lar,

" many

‘Sutherland

a big plu
for students

‘*‘Many students learn best
when they have short ‘term |
goals,"" commented = Ed
Downing in a report to
Trustees on the topic of
school organization. ‘*Regu-
intensive. study in a
semestered school serves
them well.”” — .

Downing. vice-principal. at
Carson Graham Secondary,
was one of four administra-

“lors presenting descriptions
of secondary school organiza- .
tions at a

public’ Board
meeting held Pat Sherwood
Park Elementary School
April 10.00
THE SAME BUT
_ DIFFERENT

While all eight secondary
schools in the district provide
the same required courses,
differences occur in
their time and frequency.

For instance, Carson Gra-
ham, Windsor, Argyle and
Hamilton schools offer a
semestcr timetable. It is
divided ‘into two segments
with students taking half the
year's courses from Septem-
ber through January and the
other ‘half in the remaining
five months. Students meet
daily in cach of — their
semester courses.

_ **Among many advantages
to the semester system is the
concentration on fewer
courses at one time,"’ said
Downing. Ken Feyer of
Junior Secon-
dary, a school which divides
its year into three equal
segments, (trimesters), sup-
ported this. He added, ‘‘the

| Elementary School student Jennifer McNeil how tall she.
isin centimeters. Below, Ned Paybell, bree Ss student mt ”

. divided year allows a student

‘grade 1 Canyon Heights

North Vancouver students” ;
experience | first-hand .

will
how other Canadians live.
‘ Open House Canada, a
federally — sponsored — “pro.

gram, is providing just such.

an opportunity: for hundreds -

of students 1 in the” district.

The» program, “aimed ao
young people 16 to 22,
based on reciprocal exchang.
es. Some of these exchanges -
have already taken . place, |
with others: to ‘occur during

~ May and June, :

who is having difficulty in a
course to re-start the course
in the. second trimester. A
student showing rapid
growth can move ahead in
the same manner.

year ends.”’

*
~

Balmoral Junior Secondary
provides a timetable year
which is divided into four
equal parts, which provides
for more variety in the choice
of elective courses while also
offering sufficient time for
each of the required courses.

EXTENDED YEAR
WORKS TOO
Handsworth and North

Vancouver secondary schools
are organized to provide
coursesd which = extend
throughout the school year.

_ tivities””

oe material

Neither
must wait until the school

“films,

tapes, .

e : “games and drills) are. being |

specified; :..
‘evaluating. “and =
methods are. being outlined.

sand... testing, ..

‘reporting

CLASSROOMS.
HAVE! CHANGED -
What different —

: mathematics i in‘today’s class.
nt “rooms in North Vancouver?

> An observer: ‘who had not

a been” in. school classrooms

which ‘goes. beyond ‘the core --
“material. of that curriculum, |

-- Learning. goals. are’ being

‘spelled-out along with. state- _
: ments of specific learnings. to.
. be mastered at.each level.”

In: addition: “learning ac- ;
-generated- ~ by.

. teachers. ‘in the ‘classrooms, :
" are being
= published for. all teachers to
Use, we °

collected and

“Tnstructional

“. sinée::
_ entering
he classroom i in. "North Vancou-
yer teday would see a very
different picture:

~ informally. —

“small groups of: individual

- tables and chairs rather than
fixed rows of desks.

"materials at
: (texts, ‘supplementary. ‘print:
. workbooks, ». kits,

60's"
* clementary

the ous.

‘At. first he/she would. be

struck: by the physical ar- :
‘rangement of. the furniture
“and displays” ‘in: the class-
_ room.

“Desks would be
arranged. with

' Tables with. specific jearn-

. ing materials, featuring man-
: ‘ipulative. materials and pro-
~ ject work would appear in
‘many classrooms. Measuring
‘tools, tapes, scales, balanc-

étc.. would ‘have:a.

_ mathematics .

tics charts, graphs *.: fand
constructions would-be. “Seen.

“The: -observer,® zs

class and. more..
talking to the.
student. talking: to~ student;
more. .

students to get

materials. for. solving . their’
problems; fewer pencil: ‘and: -
‘paper tasks and more. mone |
involving. measuring, .mani-~ -

pulating, - graph | making,
model building, ‘ete.

SMALL GROUPS USED...

Students would most often -

be working in small ‘groups -’.
not all. doing ‘the same
assignment. You might. even.
see a pupil checking his’
answers using a calculator.

The observer would. also’
notice that the teacher.

spends much of her/his time®

questioning and evaluating

individual students, diagnos--

ing. difficulties and forming
groups which need..a ‘specific

- Computer Science 11-student, Libor Pejcoch; a grade 11 student at Argyle Secondary,

applies h his newly acquired skills at 2 computer console. [Photo credit Anne Morley] 7

AL least one _group. from

each of North’ ‘Vancouver’ Ss.
secondary schools and Prince

Charles’ ‘School will -host.'an

exchange group .of students ‘ with hosting groups raising

‘from eastern Canada for cone
oweek, North Vanocuver: stu
dents. will ‘travel east.

guests: of their, “wwinned”

counterpart. wo

‘Participating are 420 stu-
“dents from grades 9: to 12.

Most groups are composed of |

students with: specific: skills
‘and ", inlerésts | in French,
history. and geography, 7

“Incubation and maturing |
of, ideas and concepts takes |

time,"" reported Doug
Player, .. North Vancouver
Secondary vice-principal. We
find that we can provide for

this by scheduling - classes"
every second day over a full

year.""

He pointed out, however,
that some of the courses ‘are

semestered or divided into |

‘several short segments.

SPECIFIC NEEDS MET

Handsworth = Secondary
vice-principal Penny Jories’
school is organized with an
extended ‘day. There is no
common funch hour and
_classes are scheduled be-
tween 8:10 a.m. and 3:20
p.m, to meet specific needs.

‘Students in a home
economics class may require

:
*

attend:

‘Transportation. costs . will
be paid by Open House
Canada. Students will be
billeted in’ private homes

moncy: through various pro-
jects” to... provide Special
experiences for their gucsis.

Siudents from: Brighton,
Oniario | will ‘visit. Argyle
‘students and while here will
school, — visit‘ the
Mining, Ecology and, Anthro-

_ pological. Museums,.- sce. a

logging. operation and: sight-
see in the: ‘Vancouver. area,

an hour anda half and we

dule it.

On the other hand, modern

languages: Students need to
-meéet for . shorter: periods

more often and-this need can’:
. be met .by scheduling 40°

minute periods . four times
per week. rather than 60
minutes for fewer mectings
' per week,

Don McEown, Assistant-
superintendent, stressed the
fact that variety in quality
programs and — time-table
organizations - designed to
serve a multitude of learning

‘styles among students are]:

available throughout the
district. In addition, “every,
secondary student receives.
an individual program. of

courses to meet his/her
needs and interests."’

have the flexibility to sche-

Other hosting: schools. will.
have similar programs.

Exchanges. have been. ar-

ranged. for. groups from: -

‘North Vancouver Secondary -
Ecole Imacules Conception,

Hull, Quebet; Hamilton -.
Ecole Sacre Coeur , de
Masham, St. Cecile de

Masham, Quebce; Balmoral.-
Ecole Secondaire Cardinal
‘Roy,
Graham (three
Windsor Collegiate,. Winni-
‘peg,’ Hawesbury Secondary,
Hawesbury, — Ontario: ‘and

a

man re ue
: = |

: Se

provide

correspondence to

prominent. place; ‘mathema- 0

p working

student. ng
teacher, . 7 not”
: ‘ae mean: ‘that: John. ‘was —
moving about by. absent: ‘he Might be. outside. :-
. needed: - completing ‘a measurement; '
or construction. task, ‘making
'. observations. : or. collecting -
a data.” a ;

-.choice, “or,

- persons —
eduéators. '

the. achievement
‘sently.” being : =

Quebec City; Carson.
groups) --

oe ane an

ae ie wa x a
Sr
ae .

REN =

YOUR SCHOOLS

Published by ‘the North
Vancouver School Board to .
information ‘about
school programs and activi-
ies in the district. Address

“Your

‘kind of instruction. :

notice a different structure to” fron
the learning . in ‘the. class- .
‘room. There: would: be less.

n teacher talking to the whole. = dents who. individ ‘specific aa

He. might. be:

nae

taking. place \in ‘such - class-.
rooms to the same: extent

.that it did in the. past. There’
is considerable ‘media: publi-
. City and general. gut-feeling
‘that kids today can’t do basic.

mathematics: ¢an’t-. add,

subtract, “multiply. or® divide

‘as rapidly or as: ‘accurately as :

they: did | in the past.

-. EVIDENCE IS:
. * CONFLICTING |
The evidence | across - the

‘continent is’ conflicting. The

results of ‘the ~Proviricial,
Learning : ‘Assessment | Pro-
gram in Mathematics done in
1976-77 in grades 4, 8 and 12
does not support” these

beliefs.

: North Vancouver. students
in. most if: | “not. call” areas:
sampled by the tests scored

high ‘ when. compared to

standards set by panels of lay
and: professional

In. spite of: “these, high

Vandouver ‘are = net: comipia-
cent"about their programs or

being- ‘made, “improvements
that will teach’ students to

- see mathematics as ‘a_pratti-

“gal. tool for daily living.

‘Plantagenet Secondary,
Plantagenet, Ontario; Suth-
erland - Ecole. Rouen Desjar-
dins,’ - Montreal, Quebec;
Handsworth (two groups) -

Ecole Polyvalente de. Pont .

Vian, Laval, Quebec. and
Ecole... Polyvalente ~ Mont
Blen, Hull, Quebec; Windsor
(1wo groups: -. Ecole Poly-
valente Ste. | ‘Ursula, Trois
Rivicres, Quebec ‘and ° St.
Thomas, Ontario. 0:

o

~~ AE
- —
a — ~
| SAE |. NS

Schools" ;

ver, B.C... V7M 2M5.

*Editorial work provided by

Annetie Croucher’

7 1 topic. of-his own:
at ‘the: Learning
_ ‘Assistance. Centre “getting.

. specific: ‘help from a: specia
“trained. teacher. me
. ‘LEARNING 1S HAPPENING’ vo
* The observer might -con-
‘clude that learning |

tally

3S . RU:

els, a

. North Vancouver
School Board, 721 Chester-
ficld Avenue, North Vancou-