News Leader News for April 22, 2008
ARTS ACTIVITIES CONTINUE TO GROW
There is still plenty on the arts and culture menu in Princeton.
This is Arts & Culture Week in B.C., and this year, the Arts Council has taken arts to the downtown core with some new paint (look for participating businesses), some clean-up projects, and a show in the former Goldion Restaurant on Vermilion Avenue. Look for some outstanding pottery displays. To end the week, the museum opens on Saturday.
Various arts groups reported their activities at the April 16 Community Arts Council meeting. Princeton Concert Society will welcome Hailey Simons on a return engagement on May 24 at the Baptist Church. Simons made a great impression last year with her enthusiasm as well as her expertise on the piano.
Del Hall and Rika Ruebsaat will attend the B.C. Assembly of Arts Councils annual conference in May. They will attend a number of workshops related to Arts Council activities.
Vermilion Forks Field Naturalists has refreshed signs for the Swan Lake area.
These little signs are placed near plants to explain what the plants are. Anyone touring the area can learn a great deal about local plants.
The community band is growing in numbers, and the youth section of the band is still busy fundraising for their trip to Barkerville.
Mary Bedford reported another successful workshop sponsored by Vermilion Artists.
She said everyone had a great time at the pastels workshop. Vermilion Artists are planning an art show for the Racing Days weekend, and more artist workshops in the fall months.
Princeton Performing Arts are rehearsing this year's play, "Angels in Love". The play is scheduled to run four days from May 29 through June 1.
Princeton District Community Arts Council has okayed matching funding for two grant applications to cover the cost of buying a bigger kiln for the Potters Guild and to finance the production of a traditional music CD.
Anyone wishing to participate in Arts Council meetings is welcome to attend on the third Wednesday of the month at Riverside Centre.
DISTRICT EARNS GOOD REPORT
The team who reviewed the education standards of School District #58 (Nicola-Similkameen) gave it a good report.
Retired school superintendent Gary Graf, who headed the review team, gave a summary of the report at the April 14 school trustees meeting.
Graf began by saying the team enjoyed the welcome given by district personnel and the "genuineness" of interactions with staff.
The team learned quickly that the district is complex, with 36 percent of students coming from rural areas, and a high percentage of First Nations students. The varied social and economic environment of the district added to the complexity.
There were three questions the team applied to different aspects of the learning environment: what is most important? what are we doing about it? and what difference is it making?
The review team found a positive attitude in the learning environment, excellent shared leadership, a professional "can do" approach based on what is good for the individual student, and a supportive, cooperative attitude from the community.
Special mention was made of the positive involvement of First Nations people, but a recommendation was made to find ways to reach out to First Nations students and parents who do not live on an Indian Reserve.
Another recommendation was the need to improve graduation rates for First Nations males, and the need to continue the focus on aboriginal students' success.
The team approved the way the district allocates resources and sets goals, saying the focus on student achievement should continue. The team found a lot of student learning opportunities and good staff training.
"The district is actively building student achievement," Graf told trustees.
PSS STAFF STUDIES STUDENTS AT RISK
Princeton Secondary School staff is engaged in a study of students who may not complete Grade 12. A number of factors were taken into consideration when determining which students may drop out of school, but the major factor was how well these students achieved in core subject areas.
The staff team working on increasing the number of students graduating has attended a seminar in Kelowna as well as doing their own study.
One of the key factors the team discovered was that not one of the students considered at risk is involved in extracurricular activities in the school. The team will continue to work with the data they have gathered.
School trustees and the superintendent are very impressed with this study.
