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ed 78 ET Citizen - kei, 'December 14, 1993 ls 36 WATER ST,, PORT PERRY, ONT. L9L1j2 Phone : (416) 985-6397 Fax : (416) 985-1410 Grade 12 review on the right path Parents in Scugog Township can be assured that our two logal high schools are doing a better than adequate job of getting their sons and Qughiars to express themselves on paper. Last week, Tecvudary schools all over the province, including Cartwright HS and Port Perry HS took the rather unusual step of making public the media the results of the province-wide writing This review, conducted in 1991, a asked grade 12 students at the advanced, general and basic levels, to submit a "best piece" of writing and to submit an "assigned piece" of writing done in class time. The writing was evaluated by a team at educators and those in the business world" using a six-level scale. (Level six showed the writer to have a'superior under ding of all advertising manager : Valerie Ellis advertising sales : Chris Hudson accounting : Sibylle Warren eternal optimist : Liz Drebit# feature writer : Heather McCrae ; "Proud Canadians, prod to call Scugog Township home." published by Scugog Citizer. Publishing 1 Ltd. co-publishers ; John B. McClelland, Valerie Ellis _ ; or John B. McClelland OCNA Member THE SCUGDG CITIZEN : CCNA Member An i owned and ted © CCNA X er v 2 , " is distributed, free of charge, wii to over 12,000 homes and businesses CCNA Vefied in and around Scugog Township. Ci bscriptions sold outside Scigog Township. 31 Zz Ths TE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND ALL THROUGH THE LAND: NOTHING WAS POUTICALLY * CORRECT AND EVERYTHING WAS BANNED THE LIGHTS, THE TINSEL, THE DECORATED TREE. NOTHING WAS ALLOWED AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD GEE... NOT SANTA, "HIS 'REINDEER OR THE SONGS WE SING THE ELVES, THE PRESENTS OR THE BELLS WE RNGw BUT THE MOST POLITICALLY UN IRRECT THING OF ALL. WAS A BABY IN A MANGER SO TINY AND SMALL .. STOP THIS SEASON- we MUST BE CORRECT: AND NDOING THAT | MUST > THE REASON SEASON (S & They FORGET. o -- ice oN (3) a writing skills, while level one showed the writer to have little or no understanding of what makes good writing) This team then set certaimstandards for the students writing. The standard for students in advanced courses was 80 per cent should be writing at the 4,5; or 6 levels; for those in general courses, the standard was 75 per cent and should be in the 3-6 level, and for those in basic courses, the | standard was 80 per cent in levels 2-6. The results from both Port Perry HS and Cattwright HS were in almost all cases above the provincial average, and in some cases above or very close » the stringent standard set up the evaluation team. : In fact, the principals. at both PPHS and CHS went on record last week as saying they are pleased with the results achieved by their students. . But they also stressed that porhape more important than the actual results, this provincial review of writing gives hools the ch to formulate action plans on how to get students to write even better. Both high schools in Scugog have come up with action plans, which among other things stress the importance of student access to puters for their writing assignments and exercises. No matter what, walk of life an individual decides to follow in the 1990's, the ability to communicate effectively is of critical importance. This provincial review of wring was not without its flaws. For one thing, the actual writing by the grade 12 students took place more than two years-ago. Most of those students are now out of high school, so the action plans won't help them. It might have been more appropriate to measure the writing skills of students entering grade nine, so that educators would have the chance to work on the weak angen then re-evaluate in two years to determize if impro emagt had been made. We would alsa suggest that more weight be given to the -sseignallyece," the one written in class under less than ideal conditions; as opposed to the students' "best piece" written at their leisure. "In the real world outside the classroom, it is not always possible to have the luxury 0 Jwriting under near perféct conditions, dary schools have a tough job when it Edueators in our comes to the teaching of writing. On the'one hand, the world d the cl ds a certain'kind of writing. On +h 1 the other hand, many tudents want to exp: To the Editor Here we go again! Now that the cold weather has arrived, the annual winter epidemie of car idling has begun. Drivers warm their cars up in the morning or sit in them with engines running, perhaps unaware of the health and environmental damage to which they are contributing. Typical early morning scene in my neighborhood: Family A goes out to the car 15 minutes before departure time to warm it up. 'Gradually, the car exhaust who are having to grow up with a rapidly dwindling supply of clean air. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has created a poster - great for store windows - which says "STOP IDLING" and explain briefly $hy we need to do so. , I created a handout whith I Idling vehicles pose a *threat to your health give to people who sit in cars with engines idling. People. concerned about air pollution " and our children's health are welcome to give me a call (985- 82265) - I'd be more than happy to share copies of both. Janet Banting, = : Greenbank » Fairgrounds need this improvement wafts through the ® neighborhood in which luis to the Families B, Cand D haves Blackstock Agricultural children with asthma, a condition car exhaust helps to trigger. One family wants a _ warm car, the others dread the onset of asthma outbreaks - which sometimes lead to their children's hospitalization. - I'd like to offer a few simple suggestions for how we can all work on solutions to the many problems caused by our cars. Resolve to drive less! Walk. bike, carpool, and ise public transit more. Dress appiopriately for the' in a creative way. This must be aged and stimulated as well. The results of the provincial writing re¥iew are not the end of this exercise, but rather a beginning. Educators now have data on which to move forward. The results locally are encouraging. But as' with anything, there is room for imp We are confident the two high: hools in Scugog T hip will do nothing less, . ther, theh warming up the car (something which is bad for the engine, anyway) won't be necessary. When pitting for longer than 10 seconds, turn the engine off! If these simple measures seem too much of a strain, thistk;of them as a gift to our # children and grandchildren, Society! Congratulations to Councillor Pearce and the Scugog Township Council! The recént article-in your newspaper. indicates that the Blackstock 'Fair G ds will remarkably similar develop- ment plan, again without financial cost to the taxpayers. Wg have been successful in . ding the development of the ~~ fafrgrounds through donations and fund raising events sponsored in association with C ity Service Clubs. be improved with the installation of Base Ball (Hard Ball) Diamonds, lighting for the - Baseball Diamonds, Grounds improvement (Grading and drainage), Picnic Sheiter and Recreational Much Volunteer work has been orovidel by members of the Agricultural Society as well as other members of the Community. It is reassuring to be made aware that it is ible for our Ci ity to facilities. The recognition of the Fair Grounds 8s a Community asset and its improve through volunteer commitment and at a much ~ lower cost than facilities that pment is & the more so when it is recognized that the develop- ment will be accomplished Ath + mal Kh to the aporen: The Port Perry Agricultural Society has been pursuing a » gn up the Bye. work! Ask not what your community can "do for you but what you can do for your community. W. Cohoon, Pres. Port Perry Agricultural Society "