__A social held at the Inn of the
West recently gave Caledonia
Senior Secondary staff, as well,
as school board staff and trus-
tees, an Opportunity to recognize
and thank local employers who
support the Caledonia ‘“Work

‘Experience Program’’.

by Tod Strachan

A sense of accomplishment
filled the room as participating
employers were told that over
450 students had participated in
the program since it began about
10 years ago. With its proven
value, the future of the pro-
gram, which benefits employer

and student alike, is optimistic. -

‘Gurmit Grewel, an Office
Procedures !2 Work Experience
student, told the audience that
the program is invaluable to
students because many are un-
sure of their career goals and
“Work Experience” gave them
“hands-on experience’. |

“The program gives us a
chance to pursue our goals and
find for ourselves what it is that

_we actually want to do in life,’’

said Grewel, She added that the
program also offers students a
“‘valuable learning experience’
in which they are able to “go out
in the work force and find out

for themselves what is out there 7
~ and Life Skills.

in the real world’’.

“The best way to learn
something is to try it for yourself

and not to just sit behind a desk
and hear about it,’’ she explain-
ed. ‘‘It provides us with an in-
sight into reality.”

“And this, in my_opinion, is
an excellent program,” Grewel

concluded as she thanked the.
employers for making the pro-

gram a success. It’s something I

would recommend to all stu-

dents,”

‘Barry Smith, a student in the
Pre-employment program, told
the employers, ‘‘On behalf of
the Work Experience students at
Caledonia in the Pre-employ-
ment class, I would like to thank
you for creating job sites for the

students who are getting hands -

on experience.”
“I have benefitted from the,

school time,

Work Experience Program ...
I’ve learned quite a bit,” con-.
cluded Smith.

Barry Davis, the Caledonia
Work Experience Coordinator,
explained in an interview after
the social that the program is-
divided into two parts: Work
Experience, and Pre-employ-
ment,

He said the Pre- employment
program is designed to equip
students who experience dif-

ficulty in the regular school

program with the academic,
social and emotional . skills
necessary for successful future
employment,

Davis explained that students
receive five to seven hours of
‘tife skills’? instruction per
week, while the remainder of
their time is spent with two
blocks of. elective instruction
and three to four hours of
community-based work exper-

ience on three out of every four .

school days.
He said that with the more ad-

vanced students, the work ex- -

perience aspect of the program is
the major emphasis, accounting
for 55 percent of the students’
but they also
receive classroom instruction in

Functional Math, English,

Health Science and Vocational

Work Experience students, on
the other hand, include academ-
ic students who are able to

benefit from ‘‘real’’? work exe

perience .

He explained that through the |

program, students learn t
assume “responsibility, “develop
good work habits and gain the
knowledge and attitudes neces-
sary for successful job perfor-
mance. Ih addition to job-

Oriented skills, the students also

develop personality and poise,
an appreciation of the relation-
ships between a formal educa-
tion and career success, and
broadened understanding of the
‘“‘world of work’? and their own
vocational interests.

Davis said employers benefit-
ted from the program by having
access to carefully selected, part-

_Oldtimers compete
in Smithers tourney

The final oldtimers hockey
tournament before the. Christ-
mas break attracted 10 teams to
the Smithers Arena. Organizers
split them into an ‘A’ division of

four teams and a ‘B’ division of

six teams. .
The ‘A’ side played a round-
robin series, with the hometown

Drillers winning on an unbeaten

record. Drillers defeated Prince
Rupert’ Wrinkles 7-5, blanked

. Houston Hobblers 5-0 and shut
. out Terrace Timbermen 8-0,

Houston took second place
due to a 12-4 win over Terrace

and a 2-1 victory over Rupert.

By virtue of their 9-2 win over
Terrace, Rupert placed third
while Terrace was fourth.

After preliminary games on
the ‘B’ side, Kitimat Merchants
defeated Hazelton 6-3 to take
first and make Hazelton the run-
nerup, In the playoff for third
and fourth, Prince George beat
Smithers Rubber Puckers 7-1,

Smithers Hudson Bay Lodge
defeated Prince Rupert Puck-
aneers 4-1 in the battle for fifth
and sixth,

BCWG skaters picked

Kitimat’s Snow Valley figure

skating club hosted zone seven
B.C. Winter Games playdowns
on Dec. 13 where seven com-
petitors were named for the
team,
-In juvenile ladies, Paula
Reeves of Kitimat and Carly
Johnson of Prince Rupert were
selected, with Janet Kukulies of
Smithers as the alternate.

Shelley Lefebvre of Terrace
and Danielle Belsham of Kitimat

were named for intermediate

ladies. Cheryl Mitchell. of
Kitimat is the alternate.
For senior ladies, Cori

Boguski of Kitimat and Dana
Smith of Burns’ Lake were
chosen. The only intermediate
man was Cameron Woodruff of
Vanderhoof.

Deneen Green of Burns Lake
will coach the team, with zone
rep Gerri Boguski of Kitimat go-
ing along as chaperone.

Caledonia Work. Experience ~
Program thanks employers ©

time workers who have the po-

tential to become ‘full-time em:
ployees. Employers also have _
the opportunity to explore. the

value of young “‘school-trained”’
employees, and the program
gives them a chance to make a
contribution to the youth of the

community,

Davis added that i in most cases
the presence of student workers
creates an added job-related

‘awareness that increases staff

motivation and work standards.

During the evening social,
employers were treated to enter-
tainment by Caledonia students
Liz . Sluys, Jose Coosemans,

Pam Kerr, Joanne Greening and

Audrey Faber. Also, Pre-em-
ployment student Barry Smith
volunteered the services of his
own growing business, ‘‘Solid
Silver’? which provided pre-
recorded music for the duration
of the event.

CHRISTMAS
SEALS.

Terrace Review — Wednesday, December 23, 1987 11

Caledonia Pre-Employment student Howard Inkster is taking advantage of

tha school’s Work Experlence Program to gain an insight into the “real’’

work world at Terrace Equipment Ltd. Inkster says he has been working on-
chainsaws and small engines and hopes to work for Terrace Equipment
full time.some day.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a 1 Savior, which is Christ. the Lord”

_ Luke 2- We