ChiIdren Escape by Rud Jerred Suniet Heights in Oshawa and a fuil-time instructor Dick Mass. Usualiy, high school students are brought out for a week ta act as councifllrs. "It's the teachers that deserve most of the credit", Mr. Pratt said. 'TIhey're the ones that volunteer ta leave their homes for a week ta came out and spend time with their students." The program at Camp Semnac was first introduced five years ago as a one day programn and gradually evoived ta the week-long stay. About one third of the grade six chiidren ln the Durhanm Region participate in it. Two schoois in Whitby, E.A. Fairman- and King- Coibourne Street Public Schoois, have participated in Remember those aid schooi day s, when you wished you were outside in the fresh air instead of trapped in your stuffy class- room? Well, ..thanks ta a program at Camp Semac situated in North Oshawa, a number of chfidren in the Whitby area manage ta escape the class- roomn and explore the great outdoors. for one week, sleeping in the camp's cabins. This doesn't mean the students' studies are negiect- ed, but are adapted ta the outdoors. Depending on the pro- grams determined by the teachers, chldren study ast- ranomy, weather observation metrie measurements, out- door art, music and creative writing. "Ail the students' regular activities are adapted ta the outdoors," said John Pratt, a speciai co-ardinator of the program. "For instance, in math classes, instead af the students doing exercises fram a book they wiii iearn metrics by measurîng a tree." The camp aiso pravides numerous hiking trails ta ob- serve nature and learn arien- teering. There's a challenging obstacle course and if there's enough snow an the ground the children can try their hand (or foot) at snowshoe- ing. El':v - - - - - - - - the other side of' the children and for the chiidren ta see the other side of the teachers' The King-Coibourne St. School sent Mr. S. Hajdew'sý grade four class and Mr. M.b Bible's cambined five. and six ciass totailing about 65 child- ren. Also heiping ta supervise were teachers Mrs. V. Hay- wood and Mrs. J. Percy whiie principal J. Coates heiped out at nights. every grade six student ta attend the camp for one week. I-owever, the greater the number of students that at- tend the program, the more the strain is put on the pro- gram's budget which is backed by the Durham Re- glanai Board of Education. This strain wouid be les-, sened by having two groups at the camp at once, one stay- ing ail week and the other commu ting daiiy by bus. According to Mr. Pratt, the average cost for each student is $ 10 which pays for th e ch ild's food and iodging for the week. WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAVg MARCH 6, 1975, PAGE 7 Chiodhood Educat Ion, Annual Meeting Teachers. of eariy chiid- hood education from across the regian wiil be working hard on Saturday whiie their students take a breather. They wiil be attending the Ontario North Shore Branch of the Association for Eariy Childhood Education's annu- ai professional deveiopment day.' Dr. Gilian Gilchrist of the Oshawa-Ontario County Dis- trict Health Unit wili speak on the unit's early chiidhood screening program. The program wil be-heid at the Cansumers Gas Build- ing on Consumers Drive in Whitby from 9 a.m. ta 3 p.m. 1*@OBox 206, *Whî eet... I a*K *& im"MC.» s -es