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by David C. Chambers The beginning of spring marked the conclusion of the second term at Midland Secondary School for the school year 1981-82. I feel our students and staff should feel proud of the many achievements that highlighted this second term. The efforts of students and staff who participated on teams, with clubs and other extra curricular ac- MSS Principal's Report... tivities were significant. The January production of "My Fair Lady" was spectacular and I wish to thank members of our com- munity who supported this production by filling the house on three of the four evenings. Our Art Department wishes to express their appreciation to the several hundred members of the com- munity who visited the recent M.S.S._ Art / E:T Display. The school is justifiably proud of the members of the wrestling team who qualified for the Ontario Finals. I am happy to report that participation in our intramural athletic program is very high. Since September over twelve hundred students have participated in one or more of the activities. All students have recently received the results of their Programs are varied at Midland Secondary School as MSS cameras prove CANADIAN CORRECTION In last week's "Big May Sale" flyer for Canadian Tire...the size on these items should read... Product No. 994811 Porcelain enameled 7 pce Cookware Set -2.2 litre Saucepan should read 1.8 litre -5 litre Dutch Oven should read 4.2 litre -Cover for 4.2 litre fits fry pan Canadian Tire regrets any inconvenience this error may have caused. Page 8, Friday, April 30, 1982 academic achievements for the second term of their. April 16th Report Card. The third term provides sufficient time and opportunity for students to improve their standings. If you as a parent have a question or concern regarding the results of your son or daughter's April Report contact our Guidance Department. Guidance will arrange discussion and/or an interview with a teacher(s) for you. We are presently in the process of developing the number of classes we will be able to offer in each subject next September. As it is difficult to make major changes. in September, changes in program should be discussed now with our Guidance Department. As many of you are already aware next year we _ will be Operating the school with a new and different daily organization. I believe we are going into this new timetable with as much advance planning as is possible. The committee which researched the 1982-83 timetable was established in April of 1980. Subsequent to that date the committee visited other schools to Observe and obtain information regarding the various types of timetables used. The committee adapted what they had seen and produced a_ daily organization that ap- pears to have the greatest number of advantages for our students and the fewest number of disad- vantages. This schedule is a rotation of classes over a four day period that calls for students to attend three classes' in the morning, a lunch period common to the whole school followed by three periods in the afternoon. We have spent much of the school year 1981- 82 resolving potential logistics problems and the planning of program to best utilize the longer class time to achieve the maximum learning conditions. As part of this timetable students will experience the following changes. The school day will be longer. Classes will begin at the same time as this year at 8:55 a.m. and classes will conclude at 3:32 p.m. They presently end at 3:10 p.m. Each class will be fifty-two minutes in length in- stead of the present forty minutes. The lunch period will be eighty minutes. in duration and for the whole school instead of three separate lunches each accommodating a segment of the school. We recognize that all systems have _ ad- vantages and disad- vantages. Obviously we feel the advantages of this new _ structure outweigh the disad- vantages. Longer periods will allow for greater op- portunity for student and teacher discussion and research, for more efficient use of audio- visual and library resources, for students and teachers to explore to a greater depth a topic, an experiment, a written exercise and problem solving, and for teachers to provide increased individual assistance within the classroom _ structure whether it be assistance of a remedial or enriched nature. A common and longer lunch period provides the opportunity for all students, bus and non- bus students, to par- ticipate in clubs, in- tramural athletics and other activities in the school. Academic assistance outside the classroom will be available upon arrangement with in- dividual teachers before classes in the morning, during the lunch period or after school. At present it is virtually impossible to provide assistance for a student during a lunch period because of the brevity of the lunch period and the fact that frequently the student who wants assistance does not have the same lunch period as the teacher from whom help is required. Despite the additional flexibility of this schedule students will have the same op- portunity of choice of subjects and will be able to complete eight credits per year. We are inviting all parents who have questions regarding this schedule to come to an information session at M.S.S. on Wednesday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. Members of our staff will be pleased to discuss tel Ss organizational structure with you. I want to take this opportunity to comment* on some of the ex- pectations that we have for students who attend Midland Secondary School. Students, grades nine to twelve inclusive, are required to take a full timetable of eight credits. Without free time or spares most of our graduates will have thirty-two credit diplomas after four years. The Ministry of Education's twenty- seven credit requirement is the minimum for a diploma, we do not allow free time because we believe students should be encouraged to strive for a maximum goal rather than a minimum one. We are too frequently told, "My child never has homework". It is true that on a given day in a given subject homework may not have been assigned. This does not mean that a student is not expected to take books home, to read, to update materials and notes, and to review a subject at home. Indeed it appears that the self- discipline required to do unassigned homework is a.characteristic of students who exhibit high achievement. I suggest, with rare exception, there is always some homework to be done. Introduced to M.S.S. in September 1981 was the Simcoe County Co- operative Education Program. This is a program for grade twelve graduating students that provides them with the op- portunity to work part- time at a local industry, receive credit on their school achievement record for this work, and at the same time attend classes .and complete their in school requirements towards graduation. This is a highly selective program available to only those students who have demonstrated responsibility and initiative. It has been successful for the majority of the thirty plus students from Midland Secondary School involved in the program this year. Inquiries regarding this program should be directed to the Guidance Department in August or September. Last September we initiated a Co-operative Nursery (Midland Small Set) the first in Simeoe County to be situated in a secondary school. It has been a delightful and _= suc- cessful experience for M.S.S. Senior students from our Family Studies Department have had the _ op- portunity to observe and work with these young pre-school children. This experiment has prover most worthwhile for our students and will definitely be continued in the school year 1982- 83. In conclusion I wish to express the school's appreciation for the support given by parents and the com- munity for the school and its activities. Some dates to mark on your calendar are: Final Examinations June 11th to June 18th, Final Report Cards will be available for students to pick up at the school on June 24 and June 25, Graduation is scheduled for June 29. Cd Community Newspape: Don't miss Community Newspaper Community Newspaper mt voice of prosperous North Simcoe Subscribe today, call 526-2283 P.S. Ask about our special offer