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Students and parents organize to save Bronte Creek program By KATHY YANCHUS Oakville Beaver Stafir 0 cancel the Bronte Creek proâ€" gram would cut the environ- », mental heart and soul out of Halton’s public education system according to the teacher who coâ€"foundâ€" ed the outdoor ecological course in 1981. The program which encompasses 80 secondary school students and 4,000 elementary students annually, is slated for extinction if proposals by the Halton Board of Education’s administration are approved by trustees. The proposals are aimed at keeping the 1994 mill rate increase at 1% or under. School board staff estimate cancelling the Bronte Creek program could save the board $162,252. “The Earthkeepers (the elementary portion of the program) is sort of the springboard for all environmental things they’re doing in the schools," said John McKillop, who along with Bym Davies founded the “alternative” education credit course. “We were children of the 70’s, interested in alternative education. We were looking for meaning and rele- vance rather than just the three R’s. ” Apparently there are many parents and students as upset as McKillop at the possibility of its cancellation. More than 100 of them turned out on short notice for a special meeting at Lord Elgin High School in Burlington this week. The Bronte Creek outdoor education program had humble beginnings at Lord Elgin. McKillop and Davies secured a 6’11: 0.1mm: BEnER I “E ll!!_E 1. Call 845-5585 (toudi tone only) 2Whenpr0mptedenterthe4â€" drgitcodefromthedrectory 3.Toendyoucallpress* Neighbourhood CLASSICS and Savory STEAK Entrees include All-You- Can Eat GARLIC LOAF and CAESAR or MARKET SALAD property site on Highway 5 which they leased from the Ministry of Government Services for $1 a year. They bought chickens and goats and pursued environ- mental studies in neighboring Bronte Creek. "Then we started finding our niche,” says McKillop referring to the students from feeder elementary schools who began visiting the program site. The older students working with younger ones, was “magic,” and gradually the program infiltrated the entire system and was spread over two Halton Hills sites, Woodland Trail and Rocky Ridge Ranch. The program’s purpose was not just Pun SAMMY WANTS M ii: LAY DOWN wrrH l-llM UNTIL HE FALLS ASLEEP- CHURCH DIRECTORY ......................................... 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JOKE OF THE DAY ............... 372 Iroquois Shore Rd., Oakville @- LIBRARY DIRECTORY ......................................... lie-Opening NEW LOOK 0 NEW MENU 0 GREAT PRICES featuring of What You’re Looking For IIIIIS will DELIGHT to ‘TRUDY THE TROLL’, ‘OLD SAULT’ and ‘JACK THE BEAR’, Mechanical Robots Environment program among recommended public school board budget cuts to increase awareness of environmental issues, but to instill self confidence, self concept and the dynamics of working together as a team cooperatively and effectively, said McKillop. “Those are still pretty strong goals,” he added. The two instructors and four instruc- tional aides who oversee the program as well as the secondary school students who attend for one semester each, must be “a strong effective group to make it wor ” “We have to have leadership skills. We have to be fit, eat well,” he said. “What we do is train our high school kids and they run the program for ele- D. I -‘ ---‘l-I irorrsrf 01111.1. coo Breads, Soups, Salads and Delicious Munchies Entree Selections Value. Many Extras and Daily Specials! 849-3772 mentary kids.” Students are selected for their relia- bility, involvement in extracurricular activities and their interest in the envi- ronment. “We’re raising the consciousness, moving people towards making lifestyle decisions which include environmental criteria,” said McKillop. McKillop and the parents are devis- ing ways of saving the program by cut- ting costs. “There’s nothing that says we can’t do this as user pay,” he said. Teachers salaries are not a considera- tion because the two instructors will still have jobs within the system, and the stu- dents return to the regular classroom VENETIANS _HUTTERS 845-5585 OEIHL‘L after the semester of outdoor studies. Cost savings could be accrued through E the increase of fees currently charged tog both the secondary school students- $300 for food and the adventure compo- to nent such as first aid certification, rockm 3. climbing lesson and five-day wilderness g trip- and elementary students-$281: may also mean reducing the number of =- instructional aids moving to a less;L expensive site and providing a more '11 efficient transportation service, said- °' McKillop. '4; “It may mean setting up a parentc ‘° group to do fund- -raising,” he added ‘3 What it will also mean is a delega- tion of concerned parents and students deluging trustees and administrative staff with phone calls and letters as well as the finance committee on Feb. 14th ......... 5049 LOTTERIES -Crime oftheWeek............... €49 RESlJRItSUItS ............................................................... 538(3) Child Find ......................... .......... 5261 Ottano esu .....5 8 QUESTION OF THE K. 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