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B. H. S. Environment Club Inspects Damage at Courtice Steel Plant The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanvillc, Wednesday, October 6,1993 9 Education AROUND THE SCHOOL BOARD By Bob Willsher, Ward III Trustee, N/N Board of Education Members Of the Bowmanvillc High School Environment Club visited the site of the fire at the former Courtice Steel plant in Bowmanvillc last month. The club has approximately 36 members who meet every every other week. The goal of the organization is to increase environmental awareness in the school. Knox Christian School Report By Jodie Bouma On Monday, September 13, 1993 the halls of Knox Christian School were packed full with all the luggage belonging to the grade seven and eight students from Knox. We were all ready and eager to travel to Fair Glen, a Christian Outdoor Education camp located in Beaverton. At ten o'clock the grade eight boys finally started loading all our luggage onto the bus. By 10:20 everyone everyone was on the bus and wc were off!! After a long but fun hour and fifteen fifteen minute bus rise, we finally reached out destination, Fair Glen! There we met students from Immanuel Immanuel Christian School of Oshawa who would be joining us for our three day stay. Wc unloaded the bus, grabbed our belongings and raced to our cabins. After wc were all settled in our rooms and unpacked, we headed headed out to the dining hall where we ate our lunches. When wc were finished, we split into groups and made our way to our very first activities. ■ The group I was in started with the climbing of Mt. Barney. This may sound a little difficult but you see wc weren't exactly climbing the side of a mountain, it was more like the side of a bam!! Each of us took turns getting saddled up in a sort of harness contraption. Then wc tried climbing from one grip to the next on a huge rock climbing simulation board, until...if your were lucky, you made it to the topi! Some people from my group made it to the top but they were very few. It was a lot of fun! . v Next, wc made our way to the ibeach, loaded up into canoes and paddled up the Trent Canal to a lift lock. It was awesome!! We entered the lock and held on to ropes as the water level dropped. Later, when wc went back up the lock, we lined up the canoes and held on to each other as the water rushed back into the lock. Then I trudged along to my last activity and supper there was free time. When all of us grade eight girls ; were finished our activities wc raced idown to the canal where wc tried i climbing across a little bay by standing standing on a rope and holding onto another another rope above our heads. When Melissa tried to get across I shook the rope and she...ummmm...sort of fell ' right in! Oops! It was funny! Then the dinner bell rang and we went running to the dining hall for supper!! The food was delicious! Wc had mashed potatoes, corn, mcatloaf, and for dessert we had butterscotch pudding! Yumm Yumm! After supper supper we were given another hour and a half for free time, Melissa, Alida, Leah and myself were stuck with ...Dishes! Everything had to bo so sanitary and clean it was unbelievable! unbelievable! It took us a little less than an hour of hard work with the help of a dishwasher, but when wc were finally finally finished, wc were glad wc wouldn't have to do that job again. When free time was over, Mr. McTavish explained a game called "Animal Survival" to us. All of us were either herbivores, omnivores or carnivores. Well, Leah, Melissa, and I were herbivores - just plain old vegetarians who could be eaten by anyone. It was pitch dark and wc couldn't see where wc were going at first so wc On October 25th VOTE Shepherd / >nr/mni UMAbeml Aulhorizod by Tod Rytwlnskl, Olliclnl Agont (or Alex Shepherd screamed and screamed. To hide from our predators, wc hid under the canoes the whole time! After the' game was over wc headed to the dining dining hall again, this time for a drink and snack. We got humungous chocolate chocolate brownies that wore absolutely scrumptious. After everyone had eaten eaten their browmes and finished begging begging for seconds, we walked down to the campfire. Later, we watched a short video and had devotions. We were really tired and didn't mind when the lights went out at 11:00! Breakfast was served at eight and everyone was hungry for bacon and eggs. After we were excused from breakfast, we had chapel where wc learned more about friendship and also sang songs. When chapel was finished wc headed to the activities of the day. For my group our first activity was a camouflage walk, where we learned about different animals and their camouflage. We also played some games to teach us about good camouflage which were lots of fun. Time flew quickly and before I knew it, it was already lunch time. Everyone was starving by the time lunch rolled around, and we all gobbled gobbled down macaroni and cheese, cae- sar salad and for dessert peach jcllo with whipped cream on top! Next wc went on to our second activity, activity, canoe orienteering. Each canoe group got a map of the canal with little little numbers marking places we needed needed to find. At those locations there were little hole punches which each having a different code on them. We had to get the right punches, as fast as possible and then meet back at the beach. Alida, Jennifer and I came in second after Philip and Jason. Our final activity of the day was an insect study where we went into an open field and examined different insects. Wc also collected wild flowers flowers and made arrangements. It was a lot of fun. Free time was next and this time it was quite interesting! The girls got their swimming suits on and were planning to go for a swim. When we got to the water we saw that the boys had found a genuine mud pit!! At first wc were a little uneasy at the sight but soon after found ourselves sliding in the mud along with everyone everyone else!! The girls had a tug a war against the guys and would you be lieve? the girls won for once! Then the boys had a tug a war against the two principals, and the principals slid right in too! It was great! Then wc all went swimming to get cleaned up. At the dining hall we enjoyed a delicious supper of chicken, Chinese rice, mixed vegetables and for dessert a big cookie with ice cream! We again had free time and we played on the ropes and did some other stuff. Immanuel organized some excellent games that night. Wc gathered at the campfire again for songs and stories and concluded the evening with another video, devotions devotions and lights out! The next morning wc were up bright and early and started packing our bags and cleaning up our rooms. Eight o'clock came around quickly and wc all went to the dining hall for our breakfast. We had oatmeal, cereal, cereal, and pancakes. After everyone had finished breakfast wc had chapel again. This time we learned about prayer and why people need to pray to God. We left from chapel and went straight-to our cabins to finish cleaning cleaning and packing and then we brought all our junk down to the dining hall. All of the Immanuel and Knox students and teachers squeezed into a bus and we drove to an old cemetery and old stone church which was all restored. The church was beautiful. We all had to look for the oldest graves that were there. Some even dated back to before the 1850's. Now that's old! Next we drove to an organic farm where we got a tour of the.place frorpj the owners. They showed the milking: ! system to us and all their cows and explained what it meant to be organic farmers. After that we all loaded onto the bus and drove back to Fair Glen to eat lunch. We were supposed to have a cook out but it was rainy and unbelievably unbelievably cold out! Instead, we had hot soup and hot dogs in the warm dining dining hall. Soon after lunch, the boys loaded the bus and we said our good-byes to our friends from Immanuel. We hopped on the bus and headed home Our experience at Fair Glen was wonderful and one that my friends and fellow students will remember for years to come. At the September 23 Board meeting meeting a motion was approved to proceed proceed with changing the name of our Board to The Northumberland- Clarington Board of Education. This action will provide appropriate identity identity to the Municipality of Clarington. The motion didn't pass without considerable debate. Trustees from the eastern part of the jurisdiction were not supportive of the change, mainly because of the potential costs. The costs were estimated to run between between $28,000 to $35,000. Actually these costs are grossly inflated, in my opinion. The majority of changes will occur as the need to replace arises. The change of our town's name was supported by the majority of those voting...I believe the Board's decision decision is the correct one. The implementation of de- streaming has begun. This is another major shift in the delivery of education education at the direction of the province. I am not convinced of the long term benefits of this change. The province, in my opinion, is wrong in rushing the change. Our teachers have not had enough training on the new program program to be comfortable in meeting the objectives set out by the Ministry of Education. It will be very important for parents parents to monitor their child's progress. If you have questions or concerns, please discuss these with the school. It is essential that the teacher knows of your concerns so that they may be clarified or corrective action taken. On October 29 our Staff Development Development department has arranged a Professional Professional Activity Day program entitled entitled "Outcome-based Education.'" The sessions will be held in each of the three major areas of the Board. Outcome-based education is a major thrust in education throughout North America. It is an attempt to respond to concerns expressed by communities, communities, not only in Canada, but in the United States as well. Although this program is designed for teachers it is possible that parents with a strong interest in the topic may be able to attend. If you are interested please contact your school's principal. principal. At the September 29 Board meeting meeting tenders for waste, recycling heating heating oil and snow removal services were approved. Part of this is a reflection reflection of the competitive environment environment and part is the result of efforts by our plant department to reduce costs. I'll provide more information in a future column on how successful the people in the Board's maintenance maintenance department have been in saving saving the taxpayers' money...you'll be impressed! Our schools have also been very successful in reducing waste removal costs. One example is Newcastle Public School. Over the past year, because because of the efforts of staff, students and parents, costs have been reduced by 28%. This is significant and sets a standard for other schools in the Board. Congratulations! On the topic of recycling, parents should take responsibility for sending students to school with lunches packed in re-usable containers or materials materials that can be recycled at school. Learning to reduce the amount of garbage has to start at home. If you send your son or daughter to school with materials that cannot be recycled recycled they will be sent back home with your child for you to dispose of. I support this policy! From time-to-time parents will encounter encounter problems or concerns. I have found schools most willing to resolve any problems that arise. If you have a problem the first point of contact should be with your child's teacher. If it is not resolved then contact the principal. But do give the teacher the' courtesy of knowing that you are not happy and intend to pursue the con cern with the principal. If, after you have discussed the problem with the principal and are still unhappy with the solution or response, response, ask the principal for the area Superintendent's name. Most concerns concerns won't need to reach this level but the Superintendent is there to help if required. I prefer you follow the above line of communication to address issues concerning your child. However, if at any time you feel you need my assistance assistance or intervention, please give me a call. It is important that you attend as many school functions as possible. Parent-teacher meetings are important important communication meetings. There are many things you can do at home to help your child's education. Talk to the teacher about them! Bike Ride Raises Funds for School On Saturday, October 16, 1993 staff and students from Durham Christian High School will cycle their way from Peterborough to Bowmanvillc, Bowmanvillc, to raise funds in support of the Peterborough Chapter of Durham Christian High School. The participants participants will leave from Peterborough at 8:00 a.m. and plan on arriving in Bowmanvillc at approximately 12:30 p.m. This is the second year for this event. In 1992, the students raised $4400.00 and they hope to raise $5000.00 this year. Anyone wishing to sponsor a rider should call 745- 1400 or 799-5061. Funds will be used to support transportation costs on behalf of the Peterborough students students who attend Durham Christian High School. Durham Christian High School provides quality Christian education education to students from Peterborough, Peterborough, Lindsay, Northumberland and throughout the entire region of Durham. Durham. Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday Monday, the deadline for Classified Advertising in The Canadian Statesman, will be Friday, October 8th, at 4:30 p.m. The deadline for Real Estate Display' Advertising will be 4:00 p.m. on Friday, October 8th. Deadline for Display Advertising will remain Tuesday, at 12 noon. The Canadian Statesman The Independent 62 King St. W. 623-3303 Bowmanville -, K // . l y Rules of the Contest 1. A single letter is hidden somewhere in the pages of The Canadian Statesman. 2. Collect all 8 letters and spell the mystery word correctly (no facsimiles allowed) and send or bring your answer to the offices of James Publishing Co. Ltd. in Bowmanville at 62 King St. W., P.0. Box 190, Bowmanville, L1C 3K9. 3. A draw will be made from all correct answers and the winning entry will receive the prize of flight and accommodation to Cuba. Value of $1500.00 from Blessings Travel and Alba Tours. 4. Trip must bo taken within a year and is not valid at Christmas, New Year's or March Break. 6. Winner will bo announced on December 15,1993. Read the Canadian Statesman and you could Win a Trip for 2 to Varadero, Cuba compliments of ALRATours Blessings Travel located in the Vanstone Mill - 623-0005^Ç; * The Canadian Statesman 62 King St. W. 623-3303 Bowmanville ■-- --- 5S3555