PDCS history teacher Steve Talos says he left ARC earlier this year, believing the outcome had been predetermined.

Now, he suggests the administration has come up with recommendations ARC had devised to keep PDCS open….

ARC

Talos gets no argument from ARC chair Don Werden who believes the same thing.

Staff suggest the Port Dover high school be used to house Grade-9 students in a faith-based curriculum–basically as a satellite of Waterford District High–as well as be home to Kindergarten through Grade-8 students from Doverwood public school.

Talos says the community would be devastated if the staff recommendations are adopted. 

It’ll be mid-October at the earliest before final decisions are made.

Staff have a number of recommendations for discussion, including new life for Port Dover Composite school.

They’re suggesting PDCS become a satellite campus of Waterford District High school, with a faith-based pilot program at first for Grade-9 students.

There would be room for expansion of that program.

The International Student program would be promoted with the idea of pulling in international students interested in the faith-based curriculum.

PDCS would also be reconfigred to accomodate Kindergarten to Grade-8 students from Doverwood Public School.

The Board’s communications manager Shawn McKillop says it’ll be a while before final decisions are made…

ARC1

It’s a different scenario from those suggested by ARC members.

They recommend keeping all five schools open with enhanced programming and busing changes and if enrolment didn’t increase enough, to close them and build one big high school.

Wayne Hobbs is Executive Supervisor of Support Services for the Grand Erie Board.

Mental health issues have long been shoved to the background, but Hobbs says “great strides” have been made in recent years when it comes to awareness and understanding.

Hobbs says that includes changes at the board…

MENTAL

Hobbs says ther’s a ‘better understanding of how broad-based mental health challenges are’ and in understanding and spotting the ‘risk factors’.

He notes 1-in-5 children will struggle with a mental health issue, which he says is also true for adults.

It’s an event acknowledging the 15 “champion schools” with the Grand Erie and Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic school boards, which have promoted mental health awareness.

The breakfast, underway at 8am this morning, celebrates the collaborative work being done to support children and their families living with mental health illness.

The keynote speaker is Dr. Kathy Short, Ph.D., C. Psych. Director,
School Mental Health ASSIST

Here are the ‘champion schools’:

Grand Erie District School Board

Branlyn
Central
Graham Bell-Victoria
Hagersville Elementary
Hagersville Secondary
King George
North Ward
Pauline Johnson
Valley Heights
West Lynn

Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board

Christ the King
Holy Trinity
Jean Vanier
St. Frances Cabrini
St. Joseph’s
School Support Initiative:

The officer clocked the vehicle at 157-kilometres an hour in an area with a speed limit of 80-kmh.

40 year old David Darocha has has his vehicle seized for 7 days and received a 7-day licence suspension.

It’s art from a number of students with Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic board schools.

It’s certainly an experience for students to actually see their creations being publicly displayed.

Spokesman Michael Pin says aside from the art, students have come up with community blankets in line with this year’s theme “our spirit reflected”….

ART

Norfolk students can have a look at their art at the Eva Donly Museum in Simcoe between 9am and 3pm as well as 6pm to 8pm tonight.

They both acknowledge they were close to a deal.

But after that, things become murky in the strike by public health nurses with the local health unit.

County Manager Keith Robicheau says he didn’t think both sides were far apart in discussions late last week…

STRIKE-1

ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud agrees with the county manager they were close to a negotiated collective agreement.

Haslam-Stroud says the employer walked away from the table “after we thought we had a deal”, so the question is “why did you walk away from the deal you agreed to?”

Haslam-Stroud says the county is trying to roll back public health nursing ‘work life’ by 20 years…

STRIKE-2

Yesterday, picketing nurses blocked the entrance to the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit offices on Gilbertson Drive, although they were allowing patients through.

Staff at the Social Services division waited hours to be allowed in.

We spoke to some nurses on the picket line who made it clear they’d rather not be on the picket lines…

STRIKE-3

At last check, there were no plans for contract talks to resume.

Board Superintendent Brenda Blanchard says there’ll be 8 netbooks per classroom…

NETBOOK

She says students do tend to be more engaged with use of the netbooks, which are gradually going into an increasing number of classrooms.

It’s part of an ongoing 14-million dollar technology initiative approved in 2010.

The organization’s Brant-Norfolk Unit is upset with the 15-million dollar reduction in the 43-million dollar budget, designed to help curb smoking.

Senior policy analyst Rob Cunningham says the funding is essential in meeting that goal…

SMOKING

And Cunningham says it has been proven that the efforts have reduce smoking in Canada.

He also says budget cuts are why you don’t see nearly as many anti-smoking ads on TV these days.

The budget proposes capping credits at 34, with students having to pay for any additional credits.

One Wingham-area school board says it won’t charge students for extra credits, but at the Grand Erie Board, communications director Shawn McKillop says they’re taking a wait-and-see approach…..

VICTORY

At the moment, the plan is to charge students the ‘adult education rate’ for more than 34 credits.