards" By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE DUBLIN — When someone answers a question with another question, it can sometimes seem dis- respectful. But when it happened Sept. 22 to trustees of the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board — from one of their own administrators — the unorthodox response was received with knowing nods. "How many classrooms do we have?" asked information technolo- gy co-ordinator Loretta Ayotte, when asked by South Huron/Bluewater representative Mike Miller how many "Smart Boards" she would like the board to provide. Ayotte felt confident giving that response, having just wowed trustees with a wide-ranging demonstration of the much -more - than -just -a -computer technology's capabilities. There are about 30 Smart Board projection screens in Huron -Perth Catholic schools. Originally, begin- ning almost 10 years ago, they were introduced in Grade 6 classrooms to be used to assist in improving board -wide scores on provincially- standardiied Grade 6 literacy tests. Just this past summer, they made their move into secondary schools — again, as part of a strategy to improve standardized test scores, this time for the Grade 9 Math stu- dents. But enthusiastic expansion beyond those applications has occurred in many elementary schools, due large- ly to the desire of both teachers and students to bring the technology to other classrooms, and to the readi- ness of school communities to raise funds for their purchase. According to Ayotte, most class- rooms in St. Marys elementary school in Listowel have Smart Boards. Parents and friends of St. Aloysius elementary school in Stratford recently bought some of the systems — valued at around $4,300 each. And the reason for the demand is simple, says Ayotte: Smart Technologies, the company which developed and continuously upgrades the systems, has created a school -friendly computer technology that is impossible to resist. "Any teacher who has used it can't imagine teaching without it," the IT co-ordinator explained. At the Sept. 22 board meeting, Ayotte played a segment of a "pod - cast," created using Smart Board technology by last year's Grade 6/7 students at St. Patrick's elementary school in Kinkora. The purpose of the project was to try to convince administrators to provide a Smart Board for the school's Grade 8 class- room — because they preferred not to move back into a learning envi- ronment without the technology. "We definitely try to keep them in use at all times," Ayotte said, noting schools with just one Smart Board ensure other grades get to use it while the lucky Grade 6 students are in the gym or library. The screen — which, when not in use, resembles a run-of-the-mill projector screen — is oriented like a computer desktop. Instead of a mouse, the icons on the screen can be manipulated by touching the screen and dragging a finger along. Tapping or "double-clicking" on par- ticular icons can reveal additional information. Teachers and students can all use the screen. "The company says there's practi- cally nothing that can go wrong with them," Ayotte said. And that promise has largely proven true; Linda Reaume Design Consultant Bob Smyth Design Consultant West Coast kitchens.. And Much More • Kitchens • CustomVanities • Entertainment Units • Horne Offices PROFESSIONAL INSTALLATIONS CUSTOM DESIGNS & COUNTERTOPS Visit Our Showroom! 50 West St. Goderich 519-440-0352 • 1-866-440-0352 Goderich & District Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award 2006 Email: westcoastkit@cabletv.on.ca aside from the replacement of a few of the behind -the -screen wires that run the "touch -sensitive" capabili- ties, none of the original Smart Boards have fallen out of service. Smart Technologies has also devel- oped an online presence, as well as releasing a Smart Board -compatible "Notebook" application that students can download to their own home computers. With all of the board's schools now connected to high- speed Internet, it has become increasingly possible for work to be transferred from home to school and vice -versa. According to Ayotte, the company asks only that school boards buy the Smart Boards. The additional capa- bilities are provided as part of the purchase contract. "There's a very free rein if you've bought a Smart Board," she explained. "The compa- ny wants you to use it that way." The most important result, she said, has been marked increases in the readiness of students to take part in classroom activities. "Student engagement goes way up. Teachers (who use them) have always said that students' hands are up all the time now," she said. There was universal praise for the technology around the trustee table. Goderich/Northwest Huron repre- sentative Jim McDade, however, cautioned his counterparts not to be entirely awestruck. "Like you, I have a sense that this is a positive thing," he said. But he added it might be nice if there was some concrete, research - based evidence showing how much benefit there is, and in what aspects of the learning experience. "There's a good opportunity over the next couple of years to track that," he suggested. SPOTLI 0AI Do you have someone you would like to pay tribute to for a special accomplishment, retirement, promotion or just because they are special? Now is your chance to honour them in our new advertising feature, in the Times -Advocate. CALL DEBORAH FOR MORE INFORMATION 519-235-1336 x 112 Last year, the process began with a catch-all ARC ori- entation meeting at the board's Seaforth headquarters. This year, there will be two separate orientation meet- ings "so that more community members might attend and understand the rationale for the process." Those meetings will be held Wed., Oct. 22 at Usborne Central Public School and Thurs., Oct. 23 at East Wawanosh Public School. And, in keeping with feedback provided by last year's ARC members, the board will clearly state from the out- set that school closure is a distinct possibility. Perth South/West Perth trustee Carol Bennewies, who served as a lightning rod for criticism last year among a group of concerned Mitchell -area parents, gave cautious approval to the changes. "I raised many of these issues at a Mitchell High School council meeting and people there were happy that we were willing to listen," she said. She added, however, that there remains a perception that the board may be unwilling to change certain aspects of the process — in part, because the circum- stances in each community are different. After the ARC orientation meetings, each community- based committee must hold a minimum of four public meetings within a prescribed time period. The earliest possible dates for the final ARC meetings are Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, 2009. Final reports from the ARCs are used by trustees as information while considering final decisions. Ride offered to 12 year old EXETER — Huron OPP are investigating an alleged incident in Exeter which saw an older female offer a ride to a 12 -year-old girl. The alleged incident happened Sept. 23 between 1:30 and 2 p.m. in the area of Sanders Street and Pryde Boulevard. The female suspect appeared to be over 50 years of age. She is described as having short, curly, strawberry blond hair. She was unknown to the girl. The vehicle she was dri- ving is described as a light-coloured SUV. Police canvassed the area in the immediate vicinity of the alleged incident and will con- tinue to do so. The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-T.I.P.S. (8477) or the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Water rate update SOUTH HURON — South Huron chief administrative officer Roy Hardy said Monday he expects council will discuss the proposed new water rates at its Oct. 20 regular meeting, with the intention of passing a bylaw. New rates are to go into effect Jan. 1, 2009. Hardy said council has not scheduled another public meeting to deal with the rates because public meetings concerning water rates have already been held in Exeter and Crediton. 4 SPECIALS Smoked Chops $3.99 lb. Dashwood Sausage Buy 9 lbs. - Get 1 Ib. FREE Side Bacon 1 /2 or whole$2.99 PORK & BEEF BOUGHT AT ILDERTON FAIR! Buy local and Support Ontario grown products and 4-H Youth ¶?Merner Meats tam pea, t° pan' FULL SERVICE ABATFOm Wholesale Meats & Custom Processing 70963 Bronson Line S., Dashwood 519-237-3668