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ICatholiec brass fears students may switch The Canadin Champlan, Friday. Janu.ry 22, 199U - 3 Ites time... 4> to register for KINbERGARTE.N with the. Haion District SchoolBor By DENNIS SMiT1i Special to The Champion Catholic school board officiais are hoping high achool enrolments don't drop off next fait. .Students and parents are upset by a labour dispute that bas canceiied extra-curricular activities since September. It' s the third sucb dispute in four years âffecting local Catholic high achools. Halton Catholic District School Board officiais hope the situation doesn't spur their secondary students to switch to public high schoois next fali. "We're a littie concemned, but we don't know the numbers yet," said Fred Sweeney, director of educa- tion for the Cathoiic board. He expects to have a clearer picture of next fail's enrolment at the end of February, when Grade 8 stu- dents have made their decisions. He said it's very rare for students to switch high schools between semesters. Halton's public and Catholic high schools will be moving from firat to sec- ond semester in early February. Students develop ties and friendahipa at a particular achool, which usuaily makes them reluctant to move, said Mr.. Sweeney. The education director added teacher staffing leveis are already set which also makes large scale mid-year switches difficuit. Mr. Sweeney does expect to lose about 150 enrol- ments next month through students compieting ail their OAC credits ai the end of the tirat semester. Moving students 10 public achools bas been dis- cussed by thse Parent Action Group. But this new orga- nization of concemned Catholie parents bas opted to organize petitions and blitzes firat. When thse topic was raised, some parents expressed concemn they would be eroding the Catholic systemn if their children switched boards. But the Halton District School Board bas received some catis about the issue of changing to public high schools next fail, said Keith Johnson, a superintendent with the public board. He said if the labour situation were reversed, there would probabiy be calIs by people considering mov- ing away from the public achool system. "We've had inquiries froro our principals about what response they give if new students want to enrol at their achools," said Mr. Johnson. "We guarantee open access 10 our system" When asked about mid-year transfers, thse superin- tendent said it's possible, but there may be iimited courses availabie 10 switching students. "Students fnein Grade 9 up 10 Grade 12 wouid prob- abiy be aiiight, but in Grades 12 and OAC there are limited spaces availabie in some courses," he said. Mr. Johnson said Ontario residents have open access to public achools tbroughout the province for ahl grades. Catholic high achools accept non-Catbolic students but there are conditions for those enroliing in Catholic *see BOARD on page 5 se reiated etorlea on page 4 'Me Halton District School Board i6 commited to providing qualy learning opportunities for students enrolied in the Kindergarten program. There's a public elementary sohool close f0 your home with caring people waiting f0 help you and your child with this important step. Children must be 5 years old by December 31, 1999 f0 register for the Kindergarten programn for the 1999-2000 sohool year. Students must also reside within the boundades of the school offering the program, and parents/guardians must be public sohool supporters. To make registrations easy, please bring: , verifleatien of your child's date of blrth, e yeur child's Immunization record. Please drop by your local elementary school and register today for the Halton District-School Board's Kindorgarten program. We are ,eay to becom a pafner with you ~ in your chld's education. HALTON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD W D.L PapkeEd.D., Directo iEducaton Effhat Gairiner, Chair