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Lic. #36-004 & M507567 A group of Burlington parents have asked the Halton Catholic school board to accept the fact their children are not going to wear uniforms, and leave them alone. On Tuesday night, Tom McCormack addressed trustees on behalf of five families at St. Gabriel School, where the board launched a two-year pilot project in September to evaluate the viability of elementary school uniforms. The families ­ about two per cent of the school population ­ have taken a position of "passive resistance" to the project, and refused to send their children to school in the mandated navy and white uniforms. McCormack said those children have been regularly summoned to the school office, excluded from various school activities and forced to change into uniforms against the express wishes of their parents. "One of our children, an honour student with a passion to support the Guardian project (students dedicated to helping out at the school), was rejected as being a poor role model," said McCormack. "The comparison was made to having a drug dealer as a role model because the child wasn't in uniform." A letter to trustees from parent Roman Soltys expressed concern with the "zealousness" with which the school has enforced the uniform policy. "The administration has spent considerable time and effort in creating a school uniform infraction checklist," he wrote. "The atmosphere is one in which some teachers and staff are focusing on using this form to regularly patrol the school with the sole purpose of reporting infractions." Soltys suggested the emphasis on enforcing the uniform has diverted attention from monitoring more worrisome school infractions like bullying, made the staff feel less approachable for students, and shifted focus away from the school's educational mandate. "Our prime purpose in sending our kids to school is to get an education based on the curriculum, not based on whether or not they're in uni- form," he told trustees. Soltys added that he is also concerned that prizes in recent school contests have been limited to students in uniform, and that items like pencil cases donated by the uniform supplier, have been used to reward uniform compliance. However, trustees also received a letter from a teacher at the school who noted that staff believes the uniforms are "a tremendous success" and encourage a tone of "quietude and respect." "We feel that too much time and effort has been afforded to a few people, who are encouraging their children to be blatantly disobedient," said the letter, from teacher Gwyneth Austin. "It is difficult to teach about obedience, respect for authority and compliance, when we daily witness the exact opposite." Although Burlington trustee Bob Van de Vrande thanked McCormack and Soltys for the respectful tone of their delegation, he questioned why their children should be permitted to ignore the rules that all other students are expected to follow. "Do you understand the meaning of mandatory?" he asked. "At what point do students get to disregard democratically and validly imposed instructions and mandates?" Lou Piovesan, the board's director of education, told the families that he has made it clear that no student will be denied access to educational or faithrelated programs as a result of not wearing a school uniform. Trustees did not discuss the issue of uniforms on Tuesday night, but are scheduled to consider an evaluation process and an exit strategy for the pilot project at their Feb. 5 meeting. The issue of requiring uniforms for the board's elementary students has been dogged with controversy since it was raised about three years ago. Opponents of the uniforms have suggested that the board did not follow its own policies when instituting the pilot program, a position supported by former board chair Al Bailey, who has since resigned his seat. In addition to St. Gabriel's, the uniform pilot project is also running at Guardian Angels school in Milton. TM TM Look for our Lipo-Dissolve Melt away fat, tighten skin and reduce cellulite without surgery. RED HOT WINTER CLEARANCE Flyer in Today's paper! (Only in selected areas.) See in store for complete details. Buy one package & get a second at 50% OFF Limited time offer. May not be combined with any other offer. Expires 02.28.08 2395 Trafalgar Rd. (Winners Plaza, beside Mademoiselle Fitness) 1.888.413.5035 I www.puremedspa.com