The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 23, 1998 - BI TERRACE ‘STANDARD. ANSIDE SECTION B COMMUNITY | ‘ALEX HAMILTON -EVENTS B2 638-7283 Correspondence school celebrates 10th ~ - AT THE LIBRARY... SHEELAGH MEIKLEM Reading leads to adventure he average person has grown ac- customed to living Hfe within the confines of daily routine, Adventures are for other people: richer people, people with more freedom, younger people, But an adventure can be something as mild as taking a walk through a strange field: anything unusual, unknown, spontaneous is an adventure. If you are open to new experiences, willing to say yes without knowing the question, you can reawaken the sense of adventure that lurks in all of us and enrich your life! Robin § Sharma covers this theme in. his Spiritual fable, The Monk who Sold his Fer- rari, the story of a super rich lawyer who gave up his practice and all his possessions to set off on an odyssey through the Himalayas. The book is written in the con- versalional style of The Wealthy Barber, which is a bit irritating, but apart from that is full of inspirational stuff. You will want to rush right out and do something bold: perhaps take up mountain climbing. Or somewhat less bold, an indoor wall climb. Once you have mastered the technique you are ready to face the rock. A Trailside Guide to Rock Climbing by Don Mellor is an illustrated introduction to this fast grow- ing sport and makes it seem almost pos- sible! If you prefer to be a little closer to the ground, Mountain Bike Magazine’s Com- plete Guide to Mountain Biking Skills gives expert tips on curves, corners, hills, water hazards and even biking in the snow and in the dark. Mare interested in aquatic adventure? The C:mplete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sail- ing by David Seidman is an encyclopedic guide wrilten for the beginner who wishes to become an expert. It is clearly illustrated with pencil drawings by the author and covers the subject very comprehensively, The ultimate adventurer, Michael Palin has turned his adventures into a lucrative career, His latest book Full Circle describes his journey around the Pacific Rim, starting and ending in Alaska. Along the way he passes through some exotic places: Chongqing, Zamboanga, San Pedro de Atacama, Terrace, Prince Rupert. Strangely enough, he has very little to say about the latter two spots, Obviously he didn’t find this area of the world as fascinating as Jan and Karen McAllister who have spent several years exploring the rain forest country along the north coast of B.C. They have collaborated on a beautiful book, The Great Bear Rain- forest, full of photographs of wildlife and remote wilderness that is in danger of being destroyed forever by clearcutling. Should you choose to make a trip lo that neck of the woods, better first read a slim volume by Gary Brown: Safe Travel in Bear Coun- try. This handbook delves into the biology and psychology of bears as well as gives es- sential advice an how to avoid an attack, what to pack, how to cook and store food, and,if worst comes to worst, how to treat bear-inflicted injuries. Unfortunately the whole process of not attracting bears seems to involve so much painstaking effort that you might be better off to stay home! A fictional character who is always up for any adventure going makes her sixth ap- pearance in Blind Descent by Nevada Barr. Anna Pigeon is a park ranger who finds herself in many tight spots but none more frightening than this one. Despite suffering from claustrophobia, Anna must descend into the bowels of the earth in New Mexi- co’s Lechuguilla Cavern to rescue an in- jured friend, and finds herself trapped with a murderer, This book gives a fascinating glimj :¢ into the world of caving, a sport that seems to require a lot of rope climbing skill. Wherever your adventure may take you, remember the {wo most important rules: “pack it in, pack it out’? and “‘take only photographs, leave only footprints.”*’ anniversary with open house Friday TUCKED AWAY behind the Coast Mountain School District board office is a school servicing thousands of students from the Queen Charlotte Islands, Prince Rupert, Bulkley Valley, Terrace and the Nass Val- ley. The school teaches stu- dents from kindergarten to Grade 12, but there’s a very slim chance anyone will ever get to sce one of them ina classroom, That's because these stu- dents are attending The North Coast Education School, a correspondence school. Students who take cor- respondence courses Jeam by completing work on their own. There arent any teachers to crack down on study time, or classmates to goof off with in the back of the room. “Correspondence means learning over distance via the printed word,’’ said Joc Vander Kwaak, principal of North Coast Distance Edu- cation School. Changes changes in the school’s curriculum _ this year have Vander Kwaak and vice-principal Warren Wilson very excited. Connect — a computer enhanced distance education program designed to elec- tronically support students — has arrived. Fifty families are being given computers this fall so students -will. be able to ¢- mail assigaments, partici- pate in chat lines and browse the World Wide Web for research assign- So GELEBRATING 10 YEARS: Joe Vander Kwaak, principal of North Coast Distance BO Education School, and vice-principal Warren Wilson are hosting an open house Friday to celebrate the school’s tenth anniversary, ments. “It’s a start,’ said Vander Kwaak. ‘‘Tt’s a thing for the future. Printed material is going to be supplemented by technology. It’s excit- ing.” The North Coast Distance Education School was set up in 1988 to help people living in remote areas, like lighthouses or bushcamps, to learn, But the majority af the students enrolled (98 per cent) live in a location where they could go to school. Vander Kwaak said people choose to attend his school for a variety of rea- Soils. He explained many parents are ‘dissatisfied ‘with- the public school system and would rather have con- trol over who their children socialize with. Mr. Dressup coming on farewell tour MR. DRESSUP’S RETIREMENT TOUR WHERE: R.E.M. Lee Theatre WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. TICKETS: Tickets $10.50 per person. Tickets on sale at Sight & Sound. WHEN MR. DRESSUP digs inte his tickle trunk in Terrace next month, get ready to enter his magical world of make-believe. “My tickle trunk is loaded with costumes,’’ said Mr. Dressup (Emie Coombs, 67) in an interview from his home in Ontario. ‘‘There’s going to be a lot of dressing up, silly skits, singing and lots of audience participa- lion.’’ Coombs is getting ready for the Jast Ieg of his three- year farewel] retirement Bo ang Around Town tour, which has taken him across the country. From talk around Terrace, it’s hard to tell who is more excited to see the popular television icon: the children who think Tutti Frutti the watermeton is really neato’, or their parents who grew up watching Casey, Fin- negan and Aunt Bird. “When F go on tour, it’s like a big reunion, ’’ said Coombs. Parenis come to see the show with their chil- dren and they present me with pictures of themselves Stroke Foundation, piano to 35 students, Women and heart disease Dr. Doris Kavanaugh-Gray, founder and chief of the Dept. of Cardiology at St. Paul’s Hospital in Van- couver from 1959-91, will be speaking an women’s cardiology Sept. 26 from 12:30-6 p.m. at the Terrace Inn. Registration fee is $5 and payable to the Heart and Piano teacher Kelly Lima, 23, was awarded an assoclateship in music teaching from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. It will make her qualified to teach piano and the theory requirements. Currently, she teaches Billets needed Katimavik, a volunteer youth work program involy- ing young people from across Canada is looking for a dozen families in Terrace to house youth from Oct. 12. 27, Each family wilt be given $140, The purpose is to give participants a chance to experience life in Terrace. For more info call Kimberly McIntyre at 635-6874. “dents with Approximately 500 stu- dents, he said, were already enrolled in schools like Caledonia and Smithers Secondary but use the cor- respondence school to sup- plement their timetables, “Qf they can’t get a course, because of a timetable con- flict, they take it through us,”’ Vander Kwaak said only a very simall percentage of students (2 per cent) were kicked out of school and had no other alternative but to learn = through = car- respondence. “Our focus is to serve stu- an alternate model of cducation,’’ said Vander Kwaak. ‘We're “ very flexible, We don’t have a strict timetable, We very easily adjust programs and tailor courses towards stu- dents needs, even at the elementary level.”’ Nick Timmerman, a cor- respondence teacher for 10 years, said students at the school achieve fantastic benefits, ‘Not only do they achieve the content of the courses they take, but they achicve self-discipline, which is a very valuable tool that will do well for the rest of their lives.” But correspondence school, Vander Kwaak said, isn’t for everyone, “To be successful you have to be organized, motivated and ‘a stick to it’ type of person, ’’ he said. Because of this there’s a ~ large4urnover all year round (the 'school is open 12 months a year) since some ~ students can’t handle. work- ing on their own. To compensate for the lack of social skills young- sters leam by attending pub- lic schools, Vander Kwaak Said he encourages parents lo enroll their kids in extra curricular activities like Brownies, hockey or swim- ming. When asked whether there was a problem with students passing courses by getting others to do their work for them, Vander Kwaak said there were ways to catch cheaters. “We check handwriting and the quality of work,’’ he said. Plus there are various su- pervised tests throughout the year requiring students to either complete at local schools and colleges or at home in front of an ap- proved adult. “There will always be those who try to get away with not doing the work,’ he said, ‘But our system has worked out very well in the past.’ North Coast Distant Edu- cation School is one of nine provincial correspondence schools in B.C. It operates under the host Coast Mountains School District but under a separate budget. All courses are free (care of the provincial govern- ment), however, the school requires a deposit on textbooks, The North Coast Distance Education Schoal is celebrating its 10th anniver- sary Sept.” ‘25... Vander Kwaak invites locals to*an open house this Friday from 1-4 p.m. reteeyacee COMING HERE SOON: Ernie Coombs, 67, (Mr. Dressup) Is getting ready to per- form here Oct. 10. He'll share the stage with Jim Parker and Lance Anderson. and their mothers at one of my shows 20 years ago.” On tour with Coombs will be friends like the rock n’ roll spider, YTV’s Dudley the Dragon and Tutti Frutti (but that’s only if Dudley docsn’t want to eat Tutti Frutti — Dudley might find he’d make a nice meal, warned Coombs.) The hour long per- formance also includes chil- dren’s = entertainer = Jim Parker and keyboard artist Lance Anderson, Coombs retired from CBC’s Mr. Dressup Show in 1996 after 30 years. Since then he has been touring and doing work for the Save the Children of Canada Campaign, a volunteer organization that helps improve the quality of life of children around the. globe. CBC has agreed to show Mr. Dressup Show reruns indefinitely. Posters unveiled today A BOOK AND POSTER series unveiled and blessed today at Clarence Michiel School will bring First Nations role models into classrooms for the first time. ; The posters, which are pictures of local native authors, elders, teachers, artists, honour students and hereditary chiefs will be distributed to every school in the district so students can sec local native people as being successful. “The purpose of the posters is to enhance self-esteem and promote pride and cultural heritage,’’ said Barbara Toye-Welsh, Dis- trict Principal for First Nations Education. According to Toye-Welsh, the success rate for graduation for First nations is 30 per cent or less. sibilities. information.”’ The posters are # way, she said, of en- hancing First Nations students’ pos- “The posters demonstrate ihat first Na- tions are successful role models, They are a celebration of the knowledge we have In Terrace. Students can look up to them for The launching of the Eleven Publications and Poster Series will take place at 7 p.m. and unveiled Cers. tonight at Clarence Michiel School. The posters will be blessed by Lt, Norm Hamlin by heredilary chiefs Vera Henry and Mei Bevan. Welcome dances will be performed by the Kitsumkalutm and Kitselas dancers and the Git Lax Dax dan-