Beaver THE OAKVILLE Voted Ontario's Top Newspaper Four Years in a Row - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Sharing the Spirit Page 3 Kazdan, Solomon & D'Angelo d www.dentistoakville.com 905-842-6030 www.brantflorist.com/ob 905.639.7001 A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 52 No. 61 "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009 24 Pages $1.00 (plus GST) Nine cases of H1N1 flu at St. Luke's The Halton Catholic District School Board is once again asking people who are ill with a fever and cough to stay home following confirmation of the ninth case of the H1N1 virus at St. Luke's Catholic School on Tuesday. A total of four new cases of H1N1 were confirmed at the school on Tuesday, however, by the time this confirmation was made all four students had recovered and were back at school. In a letter to parents on Thursday, May 14, Superintendent of Education and School Services John Langill noted school custodians at St. Luke are continuing to provide effective cleaning and disinfecting at the school as part of their routine duties. He also pointed out in the letter that while the Halton Region Health Department is not recommending any enhanced cleaning or disinfecting, the board has taken the additional precaution of reviewing the schedule/classroom location of the students with H1N1 flu and is disinfecting the areas they may have come into contact with. This includes specific instructional areas and public areas such as washrooms and corridors. Additional custodians have been sent to the school to help with this cleaning effort and frequent hand washing among staff and students and the covering of sneezes and coughs with a tissue or sleeve is also being encouraged. To date, the Halton Region Health Department has not deemed the situation at St. Luke's serious enough to recommend closure. "We wouldn't be recommending that because it really isn't going to have that much of an affect, especially with a solitary school closure," said Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton's medical officer of health. "The other key point that enters into it is the actual symptoms. Fortunately, the symptoms, for the vast Oms for Homes By Kendra Witherspoon SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER KAREN NEWMAN / OAKVILLE BEAVER See Oakville page 5 OMS FOR HOMES: Michelle Wang, of W. H. Morden Public School shows her flexibility in the Wheel pose during the school's first Oms for Homes fundraiser Raise the Roof -- an organization dedicated to ending the cycle of youth homelessness. Not only did the Morden students take part in the event, but the Grade 5/6 gifted students were involved in organizing the fundraiser. The school even started a website -- OmsforHomes.com. Whoever thought mixing yoga and homelessness could create a recipe for a successful fundraiser? Having raised close to $6,800 -- more than triple their goal amount -- the experience, named Oms for Homes, has been an eye opener for most of the W.H. Morden Grade 5/6 gifted class. Each student was given a job to help create that special day on May 8. By taking part in different areas of planning the fundraiser (e.g. finance, marketing, organizing, etc), the students also gained a unique learning experience about being an entrepreneur. "It was like taking what you learned at school, and putting it into real life, said Jenna D'Aurizio, one of the students who was helping her friends count up the proceeds. "Even if you're a kid, you can still band together to make a difference. Just because you're in Grade five or six, doesn't mean you don't have the power to do something," said Brenda Parker, one of the mothers volunteering at the event. Rachelle Marsan, teacher in charge and yoga enthusiast, hopes this day makes the students more See Morden page 11 DORVAL DRIVE WYECROFT RD. SPEERS RD. BETWEEN KERR & DORVAL ETWEEN YOUR FRIEND IN THE BUSINESS! · www.lockwoodchrysler.com Celebrating 25 years in Oakville KERR ST. TRAFALGAR 175 WYECROFT RD. OAKVILLE 905.845.6653 QEW