Students hate four day plan

; By JENNIFER LANG
A FOUR DAY school week is a
tip off for students, despite the
promise of a three-day weekend,
some senior high schoolers say,
“It's just a huge sacrifice for a
little bit of. money,” says Christ-
ina: Heslenfeld, a Grade 12 stu-
dent st Caledonia Senior Second-

She and other members of
Cal's student council are opposed
to the plan, announced early last
week as one of the district’s cost-
cutting measures. =

Trustees say a four-day week . 2.
will save an estimated $1.4 mil-
‘lion a. year. in operating expenses
at School District 82.

She scoffed at the suggestion
that students will have it easy be-
cause it-means a three-day week-.
end,

“It means more homework,”
Heslenfeld. said; “I don't know
how we are supposed to do it,”

She also worries that students
will have trouble focusing in the
¢lassroom during a longer day.

Although final details like the

“length of the school day at the
elementary and high school level
‘are still being worked out, sec-
' ondary students may be spending
as much as 90 more minutes a
day at school. ,

“You can’t ask kids in Grade 8
and 9 to have a longer attention
span. We grew up with Sesame
Street where the program changes

WE DON'T LIKE IT, say students Pam Sihota (front left), Jordan
Wall, Teghan Norberg-LeBlond and Bridgitt Sloan McMullen.

schedules students keep.

Sihota said students are al-
ready stressed al having to
squeeze in activities into the cur-
rent five day week.

“| barely have enough time as
it is to do my homework on the
weekend,” Sihota said. “The.
people at the school board don’t
realize how much students do.”

"Thank God it doesn't come in
our Grade 12 year,” said. Sloan
McMullen, who edits the schoo!
newspaper, The Kermode, and is
also a member of student council.

She said shorier lunch breaks
won't work. Lunch time at Cal is
already a busy time as frantic stu-
dents juggle club and academic
meetings and the need to refuel.

It’s also an important time to
get extra help from teachers.

“They're painting lunch hour as
a lime when we all go out to Mc-
Donald's and have a big party,”
added Jordan Wall, a Grade 12
student who hopes to apply for
law school.

He thinks a four-day week will
make it more difficult for students
to maintain the high marks they
need to enter college and univers-
ity programs to graduate.

Post secondary entrance re-
quirements are increasingly com-

larships takes precious time in a
busy high school schedule.

“We can barely fit it all in as
it is,” Wall said, adding trustees

every 15 seconds to keep us en-
tertained.”

Student council president Pam
Sihota couldn’t believe the school
board would actually go ahead

happen,

r

with the plan.
“I thought it was so preposter-
ous. I thought,

shocked.”

‘This will never

she said. “I was

Sihota and her classmates say
the school board is out to lunch .
when it comes to the demanding

don't understand just how much
more students are expected to ac-
complish these days,

“They should live a day in our
life.”

Parents wary of shorter week

By JENNIFER LANG class.”
SCHOOL TRUSTEES spent near-
ly two hours last week listening to
concerns about the four day
schoo! week from parents, tea-
chers and students who packed
the board meeting in Terrace.
Parent Clay Dunsford said he
can’t believe trustees have opted
for the four day week. “You puys
should give your head a shake.”

day week,

wages,”
adding he

He asked the board to consider superintendent of
designating Wednesday | as. the vitae ; Randy
day off. meee Si alt Higde, if he
Pet ihiftk ‘it, would be" ‘easier on “Would” voluntarily’
the children,” he said, “I would ave up 20 percent of

like to know when these kids will
have time to do their homework.

School bus driver
Allan Chapman also
spoke against a four

“To me, thal’s a
20 per cent cut in my

lose benefits, too.
When he asked

his salary, Small-
brugge replied, “No,

take

he said,

stands to said.

Allan Chapman

“This plan is going to
instructional
time away from us
and we're still going
to be pressured to in-
crease numeracy and
literacy,”
q Vera Lynn Munsen

i “It has become clear
hat we are not going
] to be able to offer the
same education
the Coast Mountains |
schiol district as, ‘i!
Te
other areas’ of the ’
province,” added Ca-
ledonia Sr.

lobby the government.

“I don’t feel that education is
equal in the province,” Mikolayc-
z2yk said. “I think our kids suffer in
the north.”

Hag

The board has also announced
a number of other money-saving
measures. Those include: making
French Immersion self supporting
at the secondary level, cutting un-
necessary bus runs, a core review,

teacher

in
other schoo! ‘districts. '*’

* Junior ‘secondary will implement
semester systems.

teacher The district's two theatres will

petitive. Even applying for scho-—

and possibly sharing services with .

a ‘“Skeenif’ “Junior and Thorihil 7

They’re busy in the evenings.”
Parent Christine Crawford said
an extended school day is too
long for students with special
needs, including her son, who has
attention deficit disorder. “He
needs his full hour at lunch time
to go out and burn some of that

energy, as do members of his-

of course not.”

_Chapman said later, “If they’re
not willing to give up 20 per cent
of their wages plus their benefit
package. to help the situation,
this so called deficit, why should
they force me to do it?”

Some teachers aren't impres-

sed, either.

Greer Kaiser,

Hazelton trustee Jessica Miko-
layezyk agreed rural school dis-
tricts like this one can't offer the
same level of education as those
in large urban areas because of fi-
nancial constraints.

She said the school board
needs parents to come forward to

‘remain under the status quo.

The board has also approved
the idea of specialized magnet
schools, paving the way for @ po-
tential First Nations cultural
school. The First Nations Educa-
tion Centre is surveying local par-
ents to see if they would support a
culturally responsive school here.

Four day week is a hit in Grand Forks

By JENNIFER LANG
STUDENTS AND parents
in the Coast Mountains
School district may not
like the idea, but the four
day school week continues
to get rave reviews from
the one B.C. school district
that’s actually trying it.

All 10 schools in the
Boundary school district in
the Grand Forks area of
the southern interior
switched to the four-day
week in September rather
than close schools.

Since then, the district
has saved more money
than jit expected, while
student and staff absentee-
ism has dropped, a Boun-

ents, students, and staff
has found.

Coast Mountains school
trustees approved moving
to a four day week after an
all-day session on poten-
tial cost-cutting measures
March 1, making this the
first district in B.C. to fol-
low Boundary’s lead.

Assistant superintendent
Rob Greenwood said pro-
vincial exam results and
report card marks in Boun-
dary have held steady with

" last year.

“Marks are the same, or
better,” he. said.

He admits it's too early
to tell what impact the
four-day week has had on
so-called “at risk”’ kids.

‘week is not mak-

But indicators
like student ab-
senleeism and
discipline referrals
suggest a four-day

ing things worse.
The = survey
suggests the four
day week has not C
had a negative

curricular activi-

ties, teacher morale, pre-
paration lime, homework,
or even daycare arrange-
ments.

Greenwood has spoken
to a number of school prin-
cipals there. They told him
the key is to give each
schoo] enough flexibility

Rob
impact on extra Greenwood

to adjust to the
needs of students.
One school now
offers recess later
in the afternoon.
‘| Another found it
made a big dif-
ference when
‘| teachers allow
students to bring
snacks to class.
Ninety per cent
of students
Houndary are bussed to
school. The survey: found
one community favoured
the four-day week, even
though the children have a
two-hour bus ride each
way to school.

“The kids would rather
do it four days a week than

in-

five.”

Greenwood said princi-
pals have also found stu-
dents are able to cope with
a longer day.

“All the administrators
said they find the students
are more focused.”

The Boundary district
has saved more money
than expected, Greenwood
added,

The> board estimated a
20 per cent savings in
operating expenses. Since
staff absenteeism is down,
ihe district has had to hire
far fewer substitute tea-
chers this year.

“They're looking at a
significant savings,”
Greenwood said.

dary district survey of par-

French immersion, band in jeopardy

‘It looks to be the death
of the music program’

By JENNIFER LANG
TEARS FLOWED in a French immersion
class at Skeena Junior last week as news that
the school district will no longer guarantee the
program at the secondary level reached stu-
dents.

While, the district isn’t cutting French Im-
mersion, trustees say they are no longer pre-
pared to subsidize the high school ‘program at
the expense of other courses.

Skeena’s French immersion students now
fear years of hard work is about to go down the
drain, because they don’t know if they'll be
able to take the senior level courses they need
to graduate from the program.

“We're all really concerned,” said Alyssa
Carson, a French immersion student at Skee-

na, where students are taking the news pretty. :
- the bottom,” Skeena Jr. instructor Urs: Gasser

said. “Turn off the valve. To cut. it at the top is
absblufely unfait, he said: “J do: not. see. ge: how :

hard, ° *

In a moving appeal to the school board. last’
week, Carson told school trustees the decision eS

is unfair lo students a, only need a few more
courses to graduate from the program.

“This is my tenth year. You can’t just go
that far and drop it and have nothing to prove -
no certificate, no nothing,” she said. “There
aren't many of us, But everyone in there right
now wants to be there. We want to. learn
French.”

Ironically, the next. day education minister
Christy Clark issued a press release trumpeting
B.C.’s French immersion programs. .

Terrace’s program is actually one of the
most successful in the province, witha higher
per-capita enrolment than urban programs.

“A lot of the Grade 11s were pretty P.O.'d,”
said Carson's older brother, Brad, a French
immersion student at Caledonia, “It’s really
not a happy situation for anybody.” =.

Cal’s Grade 11/12 French immersion class

has 18 students this year, which isn’t enough

to qualify as a lab class of 21, or a A regular
class of 26 students. :
“If you. want to cut the program, eut it at

anybody can justify such a decision.”

On March 5, board chair Peter King said
the district doesn’t intend to scrap French im-
mersion, “It is to pul it on the same footing as
other programs.”

King added the district hasn’t given upona
proposal to offer a late French immersion pro-
gram that would bolster numbers when the two
streams join at the secondary level.

ee |

Local high school band students are also on
high alert: Their teachers fear larger class
sizes announced last week could spell the end
of Terrace’s award- “winning high school music
programs.

“Tt looks to be the death of the music pro-
gram in this district,” Terrace Teachers’ Union
president Richard Eckert said last week.

“He said teachers have told him they expect
just 15 students plan to enrol in Grade 8 band
at Thornhill Junior next year, which may be
too few students to offer the course,

“If the.Grade 8 program dies, that means
the:Grade 9 program will die next year," Eck-
ert said; “And it's a house of cards because the
Caledonia program will die after that,”

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

Watch that wish

An open letter to;

Terrace City Council,.

City Planning Committee, :
Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce

Dear Sirs:

Be careful what you wish for: I have: lived in
Terrace for the past 13- years, certainly long enough
for me to learn to love ‘it here and consider Terrace
my home. At the moment Terrace i is. the place ] want
to spend my retirement.

I think the community of Terrace should ‘be a bit
cautious’ by the proposed Wal-Mart store. A couple of
years ago I watched a CBC Fifth Estate program
about Wal-Mart and it was sure an eye opener, This
mega store’s sole aim is tomake money by driving
other stores out of business.

They don’t want to just compete in a fair market
place with other stores. They want it all for
themselves. Yes, the big bad mega store is knocking
at our door. The CBC program identified what their
business ethic is, They target economically depressed
(yes I am’ ss afraid that Terrace
is economically depressed | the
moment) unsuspecting.small towns, -

In a rush to drive the local economy, ‘small
towns see the stareas a boom — jobs during’
construction, jobs upon completion, tax dollars for the
town coffers. '

at

The store usually asks for and is usually given.

all kinds of tax concessions, or free land because ine
local people see the building of the store as an
economic boom. When the store opens the prices are
very low, which on the surface seems to benefit local
consumers, They keep their prices lower than their
competition for as long as it takes: for most other
businesses in the community to go bankrupt. They
have deep pockets since they are funded from
the mother store in the USA.

When many of the local stores have closed their
doors Wal-Mart, which by now. has no competition,
jacks up their prices. So be careful what you wish for

since you may get-a community with far fewer jobs in -

the long run since many of the current businesses will
be closed and many of the. employment and monies
which stayed in: the community with local business
owners and staff will now be going to the United
States and the shareholders of Wal-Mart.

In some small towns Wal-Mart actually closes
their stores after they have forced the other stores out
of business. Will they do that here? Time will tell.

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - A5
ne

Please contact CBC and watch the show on other

small communities who have experience with Wal--

Mart. If Wal-Mart comes here I for one will be
looking for a new community to retire in since I
refuse to live in the kind of community which has
been created as a resull of Wal-Mart.

Greg McDonald, Terrace, B.C.

Stop Wal- Mart now |

iat! Ser ete wna

Wal- Mart i is now the world’s biggest corporation. It
cultivates an aw-shucks-we’re-just-folks-from-
Arkansas image of neighbourly small town shop
keepers trying to sell stuff cheaply to you and yours,

“As Charlie Kernaghan of National’ .Labour .
Committee reports, “In country : after. country,
factories that produce for Wal-Mart are the worst,”
adding that the bottom feeding labour policy of this
one corporation. “is actually lowering standards in
China, slashing wages and benefits, imposing long
mandatory overtime shifts, while tolerating the
arbitrary firing of workers. who even dare to discuss
factory conditions,”

NLC (www.nicnet. org/) interviewed workers. in
China’s Guangdong province who toil in factories

making popular action figures, dolls, and other toys

sold at Wal-Mart.

In “Toys Of Misery” a shocking 58- “page report
ignored by the establishment media NLC describes:

“13 - 16 hour days moulding assembling and spray
painting toys from 8 am. to 9 p.m. or even midnight
seven days a week, with 20 hour shifts in peak
season.”

Even though China’s minimum wage is 31 cents an
hour — which doesn't begin to cover basic subsistence
level needs.' these production workers are’ paid 13
cents an hour or less.

’ This corporation ruthlessly attacks communities
and is a threat to this city. Cut it off at the pass.
Scott A. Condie, Terrace, B.C.

Wanted: seniors

Dear Sir:

I have an idea of how to inject an additional $40
million into the economy every month,

AS a new resident to the area from the lower
‘mainland, I am able to see what this area has to offer.

What dawned on me is that this area is ideal for
tetired people. Retirees go to Kelowna/Okanagan for
the dry climate to ease their arthritis/rheumatism. |

Many people in the Lower Mainland are literally
choking on the poor air qualily, now to be made
worse by the construction of the new natural gas
electricity generator the. Americans are to" build” in
Sumas.

If you can attract just 20,000 people with a net
disposable income from their retirement income of
$2000/month, that equates to $40 million per month.

You can promote air quality, reasonable
accommodation, leisure services, home care support,
reasonable climate. No home invasions. Security,
skilled maintenance, scenic areas, airport, shops and
stores, commercial centre and low traffic.

One of the best benefits for me has been the ‘air
quality. For the first time in my life I am able to
breathe through my nose.

Paul Hudson, Terrace, B.C.

About the Mail Bag

The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our
address is 3210 Clinton St, Terrace, B.C. V8G
5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail
us at newsroom @terracestandard.com, No
attachments, please. We need your name,
address and phone number for verification. Our

- deadline is noon Friday. or hoon Thuraday iu si a

long | weekend, —

ord