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THE OAKVILLE BEAVER e 8, 1994 sHARING T HE SPIRIT The Halton Roman Catholic School Board recently held its sixth Annual Sharing The Spirit Awards to recogâ€" nize excellence among its student popâ€" ulation. One student was selected from each school and presented with a comâ€" 4 memorative 25th anniversary gold medallion and certificate. Students selection was based on Catholic leadâ€" It‘s Time To Get A SPARE PAIR FOR YOUR HOLIDAY! Have peace of mind for yourself and the kids this summer, Take advantage of our FREE second pair offer James Thompson Our Lady of Peace Amy Czettisch St. Ann School Sarah Mcisaac St. Matthew Andrea Sillius St. Michael Michaela Stepan St. Ignatius St. Luke roup helping arents to deal ith alienation JEANNINE PITT ecial to the Beaver Drawing from her own painful perience, Mary Anne Morrison ined the strength to help others hen she formed the Alienated ents Association of Halton. Morrison, 41, is a mother of two ildren. She became estranged from r 14â€"yearâ€"old son following a diffiâ€" It divorce. Morrison‘s daughter who nineâ€"yearsâ€"old, chose not to leave om. "I started the association because I t that I had to do something to deal ith my feelings," said Morrison. The sociation now has six fullâ€"time parâ€" ipants who live in the Burlington hd Oakville areas. "Another reason I started the group as to make people aware of the ts," explained Morrison. "It used to that the mother automatically ceived custody of the children...for pars many women were alienating en from their children, and now the bles are being turned." While there are no concrete statisâ€" cs available regarding alienation, Forrison feels there is a growing end in society towards children ‘coming removed or hostile towards feir parent or parents following a reakdown of the family unit. lienation from a child is particularly inful for the parent and can be catasâ€" ophic for the health of the child, said orrison. The Alienated Parents Association f Halton is comprised of people who ‘e in the different stages of alienation. provides emotional and educational ipport for parents struggling to deal ith the loss of contact with their ild. The group is currently made up nothers, although Morrison said e has started to receive calls from ithers going through alienation from éir children. One of the chief concerns for the arents‘ group is the welfare of the :tranged children. No matter what happens to cause ie destruction of the relationship, orrison stressed the importance of tting the alienated child know he or e would always be loved by both rents. To maintain this focus, the ipport group invites therapists, wyers, social services officials, and workers to speak at their meetâ€" gs. Then, through education, the roup tries to provide emotional ength to members and share experiâ€" 1ces. Group members network with each her to develop coping skills and frategies for enhancing contact with eir alienated children. "We get through the low moments ke Mother‘s Day and Christmas," fid Morrison. "I think this has made ; all much better people; we don‘t dge people any more." The group hopes to increase underâ€" anding in the legal and social sysâ€" ms of the dangers of alienation. Members want to lessen the verbal famation and destruction of characâ€" that is so often a part of acrimoâ€" ous divorce proceedings. Ultimately, ey want schools to recognize the sigâ€" ficance of alienation and the devasâ€" tion it causes to all family members. ey hope schools will factor an of alienation into their mily studies programs along with ent education on divorce and famâ€" The Alienated Parents Association eets the last Thursday of every onth. New members are invited to ‘nd and may obtain information by itacting Mary Anne Morrison at 8â€"7175. ership, family commitment, school affairs, community activities and comâ€" mitment to a difficult task. Louise Ferguson _ Michelle Macdonald Stephan Marchant Nicole Donaldson Ecole St. Marie St. Vincent FREE 2nd Pair of GLASSES!!* * with purchase of complete pair *« Single vision, clear from Selected Frames * may be upgraded to Sunglasses or Bifocals at minimal cost Paula Cara St. Joseph Greg Freeman St. John School oang Tran Adam Weish St. Dominic St. James Floriana Moro Kristina Uremovich St. Thomas Aquinas _ St. Bemnadette Katie Chan St. Marguerite Holy Family I Shopping Centre j Garage Sale Entry Form Name Address Phone Number + : | understand that the cost to participate in the Maple Grove Village Garage Sale is $20 per table and I| will pay in cash upon receipt of the table. | further understand that if I do not attend after booking a table I s Maple Grove Dr. Maple Grove Dr. Lakeshore Rd. E.