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Humanist Party Timing. Couldn't have been better say organizers of local launch Semestering: With the public “amazingly interested" es- taNkhment of Ontario‘s new Humanist Party couldn't have been better timed. organizers aay. "be me has been phenomenal ... after $_ettrstdFrewereouttaiuurtosteoriemsttse Street. 41 new people came to our meeting. Ever since. it's continued to be good," Ontario Humanist Party Chief Kathy Juli said. “It 'tels like a historic moment. With the threat a! nuclear war. the recession, in. "asNttrmean,thebottomiineisreaiiyttserieostte - Widmeyer said that the semester system enjoys both the support of staff and students. Eighty-nine per cent of stat! favor the change and “students are voting with their Trustees of the Waterloo County Board of Education gave approval Thursday for the partial implementation of semestering " Bluevale. a plan that would leave junior grades with regular. full-year timetables. Pat Arbuckh Chronicka Staff Bluevale collegiate in Waterloo will adopt the semester "ttem, in Grimes 11m I?. beginning in September. 1985. "This ii, the best way I know of now to implement OSIS effectively.“ Widmeyer said. In a presentation to the board. Bluevale principal Earl Wldmeyer told trustees that staff at the school began coeyideriethe move 18 months ago. The switch to semesterlng became a priority after the inroduction last year of osrs (Ontario Schools. Interme- diate and Secondary). a provincial government policy which requires students to complete more credits. many in compulsory courses. in order to receive their high school diplomas. Among its advantages, semestering allows greater nexittiiity in scheduling. enables students to build up credits more quickly or repeat failed courses immediate- ly, he explained, L V mailers L .‘ surveyed b ltlrt)W-ttt I and M, Lincoln 1 ad M, 'v “a m tom 'tthe-tH-gust-ttttass. 'Re8t-tmrett-tttrdrtgthechmrs. 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"iat'f ttttttttPeters. are e same in“ h on an. , b m in your community and people are starting to come back to that idea. (Public) mm says tousthatpeoplearereadytostartlookingat each other as something other than commodities or annoyances. The province's newest pollticsl party was launched in Kitchener-Waterloo two weekends ago. Already it has " members, and has collected 1.000 of the 10,000 signatures needed to Ju1lsaidmeetinttahavebeentseidmsboth university campuses in Waterloo. where student chapters will be formed. Likening the move- ment to a religious "miaaioat", she said party members will soon be working to establish other groups in communities across the province. “We're not sitting here talking about it, we're out on the streets doing. We know it’s possible - we're here to stay," an optimistic Juli said. The Humanist Party is the political arm ot the world-wide movement, and the Ontario group joins a political network which stretches to 42 countries, including three Soviet bloc nations. J ull said the Humanist Party is expected to form the next government in lceland, and it is the third strongest political organization in Argen- he put on the ballot for the ne'xt provincial elec- Although the political party is a recent creation, the humanist movement was born " years ago in Argentina. Worldwide, the human- ist movement claims to have more than 150,000 members. “This is the first time in history that someone has tried deliberately to launch a political party internationally,“ said Juli. The Humanist Party has five basic princi- ples: - v 0 human beings are the most important element of society, not economic or political systems. -. active non-violence. Party members believe in working non-violently in the "struggle against all forms of violence and exploitation." o ttoat-discrimination. Accbrding to Juli, the party is opposed to any form of discrimination. religious and racial. against women or youth. othe redistribution of wealth. "The gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' is a result of distribution and not scarcity of goods." To overcome distribution deficiencies, Humanists propose the formation of co-operatives in production. consumption and service. o Principle of options and nort-mortopoiies. "There is no ideological monopoly," said Jul]. Freedom exists only where people have a choice among options. Thus. in the months ahead, the Humanist Party plans to establish roots in K-W, by opening a food cooperative in downtown Kitchener, establishing a youth hostel and working with local farmers and farm groups to clean up environmental pollution. As well, the-first issue of the party's new community newspaper. Streetwise. is expected to hit the streets next week. "We have to get into the community, help people to get involved in their community and help where help is needed," Juli said. "We have a lot of work ahead of us convincing people that there is a possibility for action and taking responsibility for their lives." feet," he said. At present. 48 former Bluevale students are attending K-W collegiate which offers semesterlng in Grades nine to 13. Since September, Widmeyer has visited homerooms in the school. held parent information nights and mailed home newsletters letting parents know about the proposed changes. - only nine of uprozimateiy as parents who attended the parent information night expressed concern about semesterlng. be said. Some felt that students, particularly those at the junior level, need a full year to mature in courses. Others worried that greater course concentration would mean a heavier work load; students would have problems retaining information if they studied a subject for only hall the year; time lost due to illness or extra-curricular activities would have greater Impact; more guidance help would be needed in course selection. Wldmeyer said that a full evaluation of the program will be undertaken after its first year of operation. To keep students occupled during the Gseer 70mlnute lunch hours, Bluev-le also plans to Introduce a full intramural sports program. Bluevnle becomes the third public high school in Waterloo County to 'tat: semester system. following the example of KW ate and Southwood collegiate in Cambridge. Like Bluevele. Southwood offers semester- Bluevale senior grades make the switch after careful planning and system review HELP volunteers The value of the Help Line, concluded Christie, is that it is a "first step" for a lot of people {Continued from page 1) [ and simulated phone calls. plus seminars by professionals. (Continued from page 1) Cultural Festival, an evening of ethnic song and dance. and the International Dinner, when students prepare special dishes from their native countries. Pick emphasized that, although some of the activities do contain a religious element, largely because of the origin of the Christmas celebration. this is not an essential part of the camp program. All activities are optional and foreign students are encouraged to become as Involved in winter activities or Christmas preparations as they want, he said. A place At Camp Shalom, located six miles south-west of Cambridge, students will be housed in win- terized buildings. either in single. double rooms or family units. TE. "Tpathetitt on; Itl, Mend, I: what up Help button Lino on": the pooplo of k-W, up Help Line Co.oritiruttor Joanne Chm. Chr-tttent, warmoo m. WWI 'tEceMrtert 5. nu - PAGE 3 Sixty per cent of the high schools in Ontario have already opted for the semester system and Widmeyer said two other local principals are looking into the possibility of taking similar action. "Other principals are considering semestering with the thought that it is not too far off for them," said Superintendent of Operations Stewart Whitney, who admitted that the schools are receiving encouragement from the board. Questioning Bluevaie's decision to adopt semestering at senior levels only. unlike KCl which offers a full program, trustee David Teahan wondered why an “ideal model" for the system had not yet been developed. inng senior gradesionrly. Whitney responded um Bluevsle's "do-slow approach" is one that Is favored by board superintendents. "rt's a more responsible approich that allows evalua- tion to tote place before full Implementation." he said. Waterloo lrustees Elizabeth 1eitmer and Jacqueline Papke noted that the Bluevale plan has received wideapread support from residents. "I'sie heardiothing but support for this proposal." Witmer said. Besides giving Bluevale the go-ahead in implementing semestering. the school board also approved hiring of a part-time secretary to handle the additional paperwork resulting from the changeover. Both the camp and exchange programs are open to foreign stu- dents at University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, Cones- toga College and the local high schools. A total of 30 foreign stu- dents attended the camp last year. Those interested in participating in either program are asked to pick up a brochure containing an appli- cation form at the Foreign Student omee, Room 2080. Needles Hall or call Will Fick at 884-6155 for de- tails. Families willing to open their homes to a foreign student during the Christmas holiday, as part of the exchange program. are asked to call Sheryl Sulliman. foreign stu- dent advisor, " the University of Waterloo Foreign Student Office 885-1211. experiencing problems. but who are afraid to tell family and friends. and it can actually prevent the develop- ment of more severe mental health problems. The Help Distress Line number is 745-1166.