Children out of ciety and places “ainatural same- Private schools have oes the partial fund- ing the Ministry of Education provides to independent schools take away from the ability of the public school system to provide quality educa- tion? George Stewart, a West Vancouver assisiant school superintendant, does not believe there is a threat. “The Catholic schools have been here for years. If Collingwood didn’t exist, those students would probably be altending St. Georges or some other private school,” he says. Winey The West Vancouver Schoal Board also benefited financially when Collingwood bought its unused school building in the British Properties, Stewart notes. However, North Vancouver Schoo) Board Assistant Superintendant Chris Kelly has some concerns about indepen- dent schools, Although he thinks there are individual situations where a private school environment is good for a student, he believes that the best public education Catholic schools are demand Ithough the primary goal of Catholic schools is to teach the faith, non-Catholics are also being attracted to them. In Narth Vancouver, Holy Trinity elementary has 246 pupils, St. Edmunds has 190 and St. Thomas Aquinas secondary has 420 students, while in West Vancouver, St. Anthony’s ele- mentary has 190. Holy Trinity, which has been Operating since 1956, has a wait- ing list of more than 300 people willing to pay between $60 and $142 per child per month. Priority is given to local parishioners, families from other parishes and then to non- Catholics. Fees vary for these cat- egories according to their finan- cial and volunteer contributions tothe church or school. The fees are kept affordable and they do not increase after the third child. . Lou Wignes has three children at Holy Trinity. She likes ihe school’s small size and the ¥ CAREER TRAINING / PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE ¢ DAY ANDEVENING CLASSES opportunity she has to be more involved in their education. She finds that the kids are proud to wear their uniforms, which allow their parents to save money on school clothing St. Thomas Aquinas in North Vanceuver has doubled its pupil size in the past five years, "There is a perception that our schools are stricter,” says school principal Chris Campbell, who pelieves that the reinforcement of moral values is an attraction for families. system possible must be avail- able to all pupils. Public and private schools should be able to co-exist, but Kelly hopes that parents making the choice realize that the pub- lic system is subjected to much more intense scrutiny. He said he is concerned that the ability of private schools to “pick and choose” their pupils will lead to a stratified and regressive system. Although Collingwood stu- dents do enjoy academic suc- cess (at least 90% qualify for university), headmaster Graham Baldwin notes that admission is gained the respect of parents based on the timing of an appli- cation and prior enrolment of siblings — not student ability. Baldwin believes indepen- dent schools should be support- ed because, he said, “in a plu- ralistic and democratic society it is the responsibility of govern- ment to make sure there is pen- uine choice in school systems.” Independent schouls such as Collingwood should provide “something different,” accord- ing to Baldwin. “Instead, we are being asked to be what everybody wants the regular school system to be,” he says. ~ Goal Setting for Career Planning «Appropriate goals are fundamental 10 Career SUCCESS. ® Identifying and setting goals start with Psycho-Educational testing and counselling conducted by a Registered Psychologist. © Aworkshop provides the structure for long term educational and career planning. ° Consultation with a Senior Business Manager assures a realistic market focus. THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN CAREER DEVELOPMENT Corporate & Career Development Inc. 789 West Pender Street, Suite 570 Vancouver, BC e V6C 1H2 © FAX 685 - 6597 “Thanks to the wonderful instructors at Trend I have the skills needed to get a job I enjoy.” | TREND HOSPITALITY & MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OFFERS: © American Hotel & Mate! Association Diploma & Certificate Programs * Access endorsed, * Sabre & Apollo Travel Reservation System W FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR THOSE WHO QUALIFY + Eileen Lum ooeoono0ag fa BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SALES & MARKETING COMPUTERS ACCOUNTING OFFICE CAREERS LEGAL/MEDICAL SECRETARIAL HOTEL/RESORT MANAGEMENT TRAVEL/TOURISM