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Scugog Chris From the outside, it doesn't look like a school, in the conven- tional sense of the word. It's a single storey building with a couple of portable class- rooms tucked in behind a church on Simcoe Street in Prince Albert. It has no gleaming gym or auditorium. In fact, spaceis ata premium for the 72 students and six teachers. But that doesn't seem to matter for the parents of these students who have chosen to have their children educated at the Scugog Christian School. . Now starting its third year, SCS has grown from an initial 52 students to the 72 who are now in class there from Kinder- garten through grade 8. The increase in the enrol- ment is "a positive indication for us, and we continue to get enquiries from parents express- ing interest in the school," said Wilma Guetter in an interview last week. She has taught at the school since it opened. This year, she is teaching grade 6-8, and is also responsible for du- ties of principal as well. Though SCS may not have all the facilities one finds in a public elementary school, the curriculum and academic stan- dards comply to the Ontario Ed- ucation Ministry. The difference at this school can perhaps be explained by the word "Christian" in the name. "We believe that Christ af- fects every part of our lives. We strive to show the presence of Christ in all the subjects taught. Hopefully that will stay with (the students) later in life," explained Mrs. Guetter. Indeed, there is a strong presence of Christ in this school. All students begin their day with prayer, there are more prayers said before lunch, and again to conclude the school day. Once a week, the entire stu- dent body gathers in the Chris- tian Reformed Church for chap- el, a session that often includes a special guest speaker. Along with this strong sense of Christianity in all as- pects of school life, Mrs. Guetter said there is an equal stress on academicstandards. "We strive very much for these standards," she stated, noting that students in grade 3- 8 are given the Canadian Test Basic Skills, and the results show that on average, the stu- dents are ahead. The grade 8 grads who de- cide to continue in a public high school are fully prepared, she said. A brochure about SCS ex- plains what the school repre- sents. "We believe that the Chris- tian home and Christian School can best serve the spiritual and academic interests of the child by working in close co- operation." Further, the brochure states "we believe that parents have the primary right and re- sponsibility to determine the kind of education their children receive." "All of life is religious and subject to the Word of God," the brochure states. Linda Van Andel of Port pe ; --_-- Grade 3,4,5 teacher Rita Kolkman leads her class at the Scugog Christian School. She's wearing a replica of a bilum on her head. A bilum is head-gear found in Paupua New Guinea, the country which was the topic of discussion in class that. The Scugog Christian School is now entering Its third year, and enrolment continues to climb. (see story for de- tails about this school) Perry has two children attend- ing the school, and her third child, now 18 months, will fol- low when the time comes. She was involved in the for- mation of the school and her in- volvement continues three years later. In fact, she told the Star, all of the parents who have chil- dren in SCS play an active role in the school. The school is run by a par- ents group, called the Society, which can also include grand- parents, aunts or uncles of stu- dents, and anyone else with an interest snd commitment to Christian education. From that group a Board of eight members is elected who head sub-committees to look af- ter the affairs of the school. These committees include such things as transportation, fund-raising, finances, educa- tion (curriculum) property and publicrelations. Mrs. Van Andel told the Star the parents share a com- mon ideal for their children. Certain values that are stressed within the home, the parents want re-inforced through the school. "What we don't want," she explained, "is our children be- ing told something totally dif- ferent (in class) to what we are teaching them at home." She enjoys the way the par- ents work together for the school in such things as fund- raising. "There has to be a commit- ment (on the part of parents) she stated. - Indeed, along with the com- mitment to the principles of the school, parents have a financial commitment. The school receives no pro- vincial funds or municipal tax dollars, although the parents as property owners see part of their taxes going to educationin the publicsector. That means hefty tuition fees. The cost is based on the grade level of the eldest child in afamily. For example, if a family has one child in Kindergarten and one in grade 6 to 8, the cost to the family is $6150 per year. If there is just one child in ade 5-8, the cost is the same 5160. If there is just one child in Kindergarten, the cost is $2950. The school relies on fund- raising projects by the parents, donations, and volunteer help for a wide variety of things from electrical and plumbing work when needed, to music lessons from qualified parents. A recent auction, for exam- ple, raised some $12,000. It is this kind of thing that Mrs. Van Andel means when she talks about the commit- ment ofthe parents. Although the school has been open just three years, the Christian School Society in Scu- gog was formed more than a decade ago. For nearly ten years, stu- dents were bused to Christian schools elsewhere in the Re- gion. Eventually, the parents de- cided it was time to open a school in Scugog. The Christian Reformed Church allowed use of the land free of charge. The school is inter- denominational with several faiths represented among the student body including Pente- costal, Baptist, Reformed, Christian Reformed and Unit- ed. Mrs. Guetter said some of the curriculum material comes from Christian Schools Interna- tional, other from secular edu- cation publishing companies. There is strong emphasis on basics: reading, writing and maths. The school tries to blend traditional teaching methods with what she described as "more contemporary" tech- niques. And she cited reading as an example in which the whole lan- guage approach is used, along with a balance of phonetics. to grow One non-academic aspect of school life that receives spe- cial attention is getting the sen- ior students to work closely with those in the Junior grades. "They are constantly en- couraged to assist the younger ones," said Mrs. Guetter. The sports program is in- tra-mural soccer when the weatheris fine. In the winter months, sports programs may be a class skating session at the backyard rink of one of the parents, or on Lake Scugog if the ice condi- tions are right. Once each week, classes use the gym in the Baptist Church in Port Perry for volley- ball, basketball, and other games. While the senior grades may play against teams from other Christian schools in the Region from time to time, the in- tra-mural sports programs are non-competitive in nature. There are three full time and three part-time teachers employed at the school. All ex- cept one have full teaching cre- dentials. The salary range for start- ing teachers is comparable to what teachers in boards earn, but increases are not. Grades 1-2 are together in one classroom; grades 3,4,5 in another; and grades 6,7,8 in an- other. The 12 Kindergarten stu- dents attend class full-day three days each week. Students come from as far away as Sunderland and Ux- bridge, and from all over Scugog Township, and two buses are used to transport students to classeach day. With the school population continuing to grow in size each year, Mrs. Van Andel said the Parents Society is now starting to think seriously about con- struction of a new building. Just when that takes place depends on when a suitable site can be found. It will be a costly project, of course, but Mrs. Van Andel said that once the project gets going, a lot of the work will be done by the parents and other volun- teers. In the meantime, the stu- dents will continue to attend class where they are, getting an education that stresses the ba- sics with a marked Christian in- fluence. PORT PERRY CLINIC HOGAN'S _ HEARING AID CENTRE of Port Perry DENNIS J. HOGAN 230 Queen Street * NOTE NEW NUMBER * 985-4422 i WED. ONLY 1to5PM