41 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,D ecem ber 27,2018 insidehalton.com Return to the Metroland Media by January 14th. 901 Guelph Line Burlington ON L7R 3N8 or enter online: http://www.insidehalton.com or scan and email to frudder@starmetroland.com Rules of Entry: (For Complete List of Rules See Reception or www.insidehalton.com) ONE ENTRY PER PERSON Submit a photo of your Pet and enter toWin a $25Gift Certificate! Name of Pet: Your Name: Address: Phone: I have read and agree to the Full Contest Rules & Regulations (y/n) I have read and understand the full Privacy Policy (y/n) I would like to receive notices, communications, promotional offers and other information that may be of interest to me from Metroland Media. Please contact us for information. You can unsubscribe at any time. (y/n) ON NOW SAVE TIME, VISIT US ONLINE AT BADBOY.CA! SAVE $560 $488 ZOEY EURO TOPQUEEN MATTRESS #112389 Gel Quilting Foam Tri-Zone Pocket Coil CANADIAN MADE 1102 POCKET COILS ALL SIZES AVAILABLE ASK ABOUT OUR SLEEP SMART COMFORT GUARANTEE BOXINGWEEK PRICING NEVERUNDERSOLD! A parent-led survey of the St. Matthew Catholic School community in Oak- ville found a majority op- pose the planned move of the extended French pro- gram to nearby St. Berna- dette school. The decision, made near the end of the previous board's term, would come into effect next fall. Direc- tor of education Pat Daly said Tuesday, Dec. 18 that the change won't affect cur- rent extended French stu- dents, who will be able to finish the program at St. Matthew. New students wishing to take extended French would have to take the bus to St. Bernadette, which is about three kilo- metres away. Extended French is of- fered at certain schools in the board, starting in Grade 5, with students cho- sen by lottery. It provides "a significant amount of curriculum with French as the second language of in- struction," says the board's website. It has been offered at St. Matthew for 30 years. At the board's Dec. 18 meeting, members of advo- cacy group, St. Matthew Catholic School Concerned Parents, presented the re- sults of the survey. The sur- vey was conducted among 110 families with children attending the Glen Abbey- area school. Dan Carroll and Sandra Duff told the board that 86 per cent of parents surveyed were "concerned about the pend- ing decrease in program- ming opportunities ... at St. Matthew." The results showed that just over half of the 31 re- spondents with Grade 4 students applied to send their kids to extended French at St. Bernadette. Eighty-one per cent said they would have applied if it were at St. Matthew. However, every family who considered sending a child to St. Bernadette, except one, was unsure whether they would go through with it if their child was ac- cepted. The group has been urg- ing the new board to put the changes on hold to col- lect feedback. While many of the new board members ran for election on plat- forms promising better consultation, the new board has not been con- vinced to reopen the deci- sion. "Our position is that there's been a lack of trans- parency," said Carroll. "It feels arbitrary," add- ed Duff. At a Nov. 20 meeting, which also featured delega- tions from the Concerned Parents, Daly explained that the board wants to lo- cate French programs in schools that can accommo- date growth, minimize or possibly eliminate future relocations, and minimize the use of portables across the system. He said they se- lected St. Bernadette be- cause it appears to have sustainable enrolment and the ability to house the pro- gram within the school, whereas the St. Matthew location requires in- creased use of portables. On Tuesday, he said op- erational decisions such as these are typically made by the board's senior adminis- tration team without pub- lic consultation. "If there's a feeling that information should have come out earlier or been communicated more di- rectly, I don't disagree with that," said Daly, who took over the job from Paula Dawson in the summer. "It wouldn't have been a con- sultative process, it would have been explaining why the decision was made." The board considers ex- tended French an "option- al" program. "The Grade 5 extended French program is offered regionally, and sites will change from time to time to address student enrolment and other con- siderations," states the board website. Another group of par- ents at the Dec. 18 meeting told trustees that moving the program away from St. Matthew will unfairly af- fect students with mental disabilities. Sophia Kusyk and Sibel Yardimoglu said students with issues such as anxiety and other "non- evident" disabilities will be unduly affected by having to switch schools in Grade 5, and many will likely opt out of a program they had otherwise planned to join. "Due to his condition, John will only be able to participate in the extended French program apart from his current communi- ty, and with severe emo- tional and psychological repercussions, unless the move will be appropriately dealt with," stated their presentation. They said they changed the student's name for privacy. Kusyk and Yardimoglu asked the board for a poli- cy, in writing, that would show how it plans to ac- commodate these students, which they say is the board's obligation accord- ing to Ontario Human Rights Commission policy. Trustees voted to re- ceive both presentations as information, as opposed to reopening the issue of mov- ing the program. Oakville trustee Helena Karabela proposed delaying the relo- cation and using the next school year to conduct con- sultation, but was not sup- ported by a majority of her colleagues. Parent Theresa Renton said she's disappointed that the new board appears much like the previous board - not willing to truly listen to parent feedback. "Of course we are upset about the change, but the issues at hand are not about the program remov- al itself," wrote Renton in an email. "That is a symp- tom of a larger problem. It is about how the board has handled this situation (poorly), and how they con- tinue to devalue the con- cerns of the community they serve." NEWS ST. MATTHEW PARENTS WORRIED ABOUT LOSS OF EXTENDED FRENCH: 'IT FEELS ARBITRARY' St. Bernadette School in Oakville will offer extended French programming as of Fall 2019. Riziero Vertolli/Metroland Media A SURVEY OF FAMILIES AT THE OAKVILLE SCHOOL SHOWS PARENTS ARE NOT HAPPY THE PROGRAM IS MOVING TO ST. BERNADETTE. 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