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Halton Hills shut out of full-day learning By LISA TALLYN Staff Writer The Halton District School Board (HDSB) will be providing full day learning for 4 and 5 year olds at 11 schools next year, the first year of implementation for the program, but none of the schools are in Halton Hills. The program will be offered at P.L. Robertson School and Escarpment View Public School in Milton, King's Road Public School, Mohawk Gardens Public School, Tom Thomson Public School and Lakeshore Public School in Burlington, W.H. Morden Public School, Abbey Lane Public School and Oakwood Public School in Oakville as well as the new schools under construction in the Clearview and Palermo neighbourhoods. The program will also be offered at Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) schools-- Lady of Fatima and St. Peter Catholic Elementary Schools in Milton, Holy Rosary, St. Patrick and St. John Catholic Elementary Schools in Burlington and St. Luke and St. James Catholic Elementary Schools in Oakville. During the first year of the program HDSB was allocated 36 classes to provide full-day learning to 936 students. The HCDSB will offer 19 classes to 494 students. Halton Hills parents who wish to have their child attend a fullday program at a school outside of the community can apply to do so through the registration process at their home school. "We are anticipating MARK a number of ZONNEVELD families applying," said HDSB superintendent Mark Zonneveld. He added full day learning would provide parents with a "significant savings in terms of childcare. He said if there are a large number of applicants the board would likely use a lottery system in June. Parents would have to provide transportation. "We would have loved to have gone into every community, but space (in schools) is very limited in many neighbourhoods," said Zonneveld. That was the case in Acton and Georgetown, he said. He said the hope is to provide the program in both those communities in 2011/2012. He said an addition to accommodate the program is planned for Gardiner Public School in Georgetown. St. Catharine of Alexandria Catholic Elementary School in Georgetown and St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School in Acton are proposed for the program in 2011/2012 by HCDSB. Both boards haven't determined yet how much it will cost if parents also wish to enroll their children in the before and after-school programs led by early childhood educators. "The regular school day portion of the full-day early learning program (ELP) for four and five year olds will be part of Ontario's publicly funded school system," stated a press release from the HCDSB. "There will be no cost for this part of the child's day." The extended before and after-school programs, however, are not free. Advanced registration for Kindergarten programs at all HCDSB schools, including the ELP schools, takes place on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. For information, visit www.hcdsb.org/earlylearning. Beginning in mid-January, the HDSB will accept registrations for Junior and Senior Kindergarten for Sept. 2010. Parents are asked to drop by or call their designated elementary school to find out which dates have been established for kindergarten registration. The registration deadline is Feb. 8. For more visit www.independentfreepress.com 3 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday, January 19, 2010 Calendar girl Halton Region began delivering its garbage and recycling collection calendars to households last week with the cover art again supplied by local elementary school students. A child from each municipality was selected from over 1,000 entries to have their creative design, featuring the theme of the three Rs, grace the cover of the 2010 calendar for their respective municipality. Riane Masse from St. Joseph Catholic School in Acton was the Halton Hills winner. Residents can also find the calendars online by visiting www.halton.ca/waste. The Region's website also now includes a searchable database called Put Waste in its Place through which residents can type in the name of an item and the results will identify how to reuse, recycle or dispose of it properly. Submitted photo 2010 Venza drive away price ' $ Includes freight and fees 30,784 drive away lease * % $ @ per month for 48 months with $4,775 down. Includes freight and fees. 348 4.9 APR APR¥ Purchase financing for 48 months Model # ZA3BBTA 3.9 % ** GEORGETOWN TOYOTA *First payment due on delivery, no security payment required. All leases are 24,000 km per year with an excess mileage charge of 10¢ per km. **See dealer for full details. 15 MOUNTAINVIEW RD. N., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 WEBSITE at www.georgetowntoyota.com