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Board urged to repatriate students to neighbourhood schools by Bob Mitchell Special to the Beaver 3 | Thursday, November 14, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com A group of concerned Halton parents are urging public school board officials to go back to the drawing board and rethink their plans for French studies. It's unclear whether the eight parents, who provided constructive criticism during their five minutes of allotted time at Monday night's special delegation meeting, represented the voice of the region. But their message was clear: French is an optional subject and it should be treated that way instead of giving it priority over provincially- mandated English-language studies. A series of recommendations has already been made by education officials to trustees. But the only wide-spread support so far is for starting core French as a subject in Grade 1 instead of in Grade 4, as it is currently. Another general theme in the concerns raised is a belief the statistical surge in French Immersion in Grade 1 hasn't been caused by parents wanting their children to become bilingual, but because it's the only way parents can guarantee children will get to attend their neighbourhood school instead of being re-directed elsewhere. Also, the low English enrolment in some schools is a "phenomenon" created by artificial Freshco, Food Basics, Metro, Listen Up Canada, Holland Park Garden, 3 for 1 Glasses, M&M Meats, Home Hardware, Pizza Hut, Globo, Inderjit Grewal/Swaraj Pa, Ambiance Beauty Salon, Crate and Barrel, Pizza Depot, Hoppers Pharmacy, Real Estate, Tim Hortons, Loblaws, Oh! Bombay, Reitman's, Rona Home and Garden, P&G Brandsaver, Townhouse Reflexology Spa, Henry's Cameras, Storybook Tree Services, Attendance, Real Canadian Superstore, Multi Brands Outlet, Minchella's Gourmet Pizza, News America, 2001 Audio Video, The Bay, Red Plum, National Sports, No Frills, Home Outfitters, Fortino's, Sears, Maritime Travel, Pharma Plus, Rexall, XS Cargo, Centennial Windows, Home Depot, Sport Chek, Carters, Stratafly, Brick Mattress, Shoppers Drug Mart, The Source, Pharmasave, Staples, Walmart, Softmoc, Toys R Us, The Brick, Solutions. Linen Chest, Mark's, Bombay, LaZboy Furniture Gallery, Canadian Tire, Staples, Drug Trading, Best Buy, Future Shop, Longo's, Michael's, Reliance, Target For families, school is more than just a place where you acquire knowledge. It's the heart of a neighbourhood. It's where life-long relationships are built. It's a social experience for children and parents. French Immersion should never displace English track programs out of any neighbourhood school. Oakville resident Joanna Oliver, boundaries -- larger for French than English, said Joanna Oliver, whose son attends Oakville's Heritage Glen Public School. She and other parents maintained that boundaries should be the same for both English and French track students, not larger for French. Oliver urged the Board to "repatriate" all students to their own neighbourhood school. "For families, school is more than just a place where you acquire knowledge. It's the heart of a neighbourhood. It's where life-long relationships are built. It's a social experience for children and parents," Oliver said. "French Immersion see Later on p.8 and related story on p.8 A personal message from inside today's Spotlight Sports Beaver www.insideHALTON.com Bill & Elizabeth Graham: We look forward to building great business relationships with all of the surrounding communities and all of our customers. We have partnered and joined forces with the RONA Home & Garden Mississauga, Georgetown and Milton locations to better serve our community's consumers and contractors. 6 31 Health Classified 30 36 HEY OAKVILLE, COME MEET OUR STORE MANAGERS Elizabeth Graham Manager 905-878-8171 Milton 700 Main St. E. (On Main St. E. East of Thompson Rd. S.) Jason Graham Manager 905-820-9965 Erin Mills 2933 Eglinton Ave. W. (Corner of Eglinton & Winston Churchill) Chris Gallimore Assistant Manager 905-823-3053 Lakeshore 1692 Lakeshore Rd W. (Clarkson, in the Meadow Wood Plaza) Riley McAneney Manager 905-877-2947 Georgetown 346 Guelph St. (Corner of Guelph St.& Delrex) *All flyers not necessarily delivered to all homes For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online at www.oakvillebeaver.com Save 15% October 14th to November 30th you can save 15% on over 60 Cabinetsmith Kitchen styles only from select Rona stores. Enjoy a variety of styles in our Select and Signature series cabinetry which offers you the choice between thermofoil & solid maple door styles. See in-store today for full details. Be sure to ask about our 100% free professional design. FALL KITCHEN SALE The AIR MILES® program, another great reason to shop at RONA! Mississauga (Erin Mills) Mississauga (Clarkson Village) Georgetown 2933 Eglinton Ave. W. 905-820-9965 1692 Lakeshore Road West 905-823-3053 346 Guelph St. 905-877-2947 Milton 700 Main St. E. 905-878-8171 You'll always want what is best for your child. When it comes to driver training, you cannot cut corners. Young Drivers of Canada teaches in-car life-saving emergency braking and swerving techniques. Knowing how to drive safely means having the skills to react to the unexpected. For info or to enroll visit www.yd.com or call 289.644.2374 Effective driver training is proven to save lives. NEW! Oakville North 180 Oak Park Blvd Suite 107 Nov 23, 24, 30, Dec 1 or Dec 20, 21, 22, 23 Oakville 345 Lakeshore Rd. E. Suite 312 Dec 27, 28, 29, 30 or Jan 2, 3, 4, 5 MTO APPROVED BEGINNER DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE PROVIDER ISO 9001:2008 Registered