New school‘s curriculum to reflect ‘relevancy to life‘ with tradition. "There‘s a lot in the system that mitiâ€" gates against that. There are so many tradiâ€" tions and history. You‘re constantly fight ing the system to try to do something difâ€" ferent but that‘s part of the process, and maybe the exciting part, to have the opporâ€" tunity to look at the way we‘ve always done things and determine if it‘s been the proper way," said Finlay. "I feel it‘s not," he says, pulling no punches. He examples the way in which subjects like English, math, history, sciâ€" ence and geography have always been taught in isolation as opposed to a more integrated method that highlights relevanâ€" cy to life. Finlay admits there a strong push from the Ministry of Education for such an inteâ€" grated approach. So too is there a push for new schools to become of more use to their communities than strictly the tradiâ€" tional educational one. In designing curriculum to address the community needs, Finlay said community members will have to be involved in deciâ€" sions on issues like semestering, the length of the school day, the length of periods and the time that should be spent in class. INCLUDE PARENTS Finlay doesn‘t hesitate to point to parâ€" ents as the number one educators of their children. "We have to look at how, as a school, we can complement that," he said. And, he said, how parents‘ knowledge of their chilâ€" dren can be best applied in schools to address individual students‘ needs. The school aims to "provide programs for families which will ultimately improve the quality of education for children," said Finlay and at the same time, stretch the ‘educational dollar‘ during tough economâ€" ic times. "It will bring the school back as a focus for the community and it will be used by the community as much as it can be," he said. With a new town recreation centre planned for land that abuts the Glenashton Drive high school and a nearby park, Finlay hopes to have a good working relaâ€" tionship with the Town of Oakville in the provision of community recreation both inside and outside the school for both the community and students. The new Iroquois Ridge High School will be approximately the same size as the new Oakvilleâ€"Trafalgar High School, accommodating about 1,500 students. Construction of the Glenashton Drive high school is currently under way. Ground was broken last spring. Much of the steel structure is in place and its hoped that exterior construction will wrap up by the first of November, allowing construction to continue inside throughout the winter. Much of the school‘s student populaâ€" tion will come from White Oaks. Its boundaries will roughly cover Trafalgar Road to the west; Winston Churchill Boulevard to the east; Hwy 5 on the north (Continued from page 8) and the QEW to the south. Finlay said new schools seldom open filled to capacity, however Town of Oakville projections indicate the surâ€" rounding area‘s population will virtually double by the year 2000, growing from about 12,000 to some 23,000. HIGH TECH While the principal acknowledges all schools are different, he said the new high school will have similar computer wiring and capabilities as the new Oakvilleâ€" Trafalgar High School. The availability of technology will be determined by the resources Finlay can find. "It will be more of a high tech approach. Because of the technology available, we won‘t have a lot of shops. It will be more similar to OTHS in that way. There will be a focus on communications, some construction technology and auto technology. There will not be a variety of other shops available," he said. The new high school‘s tech program won‘t be as large as the one at General Wolfe. "The word is community," says Finlay smiling at the challenges ahead. "It‘s critiâ€" cal in any project, that it doesn‘t become just mine. At some point I‘ll be leaving, principals always do, and the community will perpetuate the school it wants. Since most of the student population is expected to hail from the immediate area, the high school won‘t be limited by bus transportation and the constraints that come with it. A list of goals for the school calls for providing quality learning experiences for students and staff; to provide educational and social services to the community in a fiscally responsible manner; to provide opportunity for equity of outcome for all students; to provide a culture that fosters cooperation and collegiality; and, to proâ€" vide opportunity for direct community input. "It‘s not a token gesture on my part," he said. In every crowd there is a young person aged 6 to 18 years, who is involved in worthwhile community service or a special individual who is contributing while living with physical or psychological limitaâ€" tion or perhaps a brave youth who has performed an act of heroism. You could honour this young perâ€" son, with the help of Bell Canada and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association by nominating them for an Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Award. To nominate a young person in our community please contact this newspaper today. "One in every crowd" ONTARIO JUNIOR CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS