bi low enrolment THE HIGH prices of West Vancouver homes are beginning to have a negative effect on enrolment in some West Van- couver District 45 schools, the school board was told Mon- day. “When people sell homes in West Vancouver, who buys them?” asked district superintend- ent Bill May. ‘People with younger children don't seem to be buying homes here.”’ Hillside Middle and West Van- couver Secondary schools have had a combined decrease of 126 stu- dents from last September. In the district overall, the total enrolment from Grades 7 to 12 has declined from 2,697 to 2,635. WEST ‘Yancouver school trustee Margot Fuck ...high turnover ia housing not reflected at Hollyburn and Irwin Park elementary schools. Assistant superintendent Douglas Player also told the board that, for the first time since 1984, there has been a decrease at both the Kindergarten and Grade 7 en- try levels. The early French Immersion program has fallen from 30.5 per Doug Collins... Comics. Editorial Page.......... Food.. TV Listings Lee What's Going On........22 WEATHER Wednesday and Thursday, cloudy with showers. Highs near 16°C. Second Chiss Registration Number 3883 Ry PATRICK RAYNARD Contributing Writer cent of Kindergarten students in 1985 to only 18.7 per cent this fall. Trustee Margot) Furk pointed out that the high turnover iu hous- ing in Ambleside and Dundarave is not being reflected at Hollyburn and Tewin Park elementary schools, both of which posted declines from a year ago. May reminded the board that, while the enrolment curve overall is still on the plus side, it is climb- ing at a slower rate. He said he was especially concerned about the trends in the kindergartens, since these children form the base of the district’s future. HOUSING STUDY CRITICIZED: 10 In other news, and on the posi- tive side, 69 per cent of 1987 district high school graduates are studying at post-secondary institu- tions, assistant superintendent Bob Overgaard told the board. The high regard West Vancouver parents hold for education, as well as their socio-economic background in general, are two of the reasons for their childrens’ continued high performance, Overgaard said. Overgaard made the comments while presenting his Report on Educational Outcomes, the pur- pose of which is to consider the district’s performance from two points of view — student achieve- ment and the perceptions of the education community in West Vancouver. 3 -— Wednesday, September 28, 1988 - North Shore News NEWS photo Mike Wakefield IT WAS a smashing experience for Big Brother B.C. Lion Matt Dunigan (left) and his North Vancouver Little Brother Travis Fary. The two were entered in the Big Brother Celebrity Egg Drop at the Sheraton Landmark Hotel in Vancouver. The goal: to drop an egg from 15 storeys and hope it doesn’t break. The duo taped their egg into a styrofoam cup, then wrapped it in tissue paper and newspaper before stuffing it into a football. After all their efforts, however, the trick didn’t work. NORTH SHORE-WIDE POLICY ADOPTED rts plan gets the green light oper NORTH SHORE arts got a boost Monday when all three local municipalities approved a cultural plan for the North Shore. The North Shore Cultural Policy Committee made a tour of the three North Shore councils to have their plan, the result of almost two years’ work, received; and their recommendations, including the uppointment of a permanent North Shore Arts Commission, endorsed. “They've written the book on arts funding. They've done a fine job, and they've done it the right way.’’ said West) Vancouver District Ald. Pat Boname, who in- troduced the subject at West Van's council meeting. Boname, who was council’s rep- resentative throughout the plan's development, was wearing a “wearable art’? shirt she bidded for at the West Vancouver Com- munity Arts Auction in June. The five policy committee members attending Monday’s council meetings were co-chairman Judy Dennis, co-chairman Alan Smith, former West Vancouver Arts Council president Lorne Topham, current West Vancouver Arts Council president Lynn Flipse By NEWS STAFF and Cathy Martin. The cultural plan was for- mulated after numerous cominittee meetings were held concerning support, administration and development of the arts on the North Shore. West Vancouver District Council members were most enthusiastic about the plan. ‘This is one area where the three municipalities have been working very effectively together,’ Mayor Don) Lanskail said, “We feel we have made quan- tum leaps with the support of the arts," said Dennis, who assured council that the process being pro- posed would be taken one step at a time, with councils in control at all time. West Van Ald. Dave Finlay call- ed it a ‘‘red letter day.”* “Many members of council have felt there was a lack of coordina- pee WEST Vancouver Ald. Boname ...‘'a fine job." Pat tion or oomph for the arts on the North Shore,’ Finlay added. The aims of the cultural plan are to: * promote a North Shore-wide context for the development of arts and cultural resources; * imegrate the arts into the daily life experiences of the community; * connect the artist and the au- dience; * enhance the existing cultural infrastructure — a broad and diverse network; * nurture a creative environment which allows the arts to grow and develop from the grassroots level; The three councils made com- mitments to the importance of arts on the North Shore by adopting the list of principles which formed the basis of the plan. Also adopted were nine policies, including recognizing the impor- tance of arts in everyday life and encouraging cultural activity, Arts commission appointments and funding details will be discussed in the future. Noting that the North Shore municipalities were singled out in the report as being the only ones without a full-time staff position responsible for cultural planning, North Vancouver District Council directed its staff to report back on the costs involved in rectifying the situation. “It’s about time that arts was funded proportionately (to park, recreation and other things in our community,’’ remarked West Van's Ald. Boname.