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economist suntribune education thursday may 23 2002 31 principal says farewell after 33 years by chrissie obrien special the combination of major change and more than 30 years in the education system is persuading paul game to retire as principal of unionvilles st monica catholic school but he is not ready to leave students behind entirely im going off into the wonderful world of retirement but i have some options for consulting because i dont want to lose touch with what ive been doing for the last 33 years mr game said after his tenure with the catholic sys tems of toronto and york region mr game views his position as kindness tempered with the realism of current ministry of education policy changes you build up quite a relationship over nine years with this community and i found that the teachers really appreciate the support the parents give them its unusually good here said mr game m schools have their own flavour but suffice it to say part of my job is to foster the relationship that the teachers and the parents have in supporting the kids a retirement party is being held today the cliche of a principal who doles out punishments and rules teachers with an iron fist is no more in todays system today were looking for princi pals with solid interpersonal skills they have to be politically astute and act as the facilitator for many groups said chris cable communications manager for the york catholic district school board the york region district school board agrees the role of principal is vital from kindergarten to secondary school the principal has an iron in all the edu cational fires lit under youngsters the system values its leaders prin cipals are key facilitators at the school level said denese belchetz the boards coordinating superintendent of educa tion as the leaders of their schools they are on the front lines working with the staff and students and they are the cen tre of the change that is really happen ing mr game is modest about the role of the elementary principal its mostly aclministrative he says insisting teach ers are the primary managers of stu dents through curriculum and educa tion the teachers coming in now are very bright and talented and theyll stay with it because its as much a vocation as it is a career said mr game in elementary schools where stu dent upbringing is as important as edu cating teachers who bring previous life experience are becoming a common occurrence said ms belchetz they come in later in their lives and go into adminis tration after only seven years of teach ing this is drastically different compared with the careers of administrators like paul game whose tenure in education began 28 years ago in toronto he taught at st joseph catholic school in markham before spending time at two woodbridge schools mr game took over st monica in 1993 its always different the political masters are constantly changing the field and most education reform is cen tred on curriculum mr game said we have to deal with a lot more leg islation now it has swung more towards administration and away from educa tion but people who go into this profes sion do so with their eyes wide open they have done a lot of research and a lot of volunteer work according to ms cable we have a lot of young teachers coming in now who see the principals post as a career path we are a growth board and are for tunate because were attracting a lot of candidates mr game says the shift away from overseer and guide to administratorpolicy maker is perhaps the most difficult aspect of the job for many principals as former teachers they are still in the system to work with children the new standardized report cards are demanding huge amounts of time the government wants three sets a year each one takes 30 to 35 hours to do which does not include all the marking time and collating of information as a result todays principals and teachers work as much as 60 hours per week still mr game said the real task is working with students teachers and parents i have a fairly close relationship with students i make every attempt to know all of them by name i try to stop in to watch the events and practices its important to recognize the special events going on in their lives mr game acknowledged it will be a big change for the students when i leave i hope the relationship they have with their incoming principal will be just as good staff photosjoerd witteveen paul game principal at st monica catholic school in markham is retiring after 35 years in education above he is surrounded by teacher diane brunets grade 1 class 1 us xstouffville united church 1 34 church st n 9056401163 worship minister rev robert nightingale education minister nancy monteith sunday may 26th 2002 1030 am worship service baby fold childrens workshop youth pac everyone welcome wideman mennonite church sunday may 26th 20d2 945 am sunday school for all ages 1050 am worship service bruce and ann campbelljanz will be sharing mission experiences from congo 1 km north of major mackenzie on hwy 48 church office 6406219 for a ride call 6404185 st0uffville baptist church a fellowship church 6273 main street pastor gordon m maccormack 905640291 1 sunday may 26th 2002 945 sunday school morning worship message continuing in the neamiah series conviction that counts wednesday may 29th prayer time suspended for the time being sunday june 2nd special commissioning service pastor gord jennie jared when offended dont respond in kind respond with kindness all welcome god bless we care iiili r mi the anglican parish of christ church 254 sunset blvd stouffville the rev robert a shields 905 6401461 saturday may 25th 2002 a birthday party in honour of everyone in the christ church parish family 48pm in the upper hall sunday may26th 2002 trinity sunday 800 am holy communion 1000 am choral eucharist church school and nursery provided everyone welcome email christchuitiistoufmlcsympaucoca wb site vvww3sympaticocacliristchurclistouffvilie welcome to st james presbyterian church sunday may 26th 2002 worship church school 1030 am nursery provided trinity sunday god makes himself know as creative father loving living son and everpresent spirit sharing gods love everyone always welcome 6432 main st stouffville 6403151 stjamesstourrvillesympaticoca i v sjouffville pentecostal 6853 main st stouffville 905 6405696 sunday may 26th 2002 1000 am morning worship music group koinonia speaker stephen kennedy 6pm community prayer parkview village 12184 ninth line south stouffville sunday may 26th 2002 700 pm program to be determined wss f agc bloomington gospel church 13660 ninth line 9056424414 pastor dr john howarth south of 47 highway formerly bloomington rd sunday may 26th 2002 945 sunday school 1100 am a man just like us 1 kings 171724 last evening service saved to serve roman 1211 everyone welcome 1q-t- hi shgpil vivian baptist church 4733543 pastor robert okum on hwy 48 at vivian rd holding forth the doctrines of grace 945 am sunday school 1100 am morning worship 700 pm evening worship everyone is welcome mwm si senior pastor associate pastor worship music coordinator childrens ministries coordinator heather thornton sharon russell sunday may 26th 2002 945 am message series dont worry be happy a study of philippians pastor bob flemming 1100 am sunday school for all ages 600 pm no service this evening wednesday may 29th 2002 700 pm jr high choirworship team rehersal in- i i i i mm springvale i baptist church stouffville rd at kennedy rd 9058875651 bob flemming bill thornton to advertise in this section please call i gail reeves 905 6402612 if