Bill Gook moved from Prince
George to Terrace last summer
to fill the position of vice-
principal at Skeena Junior Sec-
ondary School, and his reputa-
tion as a good organizer and fair
disciplinarian, combined with
his great interest in school
sports, promises to help main-
tain the high standards and
morale at the school.

Gook, who holds-a Bachelor
of Arts from UBC and a Masters
Degree in Administration from
the University of Victoria, took
his teachers training at Simon
Fraser University before teach-

. ing Social Studies and English

for six years at the Grade eight
to 12 level in Prince George.
Following that, he spent two
years teaching at a Canadian
‘Armed Forces base in Baden-
Baden, West Germany before
returning to College Heights
Senior Secondary School in
Prince George where he taught
for another five years,
During his second term in
Prince George, Gook held a
“Position of Special Respon-
sibility (POSR)’, a position
similar to a department head. In

that position, he was responsible -

18 Terrace Review — Wednesday, September 9, 1987

Now doeprintpa joing |

for a variety of administrative

details which included’ media
communications, news letters,
telations and:

inter-school
organizing coaches and sponsors
for all athletic teams.
Responsibilities in his new
position at Skeena will include
those same areas, as well as staff
supervision and all school dis-
cipline. -
He said he will also be
teaching a Social Studies course
as well as taking care of the
coordination and updating of
school curriculum to ensure
course continuity, liaison with
the community, ‘and parents
communication. :
Gook added that he also
hopes to be involved with sports,
particularly basketball. He ex-
plained that he has a great in-

terest in school basketball and

one year had coached the B.C.
champions out -of Prince
George.

“If there is a need for a coach
or a referee, I’l].be there,” he
said, .
Although he has never worked
in Terrace, Gook said he isn’t a
stranger to the community or its
climate.

This self-contained portable classroom unit was moved from Kitwanga by
School District 88 this summer and added to Uplands Elementary School in
Terrace, provided space for Dawne Parker’s Grade 4 class. .

Ge aie etc he ee eee

This famliy pet is at risk of serious Injury in the event of an accident or an
emergency stop. Terrace RCMP remind dog owners It is agalnst the law to
carry an unsecured pet in the back of a pick-up, and the driver can be
charged. An RCMP spokesman sald the animal must be secured to prevent it
failing or being thrown out of the vehicte.

Having brought two basket-
ball teams to Terrace, Gook des-
ribed one memorable trip. in-
‘December 1979.)

“We left.. Prince. George

_ around 9 a.m. and just past Kit-.

Wwanga we hit a snow storm,’’ he
remembered. “It took two hours
just to drive from there, but by

the time we got to Terrace the

snow had stopped.’’

He went on to tell how, as the
snowfall decreased, the velocity
of the wind increased. © °°

“During the second game on
Saturday morning, the wind was
whipping through the gym door
beside our -players’ bench,’’ he
said. “I sat on the bench with
my coat on, and the kids played
with sweat pants on.”’

Gook said he had applied for
other teaching positions in the
province, but Terrace had been
the best of his choices because it
offered more for his wife and
daughter. One plus, he explain-
ed, is that his daughter enrolled
in French Immersion classes.

Many school districts don’t of--.

fer that choice. — .
Also, with memories of the’
winter of ’79 having faded
somewhat, he was impressed by
the fact that when visiting Ter-
race last June, the cherries were '
almost ripe. ‘‘It’s like the
Okanagan here,’’ he said,

Bil Gook is the new vice-principal at Skeena Junior Secondary School. With
13 years teaching experience and an avid enthusiasm for school sports,.

Gook will be a plus for the Skeena School spirit.-

_ Family Life Education
_ course being developed =
foruse in local schools _

TERRACE — School trustees
still have important decisions to
make regarding the Family Life
Education curriculum announc-
ed by the Ministry of Education
last spring, when the need for
AIDS education in schools had
become a matter of public con-
cern.

According to a School District
88 spokesman, it appears at: the
present time that the most likely
date for implementing the new
program will be in early 1988,

‘Before beginning the pro-
gram, the board first had to
decide whether to adopt the cur-
riculum drawn up by the
Ministry of Education, or design
their own within. established
ministry guidelines, and then
had to obtain course material,
determine who would instruct
the course, and work the eight to
10 hours of instructional time in-
to students’. schedules.

Mike Hobel, Assistant Direc-
tor for the Curriculum Develop-
ment Branch of the Ministry of
Education, said in a memo to
school superintendants last May
that the new program was
developed because of the AIDS
threat and that the medical com-
munity and educators alike were
“convinced that the only way to
slow the spread of this incurable
disease is through information
and education that leads to
changes in behavior.”’

He stressed the point

. however, that the matter should |

not be addressed with a ‘panic
reaction”. He said it is vitally
important that ‘‘a careful con-
sideration of this new reality’
must be ‘‘a part of personal
decision making.”

He said an advisory commit-
tee composed of representatives

from the B.C. School Trustees’
Association,
Federation, Association of B.C.
School Superintendants, B.C.
Home and School Federation,
B.C, Council for the Family,

Federation of Independent
Schools Associations, B.C.
' Medical Association, Ministry

of Health, Premier’s Office and
the Ministry of Education, was
appointed in April and reviewed

a draft of the curriculum

outline, ,

Hobel suggested that in-
dividual boards should also ap-
point a community advisory
committee to provide advice to

the board and administrative .

personnel about implementation
of the program. :

‘It is strongly recommended
that school boards consider
forming a community advisory

committee, with representatives
the

from parents’ groups,
medical community, the clergy,
and interested local organiza-
tions,’’ he said. a
Hobel said that development
of the Family Life Education
program began last March and it
will be implemented during the
1987-88 school year, as the first
half of a complete Health and
Guidance curriculum which is
scheduled to begin in 1989, °
More than just a simple sex
education program, the draft for
Family Life Education also in-
cluded material involving the
family’s role as a support
mechanism for children ard the
child’s responsibility within the
family unit. Other material tells
how to make decisions such as
choosing friends and dealing
with peer pressure, and demon-
strates how to use assertive com-
munication (how to say “‘no’’).

B.C. Teachers’ -

Hobel ‘said the complete
Health and: Guidance cur-
riculum starting in 1989 will also
include topics such as nutrition,
substance abuse prevention and
career choices. oe :

He indicated that parents will
be. told about the . program
before its implementation and
given an opportunity to meet
with school staff and review the
material,

The video portion of the new
Program was already viewed by
about 40 parents at Caledonia’
Senior Secondary School last

-May and received unanimous

and enthusiastic support.
‘Students whose parents ‘re-

_ quest that they be excluded from

the program should be provided
alternative school work to do
during the time the program is
taught,’’ advised Hobel.
Harold Cox, Director of In-
struction for School District 88,
attended a ministry-sponsored
instructional conference on the

implementation of the Family

Life Education’ program in
Prince George last month: He
said, ‘‘All the participants I was
involved with accepted the pro-
gram with a great deal of en-
thusiasm and support.” .

“The program is basically
designed so that people can
make good decisions, particular-
ly about their. social and emo-
tional life,’? Cox said.

“T think it’s important that we
give our students a chance to
make good decisions and a
chance to become effective
citizens in our society,’ con-
cluded Cox. ‘If the health and

welfare of our students is not ad-

dressed, does anything else real-
ly matter?’’ Sse