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B6 The Acton Wednesday May 3 Total Immersion the Acton alternative Having an open house for parent and public viewing of student work Is not common In any school How ever when the Down group had their open bouse last Tuesday April It was not the average open house The Down toEarth bunch are a group of students and their advisor Paul Tamblyn who are spending one semester out of the four walls or Acton high taking an alternative program of learn The course known as Total Immersion began last year In Acton with students taking the second semester February to June outside of school on the property of Keith Black The students take four courses during the semester and are granted four grade twelve credits for successful completion of the courses The courses avail able are physical and outdoor education environmental studies social science and life styles space man and technology and creative writing and expression These courses may sound familiar In title to many of those offered in school how ever the emphasis at Total Immersion is not on learning and writing a test or assign ment but on learning and actually doing Some of the special ac tivities done by the present Total Immersion group fall into all these different cat egories and were the sub jects of their open house dis play The group took a visit to the sugar bush of Eldon Comfort where they were able to see a full scale sugar bush in Following this ex per lence the students tapped their own trees for sap and made their own maple syrup A maple syrup testing display was set up at the open house A very impressive struc ture at the open house was a solar hot air unit primarily built by Ron Kirk wood a student in the course The heater works on a simple principle however Ron says it was difficult to construct and took quite a length of time to complete The box is filled with rows of pop cans forming a pipe and covered In black tape The unit has a plastic window with a side vent to take In the cold air heat It through the cans and come out the top of the unit as hot air Ron designed this plan himself learning from trial and error Other activities related to the subject of energy include visit by Julian Reed who has a water generator In his own home in Nerval Another Important part of the course is the section on pioneer lifestyles Many of the activities at the Total Immersion site are similar In method to those of the pioneers The construction of a log cabin eventually to be the Tamblyns new home is part of their course The students are each responsible for peeling fitting and setting one log for the new home Learning their own mental and physical ability is part of winter camping unit They the proper precautions to take and test their own endurance against nature Now the students are busy planning a fitness program to fit their own needs also as part of the preparation before their eight day canoe trip in May The students have con their own and canoe paddles for both the winter camping earlier In the year and the canoe trip coming up Service projects are another important part of the Total Immersion program Learning to do something for someone else and getting nothing In return except self satisfaction is important for this closeknit group who are working together to make their own and others lives happier Service projects range from volunteering help at one of the local nursery schools to helping a farmer with spring crops or other chores around the farm The land where the Total Immenionprogramisheldis owned by Keith Black a teacher at the high school as well as a farmer Mr Black lends the land to the group rent free however In return the students pay their board by working on the farm planting crops preparing the fields and doing other Jobs that are always popping up on a farm A few of the other programs enjoyed by the students are sheep shearing carding and spinning wool fibres photog raphy wildlife identification and observation recycling building igloos care of farm animals and working with one another Tamblyn teacher advisor stresses the key point for the Total Immersion students is to learn to work together with the others on the program and to develop and maintain relationships said things dont always run smoothly and there arc difficult times how ever they can t leave the class when the bell rings and forget about It There ore no bells for this group With the hard outdoor con ditions and the closeness of the group occasionally members of the group start feeling down Approximately every two or three weeks the group holds a Valentine day At this informal session every member of the group says something meaningful and positive about every other member When you leave the Valentine day you feel really good about your self and about being with all these other wonderful people There are many things to be learned in school and many things to be learned outside the four walls of the classroom Total Immersion is to allow students to learn In a different way rather than the traditional school system The emphasis at Total Immersion independent learning and personal growth Lome Scots in tattoo The Lome Scots band will and evening be playing in a tattoo in St The tattoo will also be Catharines May with given in June In Hamilton bands from all over the Hamilton district There will Local bandsmen will be be two performances in the taking part with the Lome arena there in the afternoon Scots BRUCE SWIFT and Kathryn Beaton dem onstrate canoeing to members of the Total Immersion group at Fairy Lake Tuesday morn ing The emphasis in working together and teaching each other is important to the group CLIFF samples the Total Immersion students maple syrup at the groups open house last Tuesday The students had previously visited a professional sugar bush and since have preserved their own syrup MP favors penalty IIS TIME AGAM8 Evergreens Trees or j Shrubs Come to Birch Way Farm NURSERY and GARDEN CENTRE 1 Mile North of Highway on Halton Road 3 at OPEN DAYS A WEEK KAREN van Eyken demonstrates lacing a homemade snowshoe at the down open house last Tuesday Students in the course spend one semester learning and actually doing the skills they are taught NANCY SHOEMAKER practices her paddle strokes at Fairy Lake Tuesday morning Nancy is one of twenty students taking the Total Im mersion course this semester Canoeing is one of many act cities enjoyed by the group Tory Candidate in Halton Otto asked the House of Commons to reinstate the death penalty last week But call was never voted upon as it did not hive the unanl consent of the House cited the murder of an in Saskat as the reason for calling for the of the death penalty His motion seconded by Allan Lawrence called for the re instatcment of the death penalty prior to the issuing of the writ for an election and falling that he wanted to put the question on the ballot for a national referendum VALERIE GRAHAM and Steve Campbell gave visitors a taste of their homemade bread at the Total Immersion open house The students of fered visitors samples and were taking for loaves EVERY MONDAY GEORGETOWN ELKS LODGE BINGO Door Prizes Mountamview Road Georgetown MO Prizes Early Bird 30 PRIZES AT 0 EACH Doors Open 7 Bmgo Starts 16 Regular Games at 40 en 3 Special at 600 Jackpot 52 Numbers GUARANTEED Wealth and Deal Detection In Small Children FREE Bus Service From Acton and Gnorootown GIGANTIC AUCTION SALE OF BRAND NEW FURNITURE APPLIANCES AND GIFT ITEMS THURS MAY 730 PM SUN MAY 7 200 PM GRUNDYS AUCTION CENTRE PARTIAL LISTING Large selection of chesterfield suites in and piece sets chrome kitchen suites 7 piece dining room suites maple and pine bunk beds Captains and Mates beds stereo sets maple and pine and birch bedroom suites coffee and end table sets bed chesterfields wooden wall clocks table lamps cedar chests clock radios component sets socket sets Boston Lincoln oil paintings single double and queen size box spring and mattresses colour TVs radios carving sets plus 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