1a te

We hai ae

;
1
4
t
;

Es Re ongnendte ase

Stem en nee TRE Nah NE

district. is -

Al0 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Glass sizes here below average.

By DUSTIN QUEZADA’

A GOVERNMENT - report

on class sizes. shows the”

Mountains — school
below . the
provincial and legislated
average limits but the head
of the local teachers’ union
- says the: ‘Statistics don’ t tell
the full story. - °

_ Veralynn Munson said
while the local ‘school dis-
‘trict has.made manageable
class sizes a priority in the

Coast‘.

,Jast few years, the. govern- -

ment’s elimination of firm
.. Class size limits skews the
Aumbers, >.”

“In 2001, [teachers] w were

—_ stripped of class composi-

- tion. and class size limits i in

favour:of district averages,”

‘Munson said.
"What that means is: the

provincial government leg-

 islated a change that didn’t
require firm limits for grades

4 to 12, instead boards only

needed’ to: maintain a dis-
trict-wide average of 30 for
‘those classes. Additionally,

_ the province increased caps.

‘for primary grades from 20

. to.22 and from 22 to 24 for

_Btades 1 to 3.”

Munson © said teachers :
would like to ‘see an upper |

~ limit. returned * in ‘the next
collective agreement. ae
“There used to be a’ ‘limit

“of 30° (students. ina “class),.

-Munson said. “The average

© doesn’t tell the: story on the

~ ground. ”

The district averages here’
-are: 16.8 in’ kindergarten;
20.1:in grades 1 to 3, 24.1
in grades 4 to 7; and'24.2 in,

* grades 8 to 12.
. “This

classes‘: -are of a reasonable

__ size and: ‘that many of them -
are small,” said education: ©
“minister Shirley Bond when

‘the statistics were released.

“tn fact, almost’ 15,000.
.classes — or. more than one -

out-of every five — have 20
_ or fewer students.”

Munson.’ said. smaller
communities tend to balance

” the numbers, leaving bigger

‘ communities within districts

i with overcrowded classes.

' ~ While the local district is
in compliance with district- .
wide averages, 12. per cent

of the 205 classes offered -

in ‘Terrace and Thornhill’s
‘three secondary schools

have more than 30 students .

enrolled.
An English 8 course at

Skeena. Junior «Secondary .

. tops the list at 37 students.

School trustee and board”
chair Lorrie Gowen says the 7
numbers could be worse if it -

_weren’t for money the dis-

~» trict’received:from the gov-°

~ Couch

on fire

FIFTEEN FIREFIGHTERS ©

"responded to a.blaze at a
- Kalum Gardens townhouse
on Hanson St. in the early

‘morning hours of March 2 to

discover a couch on fire.

An electrical heater left .

_on overnight ignited the sofa

and the blaze was limited to
that piece of furniture, en-
abling fire crews to douse
the sofa shortly after arriv-
ing:

: Firefighters remained for
- about an hour to ensure the
flames were out. oo,

‘The townhouse sustained
‘smoke damage throughout

- and water damage.

The mother and her 10-

year-old son inside escaped .

~ unharmed.

—sdAt’s believed the boy
wasn’t feeling well and the .
'- space heater was there to_

provide heat for him.

During the night, he felt
something on his feet and
.woke up in time to get him-
self and his mother out of

. the building. Emergency

social services assisted the

family with shelter and sup-
- plied items they needed.

'- Terrace fire ‘chief Peter

Weeber said space heaters 7

with timers are the best ones
to use, and people need to
ensure that they are not left
onovernight.

The situation could’ve
turned out a lot worse, he
said. The fire department did
not have a damage estimate
as of late last week.

report ‘confirms
‘that the vast majority of our’

ernment — money it saved

during the teachers’ October .
.2005 strike. »
“The reason the num--
_ bers are down is because we
hired extra teachers for some
-schools,” Gowen said.

The district’s share of the
strike savings was $205,965

and it was split almost 50/50 —
between elementary and’
‘high schools.

“At the elementary lev-

el, class composition. was

deemed. the. most critical
area and $107,500 was spent
on additional special staff
assistants for 34 district

classes ‘with, four or more”

"PHARMACIST
_Pavan Bhatti -

identified special education
students.

Secondary schools were
the benefactors of $96,600

‘that went toward _ offering
nine additional course offer-
ings. o

Gowen disagrees with
Munson’s position on fixed

class limits, saying a district

average is more manageable
here.

« “The capped number for-
mula] was very difficult with

*the - district and the catch-

ment areas,” said Gowen.
With class size limits,

Gowen said the district had.’
to split classes or-bus kids to:

“Come visit our’:
’ Pharmacy and see
how affordable great
- healthcare can be.:

TECHNICIAN
. Tina ‘Sterner’

PHARMACY HOURS: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm

rvowe: 615-2047

SHOPPERS {

DRUG MART

Manuela, Ingrid issing toin photo: Alison, Jeff

Rose, Colleen, Celina, Megan — .
Missing from photo: Nadina, Kate, Jackie, Joanne

4635 Latelse Ave..

635-7261

SAFEWAY)

FOOD & DRUG:

Carrie Freeman (iabetic Meter Technician),
Harj Samra Phamacisy, Chris Lynch Phamacist,

=. Melissa Watson (Phamacy Manage), Carol Bye (technician)
(Missing from photo} Julie Courtney (Diabetic Meter Technician)
- are here to help you with all your
pharmaceutical needs. & questions.

HARBIAGY i HOURS

RECEIVE FULL AIR MILE POINTS
ON ALL PRESCRIPTIONS

' schools outside their catch-
ment areas.

“We really need to have

flexibility,” Gowen added.
But:Gowen and Munson

agree the bigger problem i in.
. the district is class. -composi-

tion.

“We “seriously need to :
talk

about composition,”

Gowen: said, “adding the
government has to take the
cap off special needs spend-

"ing. Expenses exceeding the

$4-million cap have to come

from the basic. grant the dis-

‘trict receives, said Gowen.
The class ‘size report

“found that provincially, dis-

tricts were under the legis-

Jated limits on average but

15 districts were not in com-

-pliance.
The statistics were veri- 7

fied by individual districts Oe cz

and weresbased on enrol-.

ment numbers on Sept. 30,
2005. .

The B.C. Teachers’ Fed-

eration continues to push for
class size and composition
limits in advance of a new

collective bargaining agree-

ment.

. The current government- .
- imposed» -contract
June 30, 2006.

expires

a creek, lots of old. growth timber
just 2 2 kilometers from ance limits.

iss market today!”
Bus: (877) 635-2404
Res: Bee} 798-9565.
Cell: (250) 631-3100
Email: vance@royallepage.ca

Royal LePage Terrace

We're also your 18t Jf
@ choice for all your Home f
Health Care Needs

Shoppers Home Healthcare
Is not only your 18 choice
for prescription services

YOUR SHOPPERS HOME HEALTHCARE PHARMACY TEAM.
Melodie, Nola, Margot, Kirsten, Julie,
Patti, Jennifer, Alison, Eric

Ostomy * Home Care.Rentals « Wheelchairs
Incontinence « Walkers’ * Baby Needs
Mastectomy .* Mobility Products
Sports Medicine & Bracing Products

-Located in the Park Ave.
. Medical Building

4634 Park ‘Ave.

615-5151
| SHOPPERS (

DRUG MART

Your’ health matters.
Come oe our Pharmacy.

Monday - Friday 8 a.m. -8 p. m.
Saturday - Sunday 9 a.m. -5 p.m.

PHONE 635-4021

9.5 aéres of view and a 3 bedroom custom built home. Includes
V shop and carpenters shop,
§ae0 900. call Vance to view.

Best deal on the

ee
#102-4644 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. pia ta bas mentite