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Wednesdsay March 17, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A3 Board optimistic, union cautious about new high school curriculum B y D enn is Sm ith S P E C IA L T O T H E B E A V E R The new high school curriculum is being seen as either a pep pill or a migraine headache, depending on who is asked. There has been strong reaction to announcement of curriculum docu­ ments and secondary school reforms by Education Minister Dave Johnson. Johnson described the package as "a major achievement which will benefit our students for years to come." But a local teachers' representative said the new curriculum is being rushed through in piecemeal fashion. "It seems like a big experiment. Students are going to be the guinea pigs as to whether it works," said A1 Tanner, president of the Halton chapter o f the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation. "The speed and method of implementation is chaotic." But Halton District School Board superintendent Kit Rankin was more optimistic. "This is more helpful than the ele­ mentary process was, but it doesn't mean it's perfect," she said. "We will implement it next September and keep working on it over the next few years." The new curriculum will start with Grade 9 students in September. It will be added to one grade during each suc­ cessive year until the whole secondary system has a new curriculum. In addition to revamped courses, other secondary reforms will include four-year school terms, literacy tests, unpaid community service, a new course-streaming system and provin­ cial report cards. The provincial government also promised $150 million in support fund­ ing for schools across the province, including $60 million for textbooks. But teachers won't see the new course profiles until later, with 40% to be completed by May and the remain­ der coming in the fall. Tanner said the May timetable hits teachers preparing for final exams while the fall information comes while the new curriculum is already under way. "There's no doubt it w ill take a huge am ount o f tim e to rethink assignments and courses and it w ill take a lo t o f work. But I don't feel i t 's an impossible am ount o f work. " -Kit Rankin, Halton District School Board Superintendent "In the middle of teaching a course, we're going to be told what we're teaching," noted the secondary rep. Tanner said the students might be enrolling without knowing which courses are applied or academic. And more intellectual demands are being made on them at a younger age, he said. He also feels there won't be enough time to order the right textbooks. P o l ic e r e v ie w m e e t in g s A series of public meetings has been called to solicit public input as part o f the current review of Halton Regional Police. The Oakville session takes place Thursday, April 8th in the community room of police headquarters, located at 1151 Bronte Rd., from 7 to 9 p.m. The meetings will discuss issues of effectiveness and efficiency within the service and how police can best meet the safety and security needs of Halton. Public participation is part of the process which includes input from regional adm inistration, regional councillors and members of the Police Services Board. For more information contact Keith Taylor at 825-4747 ext. 4723. Meetings are also scheduled for March and April in Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills. He believes the provincial govern­ ment is forging ahead to show it's keep­ ing a promise to reform secondary schools. "This is more about politics and a spring election," said Tanner. He also feels the new curriculum should be tested on a smaller sample. "You can't come up with the first draft and expect it to be perfect," said the secondary rep. "The checks and bal­ ances are not being implemented." Tanner said teacher response was "amazingly negative" to elementary curriculum changes last fall. 'Teachers were putting in huge hours on untested methods." Rankin agreed elementary teachers have had difficulty implementing the new curriculum this school year. "They did not get their documents soon enough," she said. Secondary teachers, however, are seeing curriculum documents a few months before implementing them and the course profiles are a first for a cur­ riculum change. "They're getting much more support than the elementary teachers," said Rankin. The course profiles provide overviews- and samples of what teach­ ers might do. 'Teachers will decide how they're going to make it work," she said, adding Halton has outstanding teachers and she's confident they'll be prepared. Planning sessions will be held this spring. "There's no doubt it will take a huge amount of time to rethink assignments and courses and it will take a lot of work," she said. "But I don't feel it's an impossible amount of work." Rankin said it's very good news textbooks will be ready for Grade 9 stu­ dents in September and there's provin­ cial funding for the books. She said there was a very long con­ sultation process before the new cur­ riculum was announced. Rankin said she has not heard before of a new curriculum being tried out on a sample group. Sheridan student wins leadership award For the second straight year, a Sheridan College student has won the Association of Canadian Community Colleges Award for Student Leadership. The award was recently presented to Teresita "Tess" Bouchard, a sec­ ond-year Human Services Administration student. Bouchard has made an incredible impact in a short time at Sheridan. In her first year, she took on the chal­ lenging task o f coordinating Sheridan's 8th Annual Fundraising Auction for the Hospital for Sick Children, and engaged the internal and external communities to support the event. "It was a showcase o f what Sheridan could do," says Bouchard, explaining her persistence in rounding up support for the auction, which raised over $3,000. "It had the Sheridan name on it - we had to make it a reality." In her role as International Student Association Secretary-Treasurer, and as an International Student Mentor, she helped to ease the transition for the more than 100 students from 18 differ­ ent countries who attend Sheridan. "So much of it is alleviating feel­ ings of alienation and isolation," said Bouchard, "and helping a lot of them cope with winter." Her success in this role was con­ firmed by fellow members o f the International Student Association in W o m e n o f Y e a r h o n o u r e d o n M a y 4 t h Nominations are being sought for Halton's second annual Women of the Year Awards presented by the Women's Information and Support Centre of Halton. The awards will be presented at a reception and ceremony on Tuesday, May 4th, at the Glen Abbey Golf Club. "There are many women in Halton whose exemplary ser­ vice to others raises the bar on l e a d e r s h i p , responsiveness, action, persever­ ance, and social awareness," says Mary Koster, director of the Women's Centre. "They are our neighbours, rela­ tives and col­ leagues - women who exemplify integrity and determination." Those inter­ ested in nominat­ ing an individual are asked to describe their Halton candidate by citing her leadership abili­ ties, challenges she has met and obstacles she has overcome; how she has made a difference and how she has demonstrated her strength. A per­ sonal profile sheet should also accompany the form, and nomi­ nations must be at The Women's Centre by Friday, April 2nd. Nomination forms are available at the Women's located at Hopedale Mall, Ste. 210, and by calling the Centre at 847-5520. They may also be obtained from public libraries and businesses in Halton displaying the Women of the FOR THE CHILDREN: The students at Brookdale Public School were busy raising money for Sleeping Children Around the World and that work paid off. They made a $1,000 donation recently. Pictured here are: (1 to r) Aujay Mohan 7yr, Vi Burlein Coordinator, Shirley Gates Volunteer Sleeping Children Around the World, Scott Helm 6yr, and Maddy Davis 12. A D V E R T IS IN G C O R R E C T IO N In our M arch H o m e book (prom o # 6 7 7 ) includ­ ed in this newspaper. P lease note: P ag e 2 2 - R egency floor m irror by S chnadig. O u r reg. $ 1 ,3 9 9 sale $ 1 ,0 4 9 .2 5 will not be available until M arch 29 , 1999; P age 11 - 'W estpo rt' sheets and cases will not be available until April 15, 1999; P age 11 - 'Periw inkle' duvet covers will not be available until April 3 0 ,1 9 9 9 . We sincerely apologize to our valued c u s ­ tomers and regret any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused. EATO STOP SNORING Our physicians introduced laser-assisted snoring reduction to Canada and have since completed over 5000 procedures. Call Dr. Robert Jones now to find out how you and your loved-ones' can achieve a better night's sleep. www.laserclinics.com Oakville (905) 8 42 -8346 Toronto (416) 923-0092 their letter of nomination. "Being an immigrant from the Philippines, Tess shares her experience and identifies with all of us on how it feels to be away from home. She provides us with direction, support and is always listening and caring when we are most in need." Persistence, hard work and a win­ ning attitude have enabled Tess to maintain a top academic record while making a significant contribution to the college community. "Every chal­ lenge is really welcome for me," said Bouchard, who hopes to manage spe­ cial events and fundraising of a non­ profit organization after graduation. "If you want to be a leader you have to be reliable and get the job done." Year Awards poster. "At our inaugural ceremony, we pre­ sented the awards to four outstanding women from over 30 deserving Halton nominees. We are anticipating drawing even more candidates this year," states Koster. 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