The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Page 20, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, Deoember 13,1995 After-sch 001 care to, be provided at new school By Mark Reenor The YMCA of, Greater Toronto, wiil offer an after-schooi care and a recreation-based program at a new Whitby eiementary echool when it opens next Auguet. A traditional iicensed child care program will operate from 3 p.m. toe ither 6 or 6:30 p.m., depending on community demand, Monday through Frida o children aged six te 12, atytfhe schoi under construction on the property of Anderson CVI. There'. aise the possibiity of a before-echool prograin, but that wili depend on how eariy the school day starta if the schooi, adopte a modified caiendar program. On echool holidays and in seven weeks after sehool sessions, STAR (Sports, Team-buiding, Arts and Recreation) wili effer children their choice of, subjecte - everything from.basketbaii and floor hockey te photography, animation and fashion design. Courses, which will be open te, any Whitby student, will be offered frem 4 te 5:30 p.m. each weekday and from 8:30 a.m. te 5:30 p.m. on scheol hoiidaye. Chiidren enrolled in after-schooi care, which will cost $260 a month, can participate free in the STAR program; for others the fee wiil be $84 per seven-week session for the after-schooi program and $125 a week for a five-day -holiday camp program. STAR, "a brand new prograin," concentrates on sill development and emphasizing creativity, role modeing and teambuilding, summer camp prograin, says Arianne Schaffer, a creative arts pregram specialiet. It's dirscted at older after-schooi care studenta who may be bored with activities, she says, and wiii be driven by wbat the participants want te do. "'s about fun but it's aise about iearning," ehe eays. The two programe will net have a epecific space of their own but will share echool facilities, says Lynn Brennan, eastern region manager of YMCA child cars and summer camps. "If we have 100 studenta who require after echool cars, we wili have the spaoe te do that," she teld parente at a rscent meeting at Pringle Creek Public School. 'We'rs net going te really be .and traditional calendar year porm - should it be adopted at the achool. "la the modified echool year going te have two tracksr' she asked principal Jack Smyka. "Itfs a possibility, but again I tliink it's a matter of negotiation," Sinyka rspiied. For more information on the YMCA prograns or te register, cal (416) 225-9870 LETTERS: To the editor- Re: Article, "If numbere don't warrant..." Dec, 6, Free Press In the previously mentioned article, fermer mayoralty candidate Pat Perkins was queted as saying, " don't want a bad drug deal going down and taking my kid .I don't want te see the weapons that are in Anderson higb echool coming out on te that back property and having sometbing happen ..." As a reoent graduate of Anderson, I take great offence at the ignorant and unsubstantiated accusations directed at students of Anderson by Ms. Perkins. In my five years of attending Anderson, I neyer once saw a weapon of any sort; ne guns, ne knives, ne weapons. Nor did I ever To the editor: It is witb some cencern that I read Pat PerkIns' commente in tbe article on tbe modified school year for the new elementary sebool ("If numbers don't w rrant, modified calendar to be droppcd," Free Press, Dec. . Her cern;. cnts indicate ale, ck of appreciatio[ %--f the important work that Ande,,-ion CVI je deing in tbe community and of the high quality students wbo attend. This type of unhelpfui, uninformed comment perpetuates an incorrect view of our community youth. Ms. Pc ---ins' commenta bave tarred ail A ..derson students with the same brush, whether she intendet. iethsimpression or net. A number of my studenta bave indicated that they are offended by ber commenta that portray themn as weapon-teting drug dealers. Indeed, bier suggestion tbat elementary 'ide are front line troop e e" implies that some sort of war je in progrees with the high echool. I challenge hier te look at secondary studenta in a positive light and te see tbat ne war je occurring. Thankfully, our elected ACVI responds to cominents see any drug deals, good or bad, "go down." In fact, in my five years of attendirig Anderson, I was neyer, ever, even approached by anyone eoliciting drugs. There bas neyer, te my knowledge, been a drug bust or arreet involving weapons, at Anderson. The remarks M1s. Perkins bas made are sianderous and unfounded. They illustrate an enormous amount of ignoranoe and lack of knowledge by a prorninent member of our community teward the youths and future of our community. 0f al people te, make euch degrading comments, one would think the last person te do se would be a former mayoralty candidate, who may wish ýte run again. If Ms. Perkçins were te eay the same things about a certain racial educational and community leaders are more informed and thoughtful ini tbeir asseesment and understanding of teday's young adulta. Tbere are considerable benefits te u.n association between elementary and eecondary echools, net the least of wbich je accees te high quality atbletic facilities. On a personai note, I take senior level students from my classes te local elementary scbools te work in the classroom with Grade 6 classes. The experience is consistently positive, constructive and educational for both the elementary and secondary students. I remind Ms. Perkcins that ber children will eventually go te bigh echool and may even come te Anderson CVI. They will be entitled, as are ail Andersor studenta, te a quality education by caring, professional teachers wbo w,-11 defend tbem from spurieus commenta made by uninformed community members. Martyn Beckett .Teacher Ar.derson CVI or cultural group, she would be attacked by the community. Why i s she allowed te make such commenta in this case? Ms. Perkins obviously knews littie or nothing about the impact of youth in our community. I encourage flot just Ms. Perkins but ail residents of Whitby te look around their grocery stores or the local fast food restuaranta or the local drug stores and notice whe are the majority of part-time employees. They're students; many from Anderson. These conscientious workers are the very saine wbo supposedly tete guns, wield knives and deal drugs at Anderson. In addition, local students vohmnteer for community groupe, at the hospital and at Fairview Lodge. These youths are the ones Ms. Perkins thinke are going te "kcnock off" her precieus littie ones. To the editors I arna Grade 12 student at Anderson CVI and I wish te address the concerns expressed in last week's edition of the Whitby Free Press. Pat Perkins was quoted as saying she je worried about her children being influenced by druge and weapons she believes. are at Anderson. As a student who has nothing te do with the above mentioned drugs and weapons, I arn personally offended by the ignorance of these statements. It would be stupid of me te say that these things neyer occur at Anderson, but any rumeur that has been circulated regarding an extreme drug or violence problem at Anderson is completely untrue. Anderson students who concern themselves with the new public school being bujît on Anderson's lower field are net those who are going te hurt publice chool studente or attempt te seil them drugs, but the ones who are interested in helping them with their academie and I admit that there are some bad apples, but there are bad apples in every crowd. Please don't judge the hard-workcing studenta, athietes, mueicians, echolars of Anderson by the few 'nuta' who do lead people like Mo. Perkins te euch narrow- minded, stereotypical beiefs. The students of Anderson are being unfairly attacked. I would ask, and go se far as te demand, that Ma. Perkcins publicly retract ber statementa made in referenoe to the studenta of Anderson and apologize for ber barsh commenta. Anderson is not a reform school. The studenta are net juvenile delinquents. The bigh achool students could teach a lot te the elementary studenta if the proposed union occurs. Maybe in the prooess, Ms. Perkins will learn a tbing or two. Aaron Kylie Whitby extracurricular activities. If anything, the students of the new publice cheol stand te gain a lot from Anderson's staff and students who have a ekili and specialization in such things as drama, music, art and technical studies. I attend Anderson from an "eut of border" area, and I do 50 because I know that the education I receive at Anderson je second te none in the regien, and I would net transfer te another school because of the curricular and eitra- curricular activities provided at Anderson. I urge that parents who h ave cencerns ab out their chiidren attending the new school, because they fear the influences of high school students, te caîl Anderson. I'm sure that someone will be happy te address your concerne. If, after thi's, you are stili net satisfied, don't sent your child te this school. I know from experience that "eut of area" permission is net that cifficuit te get. Blair Nlblett PLEASE RELEASE ME ILLUSIONIST Mark Demontigny of Cornwall mystlfled and recent performance that included escaping from a straijacket. amazed students at Col. J.E. Farewell Public Sohool with a Photo by M" arkRso, Whty Fre ro Perkins should retract statements Ail students 'tarred'y 'Completely untrue'