The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Iawler said many of the schools have already taken safety precautions to ensure student safety including requiring all guests to sign- in at the front office at the schools. as well as locking all ofthe doors m the build- ings except for the front doors. "Putting a camera In a school won't fix the prob- lem. That would just be cre- ating a false sense of securi- The Waterloo Region District school board's superintendent of instruc- local elementary ttttttttttht to install security cameras The Waterloo Catholic District school board's director of education, Roger Lawler, said his board has applied to the government to put entrance cameras in some of the schools, but he doesn't think it will solve the entire safety problem. "Quite frankly. a camera is not going to prevent or make a school any closer or safer. It's just one tool." Lawler said. "The entire community needs to come together and work towards respectful behaviour with what happens in schools. atholtc and public ( schools in Waterloo Region plan In imple- ment entranceway security cameras in some of its clo- mentary schools this fall. The new implemerua- tions were introduced by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty during an anti- hullying conference hosted by Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa on March 22. Be RYAN CAmNEtt He [he Chrortrcle Lawler said his school board has already worked to combat bullying by setting up processes and identify- ing with those aspects of behaviour with help from a joint project they have been doing with Region of Water- loo Public Health for a Cou- plc of years called Imagine The bullying prevention project works with both the Catholic and public school boards in Waterloo Region to reduce the incidents of bullying with students. It is built into the everyday learning in the classroom A bullying prevention program is being formed for all Ontario schools by the provincial government to begin by the end of the year, as well as a bullying preven- tion hotline for the fall. Part of the report includes a survey that repre- sentatives at each school will fill out with areas of review including the safety component. code of con- duct and the physical school structures. "We’re already doing what most of the audit asks for in [onus of safety," said Spence, who received the report from the government on March 30, "The schools do regular drills. check the schools for the safety and security and they street- proofthe kids." lion, Dave Spence, said the school board has also applied fur the security cameras within the report for some of the schools m Waterloo. He said he were no harm in having all of the schools perform a safety audit. CITY NEWS ty audits of all Ontario schools to also assess needs for things such as better lighting and new doors. The school boards will report back to the provincial government by May 23. Children who do the bul- lying are more inclined to manifest defiant behaviour, negative attitudes about school and will turn to drugs. Children who are bullied face serious and long-term impacts, according to a report by the Region of Waterloo Public Health from February 2004. The provincial govern- ment plans to conduct safe- Evaluation results from the Imagine project in 2003 at four school communities reflected a five per cent decrease to 49 per cent of the percentage of students who have been bullied since The Waterloo Region District school board already has 15 schools who are also a part of the pro- gram. with five more schools joining on for next year. Spence said there will be an area on the government- issued survey that students fill out about bullying and safety. and he assumes there may be a part for parents also. and isn't a separate work shop done with the Stu dents. "I think there's always a need to take a look at how lads interact in the schools and for a number of years we have improved," lawler said. ll Il I + ( )ll CHRONICLE Varner. the director of the laurier Institute at Wil- frid laurier University, has deep roots in the communi- ty after growing up in Cam- bridge and helping develop co-operative education with the local separate school board. She will be replacing John Thompson. who will he retiring after 28 years with the organization and watching it grow from the Federated Appeal to a local United Way appoints new chiel ttgttttttthttt officer ith a mission to prand its impact in the community. the United Way announced last week that Ian Varner is taking over as chief execu- tive ofricer May 2. Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club instructor Karen De Vito helps budding skater Ben Schal, 6, of Waterloo, get his balance during a private lesson Monday at RIM Park. WW" mm“ mm Br Bon VRBANM: Chm rude Staff” fundraising group that raised more than $5.4 mil, lion last year to support more than 46 local member agencies. on bended knee Her work at the Laurier Ian Vamer New Cry; While Varner still wants to get her feet wet before formalizing some of her vision for the United Way's future, she said there is a “I'm very excited because it's a very strong entity," said Vamer. "It's got a great staff. great donors and great vol- unteers: and John has done a fabulous job." has prepared Varner for the Visioning work the United Way of Kitchener and Waterloo is currently doing to be even more responsive to community needs. and she has demonstrated a track record of being able to strategize, implement and communicate those changes. Continued on page 6 JENNIFE“ onMiVaN move