AMONG THE rt many | visitors to the North Shore this summer was the USS Ogden, an Austin
class amphibious transport dock, named for a city in Oregon. Built in 1965, the ship has seen
duty In Vietnam and was used asa support. vessel for the Exxon Valdez clean- “up operation.

- Madrona an individualized learning experience |

elementary’
‘schools do You, know where the:

HOW... MAN Y..

: ‘children® interview. the’:teacher
as part of the hiring process?

By Martin Millerchip.”

Contributing Writer -

“It happened °to” teacher Gary’

Lawrence when he moved out of the

‘, public school system and jinto::the:

‘private world of Madrona.
Madrona is an -independent ele:

-mentary school in Vancouver for aca-.

-demically advanced children.
soos icensed . for 13. children: in. its
* current. space, it’ presently: has an
ss enrolment of- 10 children aged eight
“to lh:
1 Academically advanced children

’ are those who test at the 95 percentile

or better. <2.
But life at the ‘top is no bowl. of

: _ vegherries for. many of these’ children

“and no apple a day for their teachers.”
--Chevar Gittens favorite bed-time:

book at the age of two was The Time-

Life Book’ of Electricity. °

:, By grade 3, the Edgemont Village

“student. had read Arthur Hailey's
Rows.

“But, according to his mother Ann,

" Chevar was bored with the mundane
expectations of school and “basically
“sat at his desk and read or dreamt up
“science inventions” between grades
“two and five:

The. character: traits that identify

“the'so-called gifted child can actual-
“Ty be: perceived 2s. problems i in the

’ classroom Situation.‘ ,

“A gifted child's grasp of a mathe-

7 matical concept can mean that exer-
“eises which prove the concept are a
‘waste of time:

ge Fotal, even obsessive, concentra-
tort on a subject of interest may be
», perceived as uncooperative behavior.
Likewise, lateral thinking and

os unexpected or unusual questions.
"Ditto critical. thinking, especially

if the teacher or anoiher child is the-

“abject of that criticism. =,

Some ‘academically. gifted chile
dren ‘with a desire to fit in, learn to
ask their intelligence by: making -

leliberate mistakes in their work... -,

eo” Av lack of intellectual peers can |
mean no buddies and no sense of :

belonging.

Getting “A's” does. ‘not provide

achievement Gr self- worth, but is part

of, role-playing in order to fit others”
“expectations. » woke
Capilano. parent, Dalia Gottict

‘you!’"

schoo! feel a

‘Tanaka. understands that a lack of
resources .‘hampers the — public
school’s ability to focus on the prob-
lems of the academically gifted, but
chafes at the wasted potential of an

‘unstimulated mind.

It tock Gottlieb Tanaka two years

* to. find a school. environment. that

suits her eight- “year-old, daughter.
Carmel. -
“Twas so frustrated ‘by being clas-

" sified as a pushy mother who thought
‘too highly of her kid. -

. “Now Carmel is getting academic |
freedom but the discipline of dead-

lines for submission of projects.”

Lawrence ‘creates. an individual-

‘ized education plan. (IEP) for each

student at Madrona. |

The IEP is designed, with input’
from child and parents, to meet each
child’s needs, capabilities and inter-

ests.
While ministry of education cur-.
riculum requirements are followed, a: |

nine-year-old student might be work-

‘ing at Grade 6 math, Grade 8 reading ©

and Grade 7 spelling.

““t can work at: my. own level
here,” says school newspaper editor,
1 f-year-old Anna Catamo. ;

“Nobody. gets ‘teased here and

nobody can: ‘say,-.‘I'm . better. than
because everybody is at differ-"
ent levels.” ;

If you didn’t know that Madrona’

"was unusual from the type of projects
on display as you walk up the stairs,

the furniture provides another clue.

Every child has an- individual

work station built out of customized
modular units. ; j
After all, shouldn’t. going. to
little like going to work?
‘The furniture and the school are
the creation of Janet Hamilton and

her husband.
“. +Arbutus Commercial: Furniture:

came first, but when their son began
having problems in the public school
system their own schoo! followed.

“We had the: space,. How hard

could it be, right?” Hamilton ‘says

with an ironic laugh, °

But while the learning curve has
been Steep plans are already in place *
to add a junior class in 1996...

.AU$S550 per month the: schooling
does not: come. cheaply, * but _ for

Gottlieb-Tanaka the quality of educa-

tion is priceless. :.
~ “Twas ready to tke Carmel out of
the public schoo! system, put my life ~

- on hold and start tutoring her myself

Madrona Schoot Society: can be
reached at 734-72 24a an #

’ Gifted Children's Association at

Voices in Harmony
Across the Sea.

“VISITING CHOIR FROM AUSTRIA
PERFORMS WITH THE NORTH SHORE CHORUS ©

nm unites these. two unique choirs in’ concert. Austria's ;
“Singgemcinschaft Oisternig” choir, which has pleased European music *
jovers for over 30 years.-This 45 voice choir embraces a wide range of
periods including Brahms, Schubert and Mozart as well as spiritual and
folk songs reflecting their heritage. "
The North Shore Chorus is a 50 voice community choir founded in 1976,
This chorus has an eclectic repertoire ranging from classical through :
choral versions of Broadway hits to spiritual and folk songs.
Special guest appearance by Helen Zarck, Soprano.

September 3rd, 1995 - 7:30 p.m,

Location: Centennial Theatre, 2300 Lonsdale, N.Van.

Tickets: . Adult $12.50, Seniors, Students & Children $10
Available at Centennial Theatre, Silver Harbour Centre and ||”
Family Gourmet, located in Lynn Valley Centre - 980-1627

VIP Reception Tickets $20. Extra tickets available only from Family Gourmet,
FOR INFO CALL 980-1627 (9am ~ ~ 6pm) or, 980-0035 after 9 p.m.
Proceeds from this concert to North Shore Family Services - ‘
* “and 3.0.8, Kinderdocf (Children’s Village of B.C.)

Date:

NEWS photo Bred Ledvicge

HELPING THE WORLD
“WRITE ROW

if you think your child might be
academically gifted and would like
to talk to parents of similar children, _
contact Marta McIntosh . of: the : Self-sufficiency through“).

literacy in the developing word

756-2705. For information, call 1-800-661-2633

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