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The Cambridge District Christian High School is acâ€" cepting registrations for the Fall of ©‘79. John Vanasselt, principal, urges interested parents to contact the school as soon as possible. To date 120 students have registered, a 50 percent inâ€" crease over this year‘s enroiment. The school will be moving into new facilities in Breslau. At a cost of $400,000 the building is being financed _ by parents. members of the association and interested businesses and friends. The facility is interdenominational and open to families of evangeliâ€" cal churches. Students atâ€" tend from _ Cambridge. Kitchener, Waterloo. Guelph,. Mount Forest. Moorefield, Drayton and surrounding areas. Most of these areas have bus tranâ€" sportation for the students If interested call the school at 745â€"0171 or write Box 244 Waterloo Dr. Dube, on behalf of a delegation of concerned parents from Waterloo, apâ€" proached board members at Parents object to closure District high accepting registrations by Terry James â€"that the grade three class Dr. Pierre Dube stood bee would collapse in June. fore Waterloo County school Parents were given 36 hours board trustees last Thurs to opt for Empire or Sanâ€" day evening and reminded downe Schools. natlona‘ll Year of tbe C‘“'d: did not see the necessity for He sard that with this in making such a rish deciâ€" mind the children were UP_ sion. He said that of the 18 permost in the minds Of th¢ sets of parents involved, 50 parents he represented and . oor cent indicated most reâ€" should be uppermost in the pe + ani grettably that they would trustees‘ minds as well. hana in wwithAvatw Hhalw alhil Class enrolment down °_ _ the whole meeting and quesâ€" tioned the board‘s recent deâ€" cision to cancel the grade three French immersion class at N.A. MacEachern in September ‘79. . ‘The class is being canâ€" celled because enroiment is expected to drop to 18. Althâ€" ough Emerson MacMillan, superintendent of programs, said that no minimum enrolâ€" ment figure has been set by the board they start to worry when numbers drop below 22. their regular committee of ‘‘The board has tried not to fix a definite minimum enrolment figure because this causes problems if there is one above or one below this number,"‘ said the superintendent. The French immersion program was started in six schools in Waterloo County two years ago following a successful pilot program. Parents of children who would normailly be attending grade three at N.A. MacEaâ€" chern were asked to enrol their children in the grade three class at either Sanâ€" downe or Empire Schools. Dr. Dube said that two weeks ago the children inâ€" volved were sent home with an information sheet stating **We‘re not insensitive to the difficulties in arriving at such a decision,"‘‘ said Dr. Dube. ‘‘Perhaps it was made without the consideraâ€" tion of rational alternaâ€" tives." *® Dr. Dube said the parents did not see the necessity for making such a rash deciâ€" sion. He said that of the 18 sets of parents involved, 50 per cent indicated most reâ€" grettably that they would have to withdraw their chilâ€" dren if it meant driving them to Sandowne. Parents were also under the impresâ€" sion that lunch facilities were not provided at this Dr. Dube said the closure of the class has made parents of future grade one students question the adâ€" visability of enrolling their children in the program. He said studies have shown that a child‘s ego and identity are formed only by the time they reach grade four and it would be most beneficial to allow the children to remain in their home school during their primary grades. The delegation made three recommendations to the board. They asked that the current grade two class at N.A. MacEachern be conâ€" tinued in grade three, that Waterloo Planning Director Paul Dietrich mittee of Adjustment said the conclusion on adopts the view that planning department the committee‘s part that the parking lot can have its own opinion as to whether a request constituted nothing more than a change is a major or minor variance, but the minor variance was partly based on the fact Committee of Adjustment alone can deterâ€" that "the main concern voiced by the .large mine which it is. Mr. Dietrich said the reâ€" array of objectors at the hearing was traffic gional planning department‘s reasons are exiting onto George St.‘" The neighborhood "‘sound and just" and explained that when residents also felt, he said, that they would the applicants approached his department be ‘"looking into a sea of asphalt." they were advised their request should be a _ In its final report the committee stipulated zoning matter. ‘"We expressed our wish to certain landscaping requirements and a conâ€" have certain conditions imposed if the Comâ€" dition prohibiting traffic exiting onto George mittee of Adjustment decided it was within St. With the instalation of a berm as a further their jurisdiction,"‘ he said. "These are the condition, Mr. Lobban felt that parked cars exact kinds of conditions we would have would be blocked from view and there should wanted under a zone change." be ‘"no detriment to any of the George St. The Regional PLanning and Development owners." He expressed surprise that Mr. Committee recommended that Mr. Dorfâ€" Hobson‘s law firm had appealed to the OMB, man‘s department drop the OMB appeal, ‘"since the representative from their firm did since two other appeals had been registered not object to the parking lot at the hearing, before the Feb. 27 deadline. Waterloo lawyer even when we pointedly asked him. They apâ€" Richard Hobson, a member of the law firm pear to have changed their minds,"" he tend Report incredible "Larl S ~ _ ‘Withrice Chronicte; Wednesday; March 7; 1979 Page 3 2+ igy® The decline in the class enrolment can be attribyted to an attr\;i:n rate of six youngsters ‘per annum. Mr. MacMillan said that the maâ€" jority of the students are lost because the parents have moved out of theâ€"comâ€" munity, not because stuâ€" dents are dropping out. Waterloo trustee Dr. Don Baker, said there are probâ€" lems arising out of the imâ€" mersion program as it is ofâ€" fered today. He suggested that the board establish reâ€" whereby in the future the board officials meet with the parents involved and disâ€" cuss the problem fully and that the board establish geoâ€" graphic areas of interest, and set up programs gccordâ€" ingly. ° Mr. MacMilian was dis tressed by the parents‘ acâ€" cusation that they wére only given 36 hours notice. He said board officials met with the parents in October and discussed the likelihood of the class closure. Grant Koch, principal of N.A. Maâ€" cEachern, â€" called ~ the parents individually and Mr. MacMillan said the board was under the impression the parents were prepared at that time. _ 11 George Street *§» classes throughout the county. Our committment to the program is one of principal not of exâ€" pediency,‘"‘ said Dr. Baker. ‘*We should make an effort to cope flexibly with the problem. We must be sure we are not arguing a~special kind of case only on the â€"*L cap foresee similar problems occuring in other regionalization but found that a vast majority of parents were only willing to enrol their children in the French immersion program if it was offered in the home grounds of funding.‘" leery of government funding because the federal governâ€" ment has reduced the fundâ€" ing for French instruction by 32 per cent this year. Mr. MacMillan said the French overview committee had considered the idea of delegation no indication of what steps they will be takâ€" ing, if any, Mr. MacMillan said it is likely the problem will surface during budget deliberations currently takâ€" ing place. An elementary school in Hespeler is facing a similar situation. While the board gave the Dr. Baker said he was (Continued from page 1} 4 * .. a s 4