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6 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013 `Disruption and confusion' for some Acton parents LAST-MINUTE SCRAMBLE: Many students at Robert School would have preferred to have had the day off on Friday, but a labour board ruling cancelled the teachers' unions planned day of protest, so Mom Melanie Fox (left), with son Connor Hope and his friend Gregory Barrett, joined Logan, Angela and Melissa Butcher at the school doors. ­ Frances Learment photo Court bans teacher protest - schools open Friday was like a snow day at Acton's two public elementary schools ­ many parents ­ surprised to find Halton schools open when they awoke ­scrambled to change plans made to deal with the teachers' day of protest which was deemed illegal in a 4 a.m. Friday Ontario Labour Relations Board ruling. Teachers were directed to report to their schools, and by 7:30 a.m., the Halton District School Board used its notification system and website to "welcome" parents to send their kids to schools, apologizing for the "disruption and confusion." With just 30 minutes notice Town crossing guard Diane Torraville was asked to "get to my post" at Main Street and School Lane, but by 9 a.m. she'd escorted just three Robert Little School students across the busy intersection. Both Logan, 6, and A n g e l a B u t c h e r, 8 , were disappointed when dropped off by mom Melissa Butcher at Robert Little School. The Grade one and three students were looking forward to a "play date" but mom had other ideas. "I want my kids to be in school," Butcher said. Laying blame for the labour unrest with the teachers' union, Butcher doesn't think the contractual bickering has affected her children's education, but noted her daughter's class didn't have a Christmas concert and Angela missed being in the school's acclaimed extracurricular Everybody Dance Club. An unofficial Board directive and professionalism keeps the labour unrest out of the classrooms said Robert Little Principal Carolyn Reist. "There's such a close knit staff here and everybody is dedicated to what they are doing that we'll manage," she said as the bell rang. Thanking a supervisor, who is also a crossing guard, for being on "fast alert" and smiling, Reist said "it's knee-jerk right now for what our directives are, but I appreciate...the smile ­ that's what the kids need to see, too." At McKenzie-Smith Bennett School, Principal Lisa Serebrin said students continued to trickle in after the bell and some classes have a lot of students and some have a few. She said despite the labour unrest, the atmosphere was "very good, (and) very positive" and during the day it is regular business. Asked about extracurricular programs affected by the labour unrest, Serebrin directed all questions to the Board. DE MELO CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS CENTRE Dr. Dave de Melo, Chiropractor Dr. Jim Giancoulas, Chiropractor Amy Spiers, Massage Therapist · SAFE, GENTLE CHIROPRACTIC CARE · COMPUTER GENERATED SPINAL ANALYSIS · EMERGENCIES & WORKERS COMP ACCEPTED · NEW PATIENTS WELCOME 25 Main Street North, Acton Across from Giant Tiger Plaza No Referral Necessary EVENING APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE (519) 853-3460