PAGE 16. WHBYfSElitPR1|SWEDNESDA 4y JAU Y8,1990 The.year.in.education............................................................................... '8 EW89 REVIE 89 REVIEW 89 REVIEW' 89 REVIEW Th year in education JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN The Durham Board of Educî tion decided in January that the would not study the feasibility < a junior kindergarten progran In April, a petition was file contaning signatures from 16 families concerned about the lac of a junior kindergarten pr< gram. Some parents even cor sidered enroliing their childre in the separate school syster which offers junior kindergarter but the public board was ne swayed from its position. Ii December, the issue was forcec by a mandate from the Ministr oEducation. The Throne Speeci indicated that boards of educa tion in Ontario must providt junior kindergarten by 1994. A special task force was then se up to define, review and monitoi the needs and implementation o: programming to four- and five year-olds. HIGH SCHOOL STRTKE Durham Board of Educatior secondary schools prepared ii January for a possible strike by teachersright in the middle of exams. he strike became reality but only for one day. At a Mon- day night board meeting, visibly tired board trustees announced a tentative agreement. Main issues of contention were class sizes, staffing levels, wages and bene- fits. The deal was later ratifled by both the teachers (with 77 per cent in favor) and the board. SOCIAL WORKERS In January, the Durham public school board approved, in prnci- ple, the provision of social wor- kers for all high schools and some elementary schools. At the time, social workers were pro- vided for seven secondary schools in the Durham board. The addi- tional social workers for all the other schools would cost $131,000. However, board appro- val was subject to 1989 budget appal. The director of education for the Durham board, Bruce Mather, retired in early 1989. In April, he was presented with the Colonel Watson award for signifi- cant contribution te the fied of curriculum. PALMERSTONADDITION The grand openg of the $985,419 addition to almerston Ave. publie school was held in April. Work to the school inclu- ded expansion of the gym to 3,150-sq. ft., a 1,000-sq. ft. stage, boys' and girls' changerooms, health and guidance room, 750- sq. ft. library and two relocatable cassrooms. PARKING AT ANDERSON' Town operations committee recommended in Marci to ban parking on three streets in the vicinity of Anderson CVI. The recommendation was later accep- ted by council. QUEST SCHOOL Quest private school, which began in the fal ofr1982 in Oshawds arts resouroe centre, closed its doors in June due to lack of funds. The school for gifted and bright children was the brainchild of Ruth Banks, who retired from the Scar-, borough Board of Education in order to open the school. She estimated that 250 students attended Quest over the past seven years with the school tak- ing children from age three throuhto a~de 13. Increased enrolment and the accompanying increase in administration staff had the Durham separate school educa- tion centre in Oshawa bursting at the seams in 1989. There was a growth rate of about 10-per cent per year since the buildng was first constructed in 1981. After much discussion through- out 1989, it was indicated that some decision on the pro expansion might be madein January 1990 to give board members time to consider all options. UARY POLONSKY (middle) during February ceremonies as he became the PENSIONS About 600 Durham teachers went to Hamilton in April in- cluding four busloads Ãrom Whitby, to protest against Ontario Treasurer Robert Nixon's proposals for teachers' pension funds. Teachers were angry that the provincial govern- ment is forcing them to pay an additional one per cent to save their pension funds from bank- ruptcy. They were also protesting government refusal to allow dis- putes to be settled by binding arbitration. STRATEGIC PLAN A three-year strategic plan for Durham College, that includes upgrading of classroom facilities, was.unveiled in A ril b colle president GaryPolonsky.The three-year plan encompasses six major areas: total academic qua- lity and student success; develop- ment of human resources; college communication; access; market- ing and quality assurance; and financial and physicaliresources. TAPE RECORDERS The public, various trustees and the press were no longer permitted to tape record the pro- ceedings of public (and closed) meetings of the Durham Region separate school board, according to a board decision in April with an 11-4.vote by the board. But the motion was later rescinded i May, and replaced with one stat- ing that the public or press can use a mechanical an or elec- tronic recordingtdevice during the meeting, with. permission fron the chairman given prior to e benfothe meeting. Two Whitby students received honorable mention for their pro- jects in the 28th annual Canada ide Science Fair held at St. John's, Newfoundland in Ma. Mark Charlinski, grade 10 stu- dent at Henry St. High School, won mention m the intermediate engineering division. Bryan Tho- mas, grade 8 student at Kath- leen Rowe public school, earned honorable mention in the junior life science division. BUDGET INCREASE In May, the Durham Board of Education approved a 1989 budget of $266.7-million and a 14.6 r cent mill rate increase for Durham Region. With the increase, the average Whitby taxpayer (assessed at $5,500) would pay $1,078.66 in the pub- lie schooi board portion of their tax bill, an increase of $146.60 over 1988. new president of Durham College. MURPHY RESIGNS; BROWN ELECTED Whitby trustee Ian Brown wae elected chairman of the Durhar Board of Education in July, Brown, a trustee for eight years, replaced Lorna Murphy, ward 1 Pickering trustee as chairman, as Muphymoved to Vancouver. Later in ecember Brown was elected by the boarc for the next 12-month term. ELLIOT RETIRES Steve Elliot, a Whitby resident and principai of ONeill Col- legiate in Oshawa, retired from education in June. Elliot is returning.with his wife.to full- time farming at the family farm north of Goderich. He spent 28 years as an educator, 18 years in Durham schools.. SINGH GOES TO U.N. Anjay Singh, a grade 10 stu- dent at Henry St. High School, made a tri to the United Nations headquarters in New York in July after winning a contest sponsored b the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs order. If he had one sugestion for the U.N. delegates,he said it would be to turn more of their attention to the problem of world famine. Besides the five days at the U.N., Singh also visited Ottawa, Mon- treal, Washington D.C. and Phi- ladelphia. BANDS WIN GOLD It was an outstanding year for instrumental music students at Pringle Creek community centre publie school. The Panther Jazz band won a gold medal and "Best in Class» at the East Central Ontario Band Festival and a bronze medal from the Musicfest Canada national finals. The senior concert band, the junior concert band and the Panther Jazz band all took part in the Oshawa-Whitby Kiwanis Music Festival in April. The seniors received a bronze medai, and both the juniors and the Pan- thers came away with gold medais. MONTESSORI A Montessori school proposed for Byron St. S., on what is zoned residential property, was opposed by neighbors ata plan- ning committee meeting mune. e location was eventually tur- ned down and the application was withdrawn. However, the schooe is now scheduleed to open in the beginning of January at the Whitby Baptist Church on Gilbert St. The school offers an education alternative focusing on pratical life stages, the order of things inner discipline and self control. FRENCH-ONLYSCHOOL A request by the Durham separate school board for pro- vision of a 15-acre property, fo use as a future French-only secondary school, in Whitby's Lynde Shores lan met with opposition from Durham regional council at a meeting hi October. Provision of area for three ele- mentary schools has already been approved for the area west of Gordon St., east of Lynde Creek and from Lake Ontario to Hwy 401, in the Port Whitby area. The Town of Whitby pre- fers a more central location to the north for a French-only secondary school. STRTKR Durham College nursing stu- dents marched in front of the downtown Whitby office of Dur- ham Centre MPP Allan Furlong in October to urge him to press for talks between striking tea-_ chers and the college council. The first talks were finally scheduled two weeks into the strike, but could produce no results. After a total of four weeks, the strike was over but negotiations continued. Minutes before the education minister was to legislate the teachers back to work, the union and the council informed him of renewed interest in negotiations. A contract settlement was later reached. The academic year had to be extended in order to make up for lost time, and college administ- ration said the majority of stu- dents had returned to school. SCHOOL IN WAREHOUSE An industrial plaza in south Whitby became school for ade 10 students of the future sgr Pereyma Catholic secondary school (Oshawa) in the fall. A meeting of the Durham separate board in July brought about 40 concerned parents es- tioning where their children would be accommodated while waiting for their new school to be built. The board revealed that they had leased the warehouse for one year, amid groans from the crowd. But by the end of the meeting, much of the parents' anxietyhad dissipated. The students had to return home on the first day of schooi because their temporary accom- modations were not completed, but the delay was short-lived as the school opened the next day, TRANSPORTATIONPOLICY The Durham Board of Educa- tion's revised transportation policy went into effect in the fal with funding from the 1989 budget. T he policy provides for transportation of al elementary, students living beyond a 1.6-km walking distance from their school and for all secondary stu- dents living 3.2-km fro tiheir school. '89 REVIEW B89 REVIEW ................................ . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . Hospita a fundraising EXPANSIONPLAN In early 1989, plans were announce for a future extension of Whitby General Hospital's chronic care facilities. Proposed was a 68-bed, one- story facility if the Ministry of Health approves the project, a joint venture with a private nursing care company. The new chronic care building will be physically separate from the existing hospital building except for an adioining corridor. CAMPAIGN Whitby's largest ever fundrais- ing venture, for the expansion of the Whitb General Hospital, began inthe fall to raise $5.5- million, the private sector share of the epansion that is expected to cost $1 2.6-million. In July, the Town of Whitby announced that it will donate $500,000 towards the campaign. By September, the campaign had received over $2-million m donations. Mayor Bob Attersley announced at a reception held at Cullen Gardens that a developer had donated $500,000, setting a target for other developers to match. In December, Whitby's cor- porate citizens entered the fray with donations totallin $698,000 bringing the grand total to 43,030,784. Fundraising is scheduled to continue until July, 1990. KIDNEY DIALYSIS In the fall, it was announced that a new six-station kidne dialysis service would be establ- ished at Oshawa General Hospi- tai, with $2.5-million in funding from the Ministry of Health. The service will consist of a five- station hemodialysis unit and one station for intermittent peri- toneal dialysis. The division of nephrology at St. Michael's Hos- pital i Toronto will assist staff m Oshawa to put the new series into operation in about seven months. SMOKE-FREE In April, Whitby General Hos- pital became a smoke-free environment after a recommen- dation from a committee consist- ing of both smoking and non- smoking physiciana and-staff.