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Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, October 5, 1994, Page 29 Second campus for Montessori By Jillian Barry With an increase in students, Whitby Montessori School has another campus -- at a location originally proposed for the school more than three years ago. The newest location for the school is on the lower level of the Serbian Orthodox Church, formerly the Byron Street Community Church, at 508 Byron St- .• "We went to the church about four years ago, but the church looked so deserted, and it really needed a lot of work," says Kath- leen Natsuhara, one of two prin- cipals at the school. "The Serbian congregation has really cleaned up the church. They have really taken the time to make it a beautiful church with all the flowers and the new stained glass windows, it looks gorgeous." In 1990, then-owner Ravi Pas- richa says he spent $150,000 to renovate the 136-year-old build- ing, formerly St. Andrew's Church. «We officially got the word that we were in, in March,» says Linda Comello, the other princi- pal of the school that has opera- ted in the former Hatch House at 301 Byron St. S. since January 1990, after moving from Whitby Baptist Church. Theyoriginally planned to move from Whitby Baptist, which had an enrolment of 45 students in April 1991, to the then-Byron Street Community Church, and applied for a rezon- ing application to permit the school. But opposition from area resi- dents, concerned about potential parking and traffic problems, for- ced school officials to withdraw the application. Reasons for the withdrawal were not then given by Natsu- hara, but the subsequent school location at Hatch House did not require a rezoning. "Now we are so crowded, we have approximately 120 students at campus A (Hatch House) with a sta of 17, and about 25 half-day students at campus B (church) with a staff of three," said Natsuhara recently. The pri- vate school operates under cer- THE BASEMENT of the Serbian Orthodox Churchi campus of the Whitby Montessori School. is the second tain premises based on those of founder Dr. Maria Montessori. "We hand pick our staff very carefully,» says Natsuhara. "Some people are cut out to be teachers, and we picked the ones we feel are the best.» Natsuhara says that some people see the Montessori approach to education as a reli- gion or as some form of a cult. Rather, says Natsuhara, chil- dren at Montessori schools are respected as different from adults, and as individuals who are different from one another. Montessori education is based primarily on the belief that a child learns best within a social environnient which supports each individual's unique develop- ment, and that children are given the opportunity to develop to their full potential. "At Whitb Montessori we not only teach czildren," said Natsu- hara, "but we also offer tutoring services in French, math and English. "We like to see 'our'kids learn- ing things like spelling,grammar and ,penmanship. Thats impor- tant. . Parents can speak Shannon Maracleou Sinclair Secondary School will host its first 'Craft and Collectibles' arts and craft show on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you haven't planned to attend this event, then mark Working for youth Research has shown that parents, teachers, administrators and trustees play a significant role in shaping the future of our children. In Whitby, all these stakeholders in education have been formally linked in the Community Visions Committee in which their strong partnership is having a positive impact on student performance. Participants of Community Visions became actively involved in defining education and communication issues within local schools. Workshops, discussion groups and in-service sessions have been used to address the primary objective of "How can we work together on behalf of our youth to strengthen the bond between school and community?" An open cooperative environment has been used to meet Community Visions' goals. Teams of parents, educators and trustees have worked together to carry out specific tasks. At a meeting in September, reports were received from a number of these groups. Tasks completed recently include: a community service directory being piloted at E.A. Fairman; a monthly calendar of all Whitby schools and board of education events; a chart explaining the board's chain of communication; a schedule of parent representatives to monitor board meetings; formation of an open forum Parent Assembly for all Whitby parents; inclusion of student writing in the Whitby Free Press; a monthly report from Community Visions to be published in The Free Press. Parents, administrators and trustees continue to meet on a regular basis, addressing issues as they arise and using a collaborative team approach for creative problem-solving. It is the hope of Community Visions that parents, ratepayers and other members of the Whitby community will join this group. Everyone's input and assistance are encouraged. Community Visions will meet again on Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Glen Dhu Public School. Plan to attend. . This column was written by Luigia Ayotte, principal of Ormiston Public School, and Carolyn Treadgold, chair of Pringle Creek's Parent &hool Community Association. this date on your calendar and make sure you get here. For many of you it will be your first glimpse inside the great facility that is the home of the Sinclair Celtics and almost 800 students in grades 9 to 11. Student ambassadors will be available and leading tours to those interested as they fund-raise for ambassador sweaters. Vendors are still wanted so if you want to participate in this first annual event, call the school at 666-5400. Grade 9 Parents' Night was a huge success. The staff welcomed a -full house as parents came to meet teacher advisors and share discussions regarding the common curriculum and directed study activities that comprise the Wednesdays at Sinclair. Routines are quickly developing as a continued familiarity of both program and facility have developed throughout the month of September. in the sporting department, teams compete this week in LOSSA tennis. Good luck to our students in both singles and doubles competition. On Thursday, our cross-country team will compete in Kitchener and our boys' and girls' basketball teams continue league action with games against Garnier. Listen to those announcements for the final results. • Tuesday TAG rep elections were held and we look forward to the announcement of the elected council that will lead us through this first year at Sinclair. Now that September is behind us, we can look forward to the Hall of Horrors ... watch for the details of this challenge to TAGs. Win a pizza lunch for your tag by entering and winning this contest. 'TilI next week ... The. Whitby Parent Assembly, a parents only extension of the Community Visions Group, will hold its second meeting on Thursday, Oct. 13, 7:15 to 9 p.m., in the cafeteria at Anderson CVI. An open forum, parents may discuss any items of interest/concern with respect to their children's education. The assembly hopes to prioritize a list of items that reflect the consensus of parents and to develop a plan for follow-up action. Part of the action plan will include a presentation to school administrators and trustees. A few items that have already been forwarded as possible topics for discussion are: • the process by which trustees/administrators gather parental input on various Teachers' wages are frozen Wages and benefits of Dur- ham's elementary public school teachers have been frozen for the next two years under a new contract. The agreement, ratified by the board last week, is for the period from Sept. 1, 1993 to Aug. 31, 1995. Under the social contract, there are no wage increases or changes in benefits for another year. Teachers gave up a total of $585,000 each year of the con- tract -- through reductions in educational improvement leave funding and changes to staffing allocations resulting from attri- tion and growth -- to help the board meet its budget. Contract language in relation to class size guidelines and the prepaid leave plan were clarified. A joint committee will be for- med to undertake a cost benefit analysis of the current group benefits. educational issues. • safety in schools. • a modified school year. All interested elementary and secondary students are invited to attend the meeting. Commmunity Visions is a group of Whitby public school parents, school administrators and trustees who meet bi-monthly to look at various issues that affect students, and to work on communication within the community. Trustee candidates to debate Candidates for the two Whitby trustee positions on the Durhatn Board of Education will debate issues and answer questions at a public forum on Wednesday ni ht, Oct. 26. ere are six candidates thus far -- Doug Ross, Janice Curran, Carol Willson . and George Milosh, and incumbents• Patty Bowman and Tanya Gulliver. Incumbent Alan Gunn has not yet indicated whether he will seek re-election. The forum has been organized by the Parent School Community Association for Pringle , Creek Public School and will be held at the school, located at 80 Ribbles- dale Dr. (at Manning) starting at 7:15 p.m. Sylvan Learning Centre *Boost your child's grades. *1Build self-esteem. +Programs in reading, math, algebra, writing, study skills, homework sup- port and time management. IW92SyIvan Irarning Syrtems N 1 Amm. 1 ý"l