Page 8 January 1983 Cassiar Courier THE SCHOOL IN AND AAHL GNNOYV GN NI 1OOHOS FHL GNNOYV GNV NI TOOHIS JHL GNNOUY GNV NI TOOHIS FHL GNNOYV GNV NI 1OOHIS FHL GNNOYY GNV NI 190H9S FHL ND THE SCHOOL IN AND AROUND THE SCHOOL IN AWD AROUND THE SCHOOL IN AND AROUND HOOL IN AND ARGUND THE SCHOOL IN AND AROUND THE SCHOOL IN AND AROUND THE SCHOOL IN AND AROUND THE SCHOOL IN AND AROU | HISTORY Cassiar students now have a new Elementary School. The name for the new school which is located up the road from the Arts and Crafts Centre is - ‘SNOWRIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL’. The name was chosen from the many submitted by students and parents, and the final selection was made by the students and teachers of the school. The new phone numbers for the school are 778-7410, or 778-7411. The opening of Snowridge Elementary School has provided some much needed space for Cassiar Second- ary School. As a direct result of the move, we have been able to relocate classes from such unsatisfactory areas as ‘the basement, chemical storage cupboards, etc., into regular classrooms. We are still waiting for desks and chairs to fully equip the social studies area. The move has also provided an opportunity to develop three specialty areas for counselling, art and textiles. These areas have previously served multiple purposes and as such, have limited our program offerings. HHH HH EH HH A Christmas dance was sponsored by the 1983 graduating class. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all stu- dents and staff who attended. Special thanks to Mr. Spetch and Ms. Tavener for their help with the prepar- ation and the banquet. SUCCESSFUL PLANTATHON The 4th Annual Plantathon was held on November 21 1982. Approximately $600 was made on over 150 plants We hope our customers are happy with their purchases. We would like to thank Mr. & Mrs. Schneeberger, Mr. and Mrs: Nuyens, Mr. D. Foster, Mrs. A. Stewart, Mrs. G. Overton, Mr. & Mrs. P. Cartwright, lan Cartwright and all those who helped make the plantathon a success. CAREER EDUCATION At present Cassiar Secondary Schoo! has two on- going Career Education programs. 1. WORK EXPERIENCE — This program has been offered for the past 5 years. Originally it was de- signed specifically for special needs students. Later it was modified to permit both these students as well as some Grade 11 and 12 students to partici- pate. Last year it was opened up to allow all stu- dents in Grades 10 - 12 the opportunity to partici- pate. WHAT IS WORK EXPERIENCE? Basically it is what it says it is; work experience. It allows the student to gain one week of experience in and exposure to, the realities of the working world. More importantly, though, it is designed to help students begin thinking about possible future careers. While on Work Experience, the students FIRST IMPRESSIONS The best way to find the answer to this question - ask a student or a teacher. Overall the building itself does away with the original concept most people had of a ‘modular’ construction being a bunch of trailers - both internally and externally. Several “‘teething’’ problems are being experienced, but it is to be hoped that many of these will be rectified by the time school restarts on Jan. 4th. With any new school some kinds of problems can be expected to surface, and our new school is no exception to this. In some of these areas of concern, clarification is needed and the request for the co-operation of parents is necessary. Some areas of concern are: STUDENTS’ HEALTH AND SAFETY It is necessary for the students to walk on the side of the road to the school, not in the middle, as the road is not too wide. Students are being encouraged to use ~ the road to the school and not alternate routes through the trees, especially not behind the I.E. Shop, where there are many pieces of material buried under the snow at present. PLAY AREA The play area of the school is fairly confined, but has been well defined and the students are slowly begin- ing to learn how to play carefully and make wise use of the play area. can explore the realities of one or more occupa- tions. Some will find that their placement is the career they want, others will realize that the career they thought they wanted isn’t really for them, while others will not be sure but will begin think- ing about career choices. It should: be noted that Work Eyaerience’ is option. al and that the students are expected to carry their regular academic load as assigned by their teachers while at their placement. The Program is run 3 times per year, during the first week of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th terms for Grades 11, 10 and 12 respectively. We have just completed the first stage of this years Program. Nine out of twenty Grade 11 students elected to participate at the following businesses/ agencies: Cassiar Resources — Carpentry Millwright Heavy Duty Mechanic Secretarial R.C.M.Police Hospital Peace River Health Unit School District No. 87 Board Office Cassiar School Kindergarten All involved felt the Program was highly success- ful and have expressed a desire for it to continue. Our thanks to all those who have made the week a very positive one: Bob Bowen and the constables at the R.C.M.P. Sandy Hickman and everyone at the hospital Lisa Spetch and co-workers at the Board Office Sue Omura at the Health Unit Claire Redmond at the Kindergarten John Colak and crew at Mill Maintenance Lothar Tischler and crew at Surface Larry Aspen and crew at the Equipment Garage Clyde Millar and Barb Westlake at Planning Marie Drzimotta at Training Sandy Crawford and staff at Employment and thanks especially to Paul Temple for co-ordin- ating the program from the Cassiar Resources end. The next Program is slated for the Grade 10 stu- dents during the week of Feb. 7 — 11, 1983. With the same continued support it should be as POsi- tive as the first. In and Around the School ~~~ Snowridge Elementary School SNOWMOBILES A simple, self-explanatory statement - for the safety of the students, please keep all snowmobiles off school grounds, Thank you. GRADE 1/2 CLASS DOES IT AGAIN! Congratulations - again - to Mrs. Prier’s Grade 1/2 class on retaining ‘Timely Teddy” for their punctuality record in November - only one late in the month! Look out, however, because the Grade 5/6 class were close, with only three lates. Well done! STUDENT ACTIVITIES These are already into full swing. In the mornings, Tuesday to Friday, before school starts, there is a ‘‘Fit- ness A.M. Club” for the Intermediate Students, which starts at 8:15 a.m. and is sponsored by Mr. Millar. Prim- ary Intramurals take place in the Gym for Grades 1 - 3, and these games involving the exotic names of Ogopogos, Vultures and Tasmanian Devils, are sponsored and super- vised by Miss Lindsey, Mrs. Vickery, Mrs. Prier and Mrs. Kurian. Intermediate Intramurals are taking place now after school, from 3:15 to 4:00 p.m. and these are sponsored and supervised by Mr. Waldera, Mrs. EVARS, Miss Strebe! and Mr. Hamilton. A Cross-Country “Ski for Fun’ Club is well under way on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. It involves a group of interested intermediate students and is under the sponsorship of Ms. Dale and Mr. Waldera. Cassiar Secondary School The other on-going Program is new to our school this year. 2. CHOICES — CHOICES is a computerized career li- brary which will provide information about occup- ations and will help students in career exploration and decision making. Students begin the CHOICES Program by taking a hard look at themselves. Via a guide book and counselling they are asked to take stock of their. needs, abilities, aspirations and interests. Once they have developed an accurate profile of them- selves the computer is utilized. The information the student has gathered about himself/herself is fed into the computer. Based upon what the stu- dent has said about himself/herself the computer produces a list of occupations that the student is willing to become qualified for. It must be stressed that this list is not all inclusive. It is based on what the students have said about themselves. However, there is room for change and modification of an- swers and with this change comes realization and exploration. e.g. Student A said he only wanted to complete Grade 10, but he doesn’t like the occupations the computer printed out. If he wants other occup- ations he will have to realize he may need more schooling and thus will have to change some of his plans. With counselling the students can begin to make the right choices for themselves. CHOICES will be available to all students from Grades 10 — 12. We hope to house it in the new Career Resource Centre, which is open to all high school students. The Resource Centre contains specific information on many careers, as well as pamphlets, calendars, etc. from various universities colleges, vocational schools and other training centres. The public is invited to drop by the Career Re- source Centre to browse and/or see CHOICES in action. If all goes well, we hope to be able to open the Centre one night a week for any interested in- dividuals. See you there. KERKKKKHEEK On behalf of Cassiar Secondary School we would like to extend our best wishes to all members of the community for a happy and prosperous 1983! o =x oO oO - 2 > = o > a oO Cc = o + <= m ie) oO —< i=) i) Cr 2 > = oO > es) Oo = = o -| =x m n” o <= i=] oO sa? 2 > = o > =.) oO Cc = o > 2) Oo Cc = o + =x m ~” oO = f=) f=) Lo 2 > = oO > =) f=) Cc = —] | — m n oO <= o oO Le 2 > = o > az f=) Cc = o + = m wn oO = j=) o rs 2 Pe = o > es) Oo Cc = o —4 =x= m 22) isn) = i=) i=) — 2 > = o > =) o c = Cassiar Courier January 1983 Page 9 ROVING REPORTER QUESTION: BILL VANDERZALM, MINISTER OF EDUCATION, SAID RECENTLY HE HOPED BY JUNE 1983 TO HAVE PROVINCIAL EXAMS FOR GRADES 4 AND 12 AND EVENTUALLY TO HAVE B.C, STUDENTS IN GRADES 4, 7 OR 8 AND 12 WRITE PRO— VINCIAL EXAMS IN BASIC SUBJECTS, SUCH AS ENGLISH AND MATH. HE SAID IT WOULD PROVIDE A MEANS OF MEASUR- ING THE SUCCESS OF THE PUPIL AGAINST A PROVINCIAL STANDARD AND ALSO GIVE THE DEPT. OF EDUCATION A CHANCE TO MONITOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS. ~ WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS PROPOSAL? TOM MAY — PARENT Yes. Due to the fact that many parents in this community over the past few years have express- ed the fear that the isolation of this community tends to bring a lack of educational competence to students. KEITH LANPHEAR — SCHOOL PRINCIPAL The implementation of grade-wide provin- cial exams for Grades 4, 8 & 12 will not measure all the areas that Mr. VanderZalm purports they will measure. They will give comparison figures for all stu- dents in a specific grade in a specific subject area. This is already being accomplished through ~ standardized achievement tests in reading, science and math at those specific grade levels. They are for comparison only and not for eval- uation. These tests and other standardized tests, fail to recognize student individual differences and the varied socio-economic conditions that exist across this province. Standardized evaluative exams will encour- age teachers to “teach to the exam”’’, so that then students will be successful. This will de- tract from the present trend where individual differences are considered and appropriate learn- ing materials are presented commensurate with the students ability. They do not allow the teach- er to evaluate the student on the basis of his pro- gress from one academic point to another over a given period of time. These exams will in no way reflect the abil- ity of a teacher to teach. A teacher of students 1of low ability, who are unlikely to be success- ful in passing such an exam, may be regarded as a poor teacher. In fact, that teacher may be an excellent teacher, who has greatly enhanced the learning of those students, but who are not yet at the level being measured by a standardized provincial exam. With the Stikine having a transient, fluctuat- ing population, as it does, the addition or del- etion of two or three high or low ability stu- dents could greatly skew the results in any given year due to our low student population levels. Therefore, a class or teacher who were previous- ly rated high, could suddenly be shifted to the other end of the scale due to these changes in ab ility of a small number of students. In this time of educational restraint it would appear that this type of program would put an additional strain on the budget by creating ex- penses in the areas of test production, test eval- uation, printing, mailing, marking and statistical analysis — can we afford it? MICKEY OVERTON — PARENT I think it’s an excellent idea — because it gives us a chance to see how our schools in the north compare with down south DAVE PEWSEY — SCHOOL TRUSTEE It can only generate a positive effect for the pro- gress of the pupil and the standard of education in the district. CARMEN BONDESON — PARENT I haven’t really thought about it but it sounds like a good idea. I don’t see anything detriment- al about it. MARGRETTA McGUINNESS — PARENT I think it’s a good idea. It gives a general idea of what each individual student is capable of. seoeenacen STEFAN DYK PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBER I would be in favor, providing some provision was made to take into account the year’s per- formance. LAURETTE MOTH — PARENT Perhaps it’s a good idea, just for the students who plan on attending unversity. a RON TATES PRESIDENT, STUDENTS’ COUNCIL I think the legislated tests would not be benef- icial to B.C. schools. It would not be a cost- cutting alternative, because of the costs of mark- ing. Also, one cannot evaluate the performance of the school and its teachers solely through its students. For example. students have varied capabilities, i.e. social circumstances, upbringing, HOUSEHOLD GOODS SPICES _ MEDICAL AIDS VITANINS, COUGH SYRRUP, etc. CONTACT: Pat Farrell 624 South Tagish Ph. 778-7702