The Rockwood MUUL IC TE IR THE ROCK WOOD MILLER THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1998 Rockwood private school stresses academics By FRANCES NIBLOCK The Rockwood Miller With small classes, indi- vidual attention and a strong focus on academics Rockwood's Wellington Hall Academy continues to offer an alternative to parents who don't want their children educated in the public sys- tem. "Our basic philosophy is to offer some small classes sizes with less than 12 stu- dents per teacher so that the students and teachers can work closely together," Wel- lington Hall Academy direc- tor Jette Anesen said in a re- cent interview. Anesen was on the faculty at Connestoga College before opening the private school in leased fa- cilities at 138 Main Street North. The school has 35 stu- dents and five instructors. "Certainly the Ministry (of Education) has made some good comebacks in the new curriculum -- one of the things that was very impor- tant to us when we opened was a strong academic pro- gram and when we opened we were quite a bit above the Wellington School Board in terms of teaching time for core subjects like language arts and mathematics," Anesen said. Students have six 45- _ and the kind of involvement _ the smaller classes and indi- AND WE'LL DEPOSIT sB$245) IN YOUR POCKET selected WHIRLPOOL Home Appliances (Refrigerator, Range, Dishwasher, Washer and Dryer and Over-the-Range Microwave. Purchased between September 18 -- October 19, 1998 See your sales associate today. Lait) BW FREE SET UP Thurs-Fri 10-8 Saturday 9-5 Mon-Wed 10-6 bast 1a (oh V/V B OF OLD 17 Mill Street East, Acton (519)853-4299 fax(519)4012 eee rebates by mail with the purchase of a grouping of minute math classes and four science classes a week. Anesen, whose children | attended a private school in | Oakville before she opened | if the Academy, said she | wanted a school where pa- | rental involvement meant -- more than just fund raising. "Jn the past often working on a parent-school commit- | tee, and I'm not commenting on 'the new parent councils, a lot of it was fund raising and that type of participation as opposed to the academic that I would have liked to have seen for parents tomake some change within the school setting," Anesen said. Anesen said along with vidual instruction parents ike the closer supervision nd the availability of the eachers to their students. | She admits that the lack of extra curricular activity is a drawback for some. "We are involved pres- | ently in organizing and en- mitted photo quiring with other private schools in the area to form a group for sports events and other things like that. In a sense we do have some iso- lation but we're working to- wards arranging with other schools to pool some of these things like track and field." Anesen said, adding that most of the students are in- volved with community and church groups. Anesen said that they had intended to build a new school on a property across from their current rented lo- cation, but abandoned the From $125 per month Education Finance Plan Available For better grades this fall, better call Sylvan now. Sylvan Learning Centre® can help your child make the grades. In our positive, stress-free environment, children actually become excited about learning. You Can see it on their faces -- and on their report cards. Sylvan® offers help in reading, writing, math, algebra, study skills, homework support and time management. To learn how Sylvan can benefit your child, call today. Sylvan Learning Cenire Helping kids be their best. Established 1987 READING * MATH © WRITING © STUDY SKILLS ° SCHOOL READINESS UNIVERSITY PREPARATION * ALGEBRA @ BEGINNING READING FOR MORE INFORMATION, PHONE 823-5711 OR 823-5781 § 27 Woodlawn Rd. W. Guelph "EAGER STUDENTS: Parents of students at Rockwood's Wellington Hall Acad- emy private school appreciate the focus on academics and small class sizes.- Sub- plan when negotiations with the Township of Eramosa, which wanted to build a new fire hall on the land, fell through. "The Township (of Eramosa) was interested in trading the property for an- other parcel in Rockwood but we weren't able to negotiate ' that so we just put the prop- erty up for sale." The annual tuition for the Wellington Hall Academy is $6,500 per child with a re- duction for the second child in a family. Rockwood Digest New owners at RM Rockwood's Sandra Verhagen, owner of R & M Shopette, is calling it quits today (Thursday.) After a decade behind the counter Verhagen is handing over the keys to new owners, Bo and Kevin Kim of Mississauga. "After 10 years of seven- days- a- week work I just thought it was time to do a lot more things other than this," Verhagen said, describ- ing herself as semi-retired. The deal includes the business, the store and an upstairs apartment. Rumour quelled Widespread rumours in the village about financial woes at the Rockwood Ridge subdivision have been called "totally false" by Acton Scotiabank spokesperson Wendy Torres. "Our Scotiabank sign fell down (at the site) at one point and never was put back up," Linda Torres said adding Scotiabank "downtown" was financing the project and the Acton branch was doing the financing for people buying homes and "as far as I know everything is fine."