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^ (/ Tf ) akveleB I i : · W h a t's H O T in S u m m e r F a s h io n Special section inside O TR s tr e a k t it le at 29 Sports M ercedes-Benz AM etro k n dP u b licatio nV b l. 38N o , 65 W EDNESDAY, M AY31,2000 «m ge5 7 3 C e n tM g £ G S 7 ) Shorter days for students A ll high school students in Halton Region will be missing half days of instruction on three occasions before the end of this school year and in the fall. Trustees with the region's public and Catholic school boards recently approved half-day `release tim e' for all high school teachers. The time is to be used by teachers to address P rovincially-m andated secondary school reform and other educational issues. The first half day off for students w ith dism issal tim e at noon is T hursday, June 8. Transportation will be provided shortly afterwards for all bused students. However, stu dents in D evelopmental Education Program s at Lord Elgin and E. C. Drury will remain until the end of the school day. On the first release day, teachers will receive training on the imple m entation of the Grade 10 program, teacher advisor program and other Provincial initiatives. The two other early dism issal dates will be next fall via consultation between the two school boards. M eanw hile, elem entary school teachers will also have up to three half days to deal with im plem enta tion issues relating to curriculum reform in primary grades. However, students will not get out of school early as supply teachers will be pro vided. "We believe this additional pro fessional learning time will greatly enhance our program s at the school level and will benefit our students directly," said Kit Rankin, a superin tendent of education with the Halton D istrict School Board. (See T im e ' page A2) Lawn ornaments popular w ith thieves Spring is supposed to be a time of sprucing up your home and gar den - not o f stealing lawn ornaments from under your neighbour's nose. Unfortunately, that was the case last week for River Glen Boulevard resident M arisa Anderson who - for the second tim e in six months - had decorations stolen from her front yard. All were made from a heavy concrete compound and required a concerted effort by more than one person to haul them away. "Someone decided to go shop ping on our lawn," said Anderson, who remains incredulous at the time and energy expended to vandalize her home. Two weeks before Christmas, Anderson had a koala, a rabbit and a hippo, which were all purchased in Australia, pilfered from her front lawn. Last week the second rabbit, a large mushroom arrangement and a deer were stolen from right under the front window. "We didn't think, being that close to the house, anyone would steal them ," said Anderson. `T h e y 're hard to see from the road. This is someone who had their eye on them for a while." Anyone with information can call Howard Mozel at the Oakville Beaver or Crime Stoppers at 8258477. Photo by Peter J. Thompson W A IT IN G F O R A FIG H T: Bronte Creek Provincial Park was the weekend setting for a re-encactment of battles from the War of Independence in 1776 and the War of 1812. Glenn Smith of the 4th Artillery unit takes a pause before entering the fray. Aside from the mock battles, there were a number of attractions at the Saturday event including music of the era and a fashion show. For more photos, see Focus. Councillor looks to Bay Street for campaign support Oakville Ward 4 councillor Stephen Sparling is joining a Burlington regional council colleague in hosting a $500-a-ticket cocktail party fundraiser at a prestigious Toronto private-members club on June 7th. The main attraction for the $500 admission price is a chance to meet and rub shoulders with unamed members of the Conservative caucus and cabinet. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards financing the municipal re-election campaigns for Sparling and Burlington regional councillor Lynda Schreiber. The "evening of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres" takes place at the Albany Club on King Street East in Toronto where both Sparling and Schreiber are Stephen Sparling hosting $500-a-ticket party members. Proceeds will be split and they hope to raise $10,000 each. The night is being billed as an event "in support of Stephen and Lynda, both fiscal conservatives and both in a race for their seat." Sparling, who is on the Albany Club's board of directors, said the fundraiser is being held primarily to help Schreiber, whom he described as a pro-busi ness "small C conservative" and facing a "serious race" against the past head of the Liberal riding association. So far, no one has challenged Sparling. The Oakville councillor is a well-known conser vative. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the federal Conservative Party last year and also lost as a Tory candidate in the 1997 federal election. He described the Albany Club as a Conservative haunt adding "Lynda's in a bit of a race and I'm try ing to assist her. It's mainly me that's initiating this." "I'm a well-known, established provincial and federal fundraiser and I know who to call," said Sparling. When asked just who the $500 admission is geared to attract, Sparling - the vice-president of a Toronto-based advertising firm - said mostly his business associates. Since most of them hail from Bay Street already, he said the choice of the Albany Club was a natural. "It has nothing to do with mixing provincial pol itics with municipal politics, it has everything to do with it being a municipal election and some of our friends who are in caucus dropping in to an event," he said. Schreiber said the event is not a Conservative fundraiser. "I happen to be a member at the club where this is being held and this is why it's being held there. Stephen is also a member of that club, that's what made it convenient," she said. -- With files from Howard Mozel and Paul Mitchison * A Scoring 100% in math contest perfectly natural For Robert Theiss, it's a question of hard work...and genes By Carol Baldwin OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Robert Theiss almost always gets perfect on his math tests, so scoring 150 out of 150 on the Gauss Mathematics Contest for Grade 7 and 8 students, didn't faze him. After learning about his perfect score, the Grade 7 student at St. Marguerite d'Youville School seemed completely relaxed, despite the media attention. "I feel happy and proud. I guess it comes down to that. I felt con fident with all my answers," he said calmly, adding that his pen chant for math is probably a blend of genetics and hard work. "Now that I've heard how many people actually get perfect (on the Gauss test), I am surprised." But his teachers and parents are not. Even his Grade 6 teacher congratulated him when she passed him in the hall and said, "If I had to guess (who got the perfect score), I'd have guessed you." His mother, Roula Theiss, also calmly accepted his score. "We thought he could get perfect," she said. "If he didn't get perfect, we would have thought it was a slip." (See `Student page A2) today' s paper Fashion.................... ............ R1 Hnmps Afiarrfens B6 Focus ...................... ........ d Classified......................______ C4 Entertainment..............______ C7 Dining...................... ______ C8 Snorts.... ................. 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