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c saturday june 22 2002 11 economist suntribune at the schools teacher of the month staff photorob alary grade 3 teacher irene mcneil at st bernadette catholic school in sutton was nominated as junes teacher of the month by student alyssa diguglielmo teacher creates loving family by stefania rizzi staff writer a marble jar sits on her desk each time a pupil in the class receives a good mark or does a good deed he or she is allowed to put a marble in the jar and receive a treat there is a radio in the classroom which students are allowed to listen and dance to during lunch hour when any of her students has a dance recital figure skating competition or baseball game she tries her best to attend she defines school spirit dressing up on special occasions and helping organ ize public speaking competitions for junior and intermediate students for those and other reasons irene mcneil was nominated and chosen as york region newspaper groups teacher of the month mrs mcneil a grade 3 teacher at st bernadette catholic school in sutton has been teaching since the late 1970s being part of a loving family prompt ed the sutton resident to become a teacher it is that sense of belonging she wishes to pass on to her pupils through her adoptagrandparent program for a few hours each week mrs mcneil and her 25 pupils visit their adopted grandparents at the river glen haven nursing home intergenerational relationships are so important the learning that takes place between them is so impressive the students and seniors spend most of the afternoon swapping stories playing games or visiting different places of interest the seniors look forward to the chil dren coming and the children look for ward to it said mrs mcneil who won a recognition award from the town and a medal for good citizenship from the province several years ago because of her adoptagrandparent program the kids try and do a lot with them because some children dont have grandparents or dont get to see their grandparents often they get so attached to each other i have a little boy who has downs syndrome and he loves it he goes and he hugs everyone said mrs mcneil the only teacher at the school to run the program intergenerational relationships are so important the learning that takes place between them is so impressive even though she has been teaching for more than 20 years mrs mcneil said she never tires of seeing her students get excited about their education ive known i wanted to be a teacher since i was a little girl i dont think i would have chosen anything see one page 16 markham high has famous graduates by hannelore volpe staff writer markham district high school is a neighbourhood school close to where its students live that sense of belonging might be one reason so many of the students are involved in the schools music programs sports teams clubs and other activities most of the students can walk to the school just a small number come by bus graduates include york region public school board chairperson bill crothers the late markham lawyer paul mingay deputy mayor frank scarpitti nhl hock ey players steve thomas and brad may and olympic silvermedalist debbie wilkes now a figure skating commentator markham high school is unique noted viceprin cipal john tsourounis the kids are very very involved in the school life they are receiving a wellrounded program the music program has attracted a lot of kids to music noted mr tsourounis it has built quite a reputation in addition to the five fulltime teachers running under the direction of department head bill thomas a group of parents the friends of markham music supports the bands withfundraisers more than 700 students from all grades are in music mr thomas said thats almost half the school population the choice is dizzying five con cert bands one for each grade three jazz bands four choirs and numerous trios and quartets the school holds con certs at markham theatre in december and may awards are piling up markham district high school 89 church street markham ont l3p 2m3 phone 9052941886 fax 9052948141 email markhamdhsyrdsbeduonca principal nancy bahniuk viceprincipals john tsourounis ginny stankiewicz ken shigeishi school council chair susan wadsw0rth from the music students talents and skills at the kiwanis festival this spring the grade 10 band won the march class the a class and the challenge class the grade 12 and oac students wind symphony came first in the march class and challenge class the wind symphony was honoured recendy with the music festivals association of ontario belleair award acknowl edging its top standing at festivals throughout the province these achievements cant come without practice lots of it there is not a morning or an afternoon without music at the school mr thomas said the schools focus on providing a wellrounded academic education is strong its one of the few schools still offering latin and ancient greek mdhs is also one of the very few schools in york region that is not semestered the school also offers a gifted program in grades 9 and 10 students take science history or geography english and math in the gift ed program with four other subjects as electives from the regular curriculum see charities page 12 kpspgill location to view our 4981 highway 7 e markham across from markvffle 9059469738 tn x o o markville- hwy 7 m eedczirzuc c o o o