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8- The Oakville Beaver, Friday May 2, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Fate of four aging north Oakville schools still unclear What they recommend By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Parents had a lot to say Wednesday night at the Halton District School Board's public delegation meeting regarding recommendations involving Munn's, Montclair, Lorne Skuce and Sunningdale public schools. Sixteen delegations presented their views on the recommendations listed in the March 4 director's report, with the majority asking for changes before the final recommendations go before the board on May 21. The school board has cited a number of problems currently affecting the four schools, such as high enrolment and overcrowding in French immersion schools, low enrolment in English track schools, and aging infrastructure at all four facilities. Close to 100 parents, as well as a handful of students, attended the Wednesday meeting, demonstrating the interest this issue has garnered. The basis of the recommenda- Source: Director's Report from Halton District School Board Program and Accommodation Plan: · English-track students from Lorne Skuce, Munn's and Montclair public schools be directed to one school -- Montclair Public School -- serving junior kindergarten to Grade 8, and renovations to the site be planned, approved and implemented to ensure opening effective September 1, 2009. · The English track students in the area bounded by Upper Middle, Neyagawa, Dundas and Sixteen Mile Creek be redirected to River Oaks Public School. · The French track students be directed to two Grade 1 to 8 schools -- Sunningdale and Munn's public schools -- based upon their secondary school destination. · Once Lorne Skuce Public School is vacated tions currently on the table came from a program and accommodation review committee, labelled PARC PE16B, which was formed to provide the school board with ideas on how to address the problems. The PARC PE16B committee consisted of trustees, as well as staff and parents from the schools involved. for use in September 2009, the school be offered for disposition as outlined in Ontario Regulation 444. Transitional Plan: · The English track students who are projected to attend Montclair Public School shall be directed to Lorne Skuce Public School for September 2008. · The French track students whose destination is White Oaks Secondary School would remain at Sunningdale Public School, and the French track Grade 8 students whose destination is Iroquois Ridge High School would be directed to Sunningdale Public School to graduate with their cohort. · The French track students whose destination is Iroquois Ridge High School would be directed to Munn's Public School. are approved. Their major suggestions were: increasing startup school funding to ensure classroom readiness; hiring quality staff and administration; dividing resources evenly between the two French immersion schools; creating safe and accessible playgrounds; renaming Munn's, as Not a word you'd commonly associate with a Volvo? That's okay. Neither are these prices. But it's our way of answering the economy. And our way of helping anyone who has ever thought that it'd be nice to drive around in a Volvo. But you're probably down with that. For more information, visit volvoofoakville.com. BOOYAH! $553 GET INTO A 2008 VOLVO XC90 FOR LEASE PER MONTH $10,000 DOWN .. The largest number of delegations at Wednesday's meeting came from the Ward 6 Concerned Parent Group, which represents more than 200 parents of French immersion students, who would be split between Munn's and Sunningdale for September 2009 if the current recommendations 3.99 %* AND $7,200+ $3,000 = $10,200 TOWARDS YOUR A DOWN PAYMENT N LOYALTY SAVINGS T RECEIVE A CURRENCY INCENTIVE OF LEASE APR FOR 48 MONTHS THE 2008 VOLVO XC90 well as providing proof that the recommendations are a permanent solution. "In September, we expect our students to walk into classrooms that look and feel the way that they do now," said Jason Perry, a Ward 6 parent. "In short, there should be things like alphabets on the walls, books on the shelves and workbooks on their desks, as well as nearly every classroom have working computers." A number of concerns voiced were directly around the issues facing students, who will be directed to Munn's, which is currently an English public school, compared to Sunningdale, which currently offers Grades 1 to 6 French immersion. "Our children will not have the depth of a French literacy library that is currently available to them that has been built through years of parent fundraising," said Lynn Westover, a Sunningdale parent. "They will not have the Sunningdale name that they will be so proud of to call their own." The Ward 6 French immersion parents say they have so many problems with the current recommendations because adequate information about PARC PE16B was not provided to them. However, Wayne Joudrie, director of education of Halton District School Board, disagrees there was a lack of communication. "I reviewed the communication and we went step-by-step in all of the pieces that were required," he said in an interview with The Oakville Beaver following the meeting. "The lesson learned is that we can communicate all we want, but if folks aren't receptive in picking it up, then we've got a challenge on that front.... There was certainly plenty of effort made to make sure people were aware." While the majority of the night's speakers were parents, a student delegation representing the Grade 7 students at Montclair Public School also asked the board to reconsider its recommendations. A major concern they voiced was being separated from their friends during the fall's transition period before the proposed changes come into full effect in September 2009. Montclair currently houses English track and French immersion students in Grades 7 and 8. The recommendations for the transitional plan starting September 2008 would see the current Grade 7 class separated as they enter Grade 8 in the fall. The French track students would be sent to Sunningdale, while the English track students would go to Lorne Skuce. 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