Page 6 November 1981 Cassiar Courier SCHOOL TRUSTEE ELECTIONS ~ CASSIAR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREA HEATHER FUGERE During the first part of November residents in the Stikine School District will be going to the polls to elect school trustees to form the first Stikine Schoo! Board. Listed on these two pages are the candidates declared in the various areas prior going to press. It should be noted that since the closing date for nominations was October 26, this list is not complete. Information regarding the advance poll in Cassiar is on Page 7. SHERRY SETHAN Mrs. Sherry Sethan has been the appointed Official Trustee for School District 87 for the past year and thus has firsthand knowledge of what a School Board will have to contend with in the future. Sherry is a resident of Cas- siar, married and has two children. She was a member of the Parents Advisory Board for two years and was also an executive member of both the Arts & Crafts Society and the Community Club. Sherry feels that the administrative knowledge gained while on the Community Club execu- tive and the experience gained by running her own bus- iness for thirteen years would be beneficial should she be elected as a member of the school board, especially as it is responsible for administrating the finances for the School District. She feels that every member of the School Board will have the responsibility of ensuring that each dollar is used to the best advantage. As the official trustee for School District 87 Sherry - has seen how the District and the faculty work as a team. . She feels that it is important for the School Board to main~ tain this rapport between the Board and the staff, rather than have one working against the other. Sherry feels that the School Board does represent the parents and students in the district. By exercising their right to vote, everyone . can have a say in how things are run in the district. Sherry stated that a School Board can be extremely effective in that it can put forward more than, one point of view, thus making it easier to iron out certain problems to everyone’s advantage. When questioned about the present courses offered in the Cassiar School, Sherry was very positive. She feels that students in Cassiar are well prepared, both for life in gener— al and for further academic studies. She feels that no education which has been presented in a proper manner by a well-qualified teacher, is wasted. She would like to see the Fine Arts Program expanded but realizes that this is very costly. On the whole, she is pleased with the courses offered and with the attention and help which the students receive. The low teacher/student ratio is-a big factor in the Cassiar School. ' Sherry would like to see every child receive attention, whether he is gifted, a slow learner or an average student. On the subject of discipline, she feels that there is a definite need for positive disciplinary action in the school system — this does not mean bringing back the strap. On an average, she feels that the need is met by the school and that the excellent standard of the teaching staff and the experience of the latter has contributed greatly to the smooth running of the school. While she recognizes that the standards in Cassiar are excellent, Sherry feels that the elected Schoo! Board should strive to maintain and, where possible, improve these standards. I have been involved in the school system most of my life in different capacities — as a student for 12 years as a parent for 12 years, teacher aide and teacher “(kind- ergarten) 3 years. | have been on the executive of. many Parent— Teacher organizations, including the first two years (as vice-chairperson and chairperson) of the Cassiar Parents _ Advisory Committee, and was on the Community Club executive for 2 years. | have had three children go through the B.C. school system — in Cassiar since 1976 — and have experienced the gamut of emotions that parents face with their child- ren’s school years ..... from tears of pride and happiness at seeing them as a ‘‘tree”’ in their first school play, to re- ceiving a scholastic award as they leave Grade 12 to tears of despair and frustration when you have one child who “doesn't fit’ — has learning disabilities, behavior pro- blems and finally ‘the school can do no more” so they drop out. HL vleh | feel that during my involvement with the school, discipline on the whole has been very good. | don’t be- lieve in physical discipline of-any kind. | would like to see the teachers try new approaches rather than just send- - ing the student to the principal. | think some of the dis- cipline problems were caused by lack of experience on the part of the staff. * In the past there have been too many untried teach- ers. Also, too many of the teachers were teaching courses which were not their speciality, just because someone had to teach that subject. For example, many husband and wife teams were hired because of a lack of housing — this often resulted in one of them not teach- ing the courses in which they specialized. It is good to see the schoo! moving from this trend and | would like to see it continue. | feel that the knowledge | have gained in my dif- ferent roles in the school has led me to this next ‘‘step’’ or new role — the challenging position of Schoo! Trustee for the Stikine School District. If ‘elected, | would hope to make the. position of School Trustee a well-rounded one — one that can see all the many sides of the problems faced in the education of our children in the 80’s — the teacher’s view, the par- ent’s view, and, most of all, the children’s. After all, they are what it’s all about. LEE CORAN | am married, have two school-age children and have lived in Cassiar for. fifteen years. During that time | served on the Parents Advisory Board in its first two years of existence. (one as a member and one as vice-chairman), worked as program co-ordinator for Northern Lights Col- lege for the Cassiar area for 1% years, and have worked in the accounting field — with Cassiar Resources and in my own accounting business — ever since my arrival. As well, | have served on the executive of Town Council, Com- munity Club, Arena Association and Curling Club, | feel that the experience | have gained in these areas would be a great asset if | am elected to the Board, both in the educational and financial dealings of the Stikine School District. | am running for School trustee because | am con- cerned about the education of our children. | want to see all children provided with a proper education, according to. their individual needs and ability, in order that they i may become responsible adults in society. Programs should be available not only for average students, but al- so for slow learners and gifted students. _ There has been a general improvement in the teaching staff in the last few years and this year we have the most experienced: staff ever, and | am most pleased. However, | would like to see a further improvement in the housing situation in order that this does not have to be a deter- mining factor when hiring teaching staff in future. | believe there should be strict discipline in the school but this cannot be achieved without the co-operation of the parents. é While | realize that in areas such as ours it is not al- ways possible to have people with teaching experience as substitute teachers, | would like to see a training course set up that would have to be taken by all people interest- ‘ed in substitute teaching. If | am elected | will ensure that Cassiar has fair re- presentation on the Board and | will do my utmost to deal with all School Board matters in an objective and ef- ficient manner. DAVE PEWSEY Dave has been a resident of Cassiar for 4% years. In that time he served 2% years as a director of the Com- munity Club. He has been a member of the Parent's Ad- visory Committee for the past six months and is present- ly the chairman of that group. He is also a volunteer member of the Cassiar Fire Department. Dave has two children who attend the Cassiar School. Since he came to Cassiar Dave has already seen a big improvement in the hiring policies of the school. The fact that there has been a school superintendent working in the area full time has made a big difference in that we have had excellent representation. A school board can only make a bigger improvement. . As a member of the Parents Advisory Council Dave has had occasion to travel to Telegraph Creek, Atlin and Lower Post and can see what is required of a_ school trustee. If elected as an official trustee, he will make sure that Cassiar and the Stikine District has strong and sin- cere representation. He would also strive to ensure that all local policies passed by the school board are effective and efficient. er eee SCHOOL TRU ADVANCE CASSIAR POLL On Thursday, November 12, 1981, the two Trustees who will represent the Cassiar School Attendance Area on the Board of Trustees for School District No. 87 will be elected at an Annual meeting. This meeting will be held in the Cassiar Schoo] Gymnasium at 7-30 p.m. Persons wish- ing to vote in this election should attend the Annual Meet- -ing. Realizing that some Cassiar residents will not be able to attend the meeting because they are shift workers, the District has made the following special provision: — That Cassiar School Attendance Area, because of its shift work demands, be granted permission to have an advance poll for those voters whose shift work de- mands prevents their attendance at the Annual Meet- ing on Thursday, November 12, 1981. This advance poll will be conducted in the Cassiar Re- _ Creation Centre Foyer on Thursday, November 12, 1981, “during the hours of 12:30 Pm. — 3:30 P.M. Please note that the advance poll is for shift workers (4:00 p.m. — 12 midnight only). You Gan Be involved The Stikine School District continues to grow towards full control of its own educational fu- ture and you can he involved by making a con- certed effort to come out and vote for the can- didate of your choice in the School Tmstee elec- tions at the Annual General Meeting in your area. Seven trustees will be elected for the District — two from Cassiar area and one each from Dease Lake, Atlin, Lower Post, Good Hope Lake and _ Telegraph Creek. ses Everyone must complete the Voter Registration Form before voting. The forms are available at -each school, Parents Advisory: members, School — Board office in Cassiar, and at the polling station. EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT — VOTE! Mr. Bill Wood has lived in Dease Lake for 2% years and is employed by the Ministry of Highways as District - Office Mgr. He is married and has three children — two pre-school and one attending the Dease Lake School. At the present time Mr. Wood is extremely concerned about the education standards in the area. He has been a member of the Parent’s Advisory Council in Dease Lake and, as chairperson, has been associated with the Stikine District since it was officially formed. With the exception of Cassiar, he feels that the education standards in the dis- trict are not equal to those in the rest of the Province. He's also not sure what the effects of multi-grade teaching will be. Mr. Wood recognizes that there has been some im- provement but thinks there is still room for more. If elect- ed he would strive for equality of education ‘as he feels that the children from the Stikine District should be able to relocate to any other part of the province and be able to fit into the education system. A Mr. Wood thinks that the quality of the teachers has been a problem in the past. At one point no teachers want- ed to come to the North: This has changed and we are _ now getting quality applications, and he hopes this can be maintained. He also thinks that a major concern in Dease Lake is the school itself. The school is definitely overcrowded and the teachers and principal are to be commended for the job they do with the present facilities. If elected as School Trustee he would fight for a new school for Dease Lake. 1s ia ad PRP} Arle Tat das Cassiar Courier November 1981 Page 7 TEE ELECTIONS ATLIN ‘DOROTHY ODIAN Mrs. Dorothy Odian is married and the mother of two children, ages 7 & 9, both of whom attend the Atlin Elementary School. She is self-employed, working in : their family business. i Mrs. Odian is very interested in all matters related to the school. She has been chairperson of the local Parent Advisory Council for the past 4 years and for the past year has been the Atlin representative on the joint Advis- ory Council. In this capacity she has travelled all over the Stikine District, which has enabled her to understand the problems which the district faces as a whole. Mrs. Odian feels that the major problem in Atlin is well on the way to being dealt with. This was the need . for a new school. The school is under construction and because of the central location it has alleviated another problem which was how to getsome of the children who lived three miles from the school to the school. At the present time Mrs. Odian is not aware of any — major problems in the school at Atlin itself and, if elect- ed, would hope to be able to keep on top of any prob- lems that arise in the future. . 8000000000008 0808000 GOOD HOPE LAKE BURGESS LONGSTON Mr. Burgess Longston has resided at Good Hope Lake for sixteen months, during which period he has worked for the Department of Highways. He is married and has seven children — five of whom have gone through — the education system in B.C. At the present time he has one 13 year old attending Good Hope Lake School and _ his youngest child is pre-school age. Mr. Longston has also had seven years experience: working with the Justice Dept. During this time he work- ed on several committees. He also has sat on a Union Neg- Otiating Committee and on an Arbitration Committee. Mr. Longston’s major concern is that Good Hope Lake should have good representation on the School Board. He did not wish to comment on any specific pro- blems at the Good Hope Lake School until he ‘has further acquainted himself with the facts. First Concert Huge Success The 1981-82 season of the Cassiar Concert Society got off to a rousing start with a performance by a 22 mem- ber company of Yugoslavian dancers that was as colorful and varied as the history of Yugoslavia itself. The company is called “Dusan Vukasovic Diogen’, and is made up entirely of young dancers between the ages of 15 and 19. They are all top students; it is because of their high academic standing that they are able to take two months off school for this tour of Canada and the United States. The program opened with a medley of costumes and dances arranged by artistic director Dragoslav Dzadzevic to suggest the ethnic and regional diversity of Yugoslavia. The rest of the program brought us dances from these dif- ferent cultural backgrounds: Turkish, Italian, Hungarian and Slavic influences on the six Yugoslavian republics and the mosaic of people who live in them. Each folk-dance has its own story to tell; unfortunately the programs didn’t arrive in time, so we missed a lot of the nuances of meaning. This doesn't seem to have been a serious draw- back, however, for the near capacity audience obviously enjoyed the whole performance, and demanded two en- cores ; It’s difficult to pick items from this fine performance for special mention. They were all dazzling. There was the Vranje dance from Serbia that ended the first half, with its steady bouncing quick-step in the wild ‘cocek’ rhythm of Turkish music. Then there was the ‘Glamotch’. the dance without music. This is a dance from the period of Turkish occupation, when gatherings were banned and music would have given them away. The vigorous way in which by Bill Morrison the men shake the women’s hands is their way of testing their suitability to the hard work of being a wife. The la- dies, on the other hand, hold their hands over their ab- domens, suggesting that their place is to have children and keep to the house. And there was the lovely Biljana, the dance from the Ohrid region that is Maria Cvetkovich’s birthplace, with its intricate weaving of ribbons. Biljana and her friends are preparing for her wedding, coming to the lake to wash the linen for her trousseau. When it is washed, the linen is laid out in the sun to bleach, and then the women weave the strips of linen into a veil for the bride-to-be. ; This performance was on the 17th day of the tour, which began in Toronto, and went to Banff and Jasper on its way to Cassiar. From here the company went to the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton and the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver. They enjoyed Cassiar, with its small theatre where they could interact with the audience: but they were alarmed by the smallness of the stage, and apprehensive about its slipperiness. During the intermis- sion the stage was washed with coke to help the dancers’ feet to stick; and they felt less constrained in the second half. 1 can’t say | noticed any reticence in the first half! After the performance the company was treated to a party at the Cvetkovich residence and. the Yugoslavian community presented them with one of Jan Kaplicky’s pictures of Cassiar, and a “Texas Mickey’. (I'd like to go away leaving the impression that, even without program notes, I’m remarkably knowledgeable about Yugoslavian folk-dance: but I’ve had help from two sources — Maria Cvetkovich, and Frank Buckley’s promo- tional material from the company.) 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