Windsor House requests program extension N. Van alternative school seeks K-12 THE BOARDROOM was packed on Tuesday when Teague Johnson and Helen Hughes asked North Vancou- School District 44 (NYSD) to extend non-coer- cive (unstructured) education to the secondary level. By Kevin Gillies Contributing Writer Johnson, a student, and Hughes, a-teacher, addressed the board as representatives of Windsor House, can alternative clementary program _ offered in NVSD since 1975. The program's teachers, stu- . dents and parents want the board to extend its non-coercive program at. ’ Windsor House to the secondary level so its students don’t have to ‘attend regular schools. © _. Windsor House caters to stu- ‘dents who do not thrive within the context of.the traditional education system, In the non- coercive approach to learning, students don’t work to regimented standards or set. levels ‘of achievement, ". Most students. Hughes said, don't carry on their education past the elementary level offered aL Windsor House. The group includes gifted stu- dents as well us students who have difficulty leaming ata faster pace, “The program currently involves $4 students — kindergarten to Grade 7 —. with 2.78 full-time equivalent (FTE) te oo An expanded’ program would include Grades 8 to 12, with 120 students and 6,0 FTE tei rchers. ; The prograny is currently locit- cd in three classtooms of the for- ‘mer Cloverly elementary school. The. building is leased by the “YMCA which leases the three chissrooms to. the NVSD for Windsor House. The YMCA has the option af leasing the building far another 10 years, but, according to the submis: sion from Hughes, they would be willing to continue subletting the space to Ube school district for the expanse’ oo In his opening speech, Jobson said Windsor House is very impor tant to him because it stimulates him inteHlectually in ways he has ‘never experienced with other schoals. ~ Heohas cerebral palsy and spoke ‘through a voice syilhesizer, ©. Johason was playing with alge- ‘bra for fun by the time he would have been in Grade 3. _ Ina traditional education system he ‘would be in-Grade 5, but he is currently learning Grade [2 level English and physics. “L participate socially with eyery age group in the school, including the parents and teachers.” “he said. “TL participate in all important - school events, even playing parts in school plays.” 983-2208 NEWS photo Mike Waketiald WORKERS CONTINUE to construct piles which will support a deck extension to Lynterm berth in North Vancouver. The pro- ject, which will be completed in April, was commissioned to handle an additional ship. . Lynnterm berth capacity increases THE VANCOUVER Port Corporation's (VPC) expansion of its Lynnterm forest prod- ucts berth is one month behind schedule due to the effects of unpredictable tides on concrete work. - By Kevin Gilles Contributiny Writer VPC spokesman Jim O'Hara estimated the project will be completed by the end of Aprii. expanding Lyantern’s berth The VPC is E returns wit! vessels and cargo. company to service westward by 76 metres (250 feel). The move will increase the terminal's ability to handic The increased berthing space will allow the four ships simultaneously instead of the three it can now accommodate. Western Stevedoring Ltd., which operates the terminal, needed the additional space to meet the ship-berthing demand created by an at the mouth of Lynn Creek. The park's public viewing platform also had to be moved. viewing ar wheel: hais increase in western pulp production. Construction of the extension required 524 square metres (5.800 square feet) of land with- in the southern boundary of Harbor View Park iInsig feet). ergency response ex] Because of the expansion's park, VPC —- a Crown corporation — has reconfigured the park and is building a new t fro s effect on the su, which O'Hara said will be accessible and more comfortable than the original. The reconfiguration increased the park's urea by 968 square metres (10,420 square pert | L.A. Expand personal earthquake readiness, NSEP leader advises NORTH SHORE Emergency ‘Program coordinator Ross Peterson said he didn’t have to travel far from Burbank airport to see the damage left by the 4S5-second earthquake that recently shook the Los Angeles area, By Anna Marle D'Angelo News Reparter “Tere were chimneys knocked down, houses off their foundations, watermuain leaks on the roads, “One of the more visible signs is tents set oul in frent or behind houses, Some buildings are proba- bly safe to re-enter, but the owners are simply afraid to go in.” said Peterson. Peterson and two other Vancouver officials went to Los Angeles on Jan, 21 for three days to gel a first-hand look at the damage [. “CALL US: and udk to their American counter- parts about emergeney response. The group was given official visHor slits to survey the site tien, Earthquake daniage in the Los Angeles area is believed to be simi- tir to what cin be expected on the Lower Mainland. Peterson said the moderate varthquike has left 20. O00 people homeless. More than SO people were killed its aresull of the carthquake. Peterson said 1.000 Angeles-area buildings were condemned. “We were very impressed by the level of damage done to weak buildings.” said Peterson. “We saw many. puny houses: and apartments where everything that could fall off the wails or tty olf the shelves did.” ; He said the flying objects caused injuries, ; Peterson added that in a similar situation in the Lower Mainland Los now area cmergency-response officials would likely be unable to provide tredicat attention to a lot of injured peopie. Peterson said he felt no. earth- quake aftershocks while in Los Angeles, although many were recorded while he wats there. He said the Los Angeles earth- quake has shown local rescue offi- cials that: fife-line systems such as water. sewer, electricity, natural gas and transportation (bridges) services aed to be strengthened so interrup- tions are Jess susceptible: and repairs can be conducted quickly, building standards for earthquake survival should be upgraded rou tinely: special attention should be paid to public buildings such as hospitals, schools, fire hatl sem bly areas and police building & the various fevels of government and utilities companies should work together on earthquake prepared- THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Which Lions Gate Bridge crossing improvement do you favor? ness and potential rebuilding after a quake: @ personal carthquake readiness should be expanded especially at the neighborhood level; part of being prepared for some people is to buy earthquake insurance and be whle to tke care of their own sur- vival needs for three days, Peterson said shopping centres had collapsed during the earthquake and that it was fortunate that the parthquake struck at 4:30 am, wher the retail outlets were vacant. Peterson said the public shonid realize there may be no help for them for several days after a mod- crite or major earthquake, He suggested neighborhood : sardiquitke plans would be the best way fer residents to prepare. He said earthquake damage may be reduced if residems ensure their houses are belted to their founda- lions and chimneys are strapped so they don't fillin.