Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Briana Tomkinson
Saturday, December 20, 2008

School trustee Lori Watt gives a kidney for Christmas

New Westminster school trustee Lori Watt calls giving a kidney to friend and acting coach Nathaniel Deveaux the "most unique" Christmas gift she has given in a recent Newsleader profile. No kidding!

It started with a phone call when Watt asked, “What blood type are you?”
“B positive,” he replied.
“I’m B positive too.”
That’s when she started thinking about it. After doing research on transplant surgery she told Deveaux she would donate her kidney.
A battery of medical tests showed they were a match and the surgery was scheduled.
“When we both got out of surgery we were each asking how each other was. The other day he walked over to my room in the hospital and thanked me profusely,” said Watt.
“I feel like we were brought together to work on [the play] The Museum Project. Then this happened. I just feel really blessed to be able to give back this way.”

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Briana Tomkinson
Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Speaking of school budget shortfalls

The Vancouver Sun reports that New Westminster will ask school district managers to come back to the classroom as teachers to help offset costs for substitutes due to the $2 million shortfall.

School district managers could be teaching in New Westminster classrooms next month as part of an urgent plan by the district to eliminate a $2-million shortfall without laying off staff.

Senior managers from the board’s head office will work as teachers on call from January until June in a move estimated to save $19,000. A manager is also expected to fill in as vice-principal at John Robson elementary to save $15,000.

More substantial savings are expected through cuts to school budgets ($818,000) and operations and maintenance ($325,000), according to a plan approved by trustees this week. District staff will talk to partner groups early in the new year to determine how such savings can be achieved with only six months left in the school year.
School Trustee Michael Ewen is quoted as saying he likes the idea of senior managers spending time in the classroom, because the experience would benefit them when making decisions that would affect students. 

A comment on the story by a Sun reader, on the other hand, points out: "One might be cynical enough to suggest that many of the folks who 'manage' are those who hated the classroom in the first place and thought they were moving up some ladder to escape the long hours and miserable conditions of the classroom drudge."

Ooooh, snap.

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Briana Tomkinson

No school in Grimston, school board decides

Grimston Park will be protected space, and will not be considered as a future school site according to last night's school board vote. This is great for the West End, who would have lost its only large park, but leaves New West in a bit of a pickle. New schools must be built, but where? To further complicate matters, our school district is facing a $2 million budget shortfall. We have neither time, nor money, nor resources. So what to do?

Some creative thinking is called for! Some of the ideas I've heard kicked around include:

  • Sending some New West kids to Burnaby schools (working with that city's school authorities, of course ... though attending by stealth would be funnier ... I'm picturing balaclava-clad kids scurrying across Tenth every morning, hiding behind bushes and trees like you'd see in some Merrie Melodies cartoon ... maybe that's just funny to me)
  • Building a new high school in Queensborough, where there's a little more room to breathe
  • Building multi-storey elementary schools instead of single-storey
  • Building parking lots underground in order to build on smaller lots (not currently funded by the province, but that should change IMHO)

Any other ideas? At this point I'm wondering if I should be planning to homeschool!

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Will Tomkinson
Monday, December 1, 2008

Glenbrook Parents to School Grimston


Royal City Blogger Niki Hope, who excels at all things educational in her website, has recently posted that the Glenbrook Middle School Parent Advisory Council has passed a resolution that, while focusing on the need for a new High School, also calls for the use of Grimston Park as a school site for a middle school.

While the idea of a school on Grimston has been almost universally reviled by the West End community (see Facebook Page Here) and the need for a middle school is still hotly debated, I don't personally see why the Glenbrook folks (and fine folks they be, I am sure) would really concern themselves with building a middle school way on the other side of town. Perhaps the Westend folks could suggest the removal of Queens Park in favour of a municipal waste to energy incinerator (you see, I am exaggerating for effect).

The content of the letter is below. I invite all concerned to comment here. I will try to have expounders of the Grimston School topic (for and against) send in comments also.


December 1, 2008

Jim Alkins
Project Director
School District #40
1001 Columbia Street
New Westminster, BC
V3M 1C4

Dear Mr. Alkins:

As the Parents’ Advisory Council (PAC) for Glenbrook Middle School, we are writing to you regarding the school construction public consultation process in our City. After significant discussion at our meeting on November 24, 2008, the PAC passed the following motion:
THAT the ÉCOLE GLENBROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENTS’ ADVISORY COUNCIL:
• urges the construction of the high school move forward as soon as possible:
• supports the idea of building a new middle school on the west side; and
• believes that Grimston Park should be considered as an option for that middle school.
CARRIED.

In our view, it is absolutely critical that this initiative – AND PARTICULARLY THE HIGH SCHOOL – move ahead as quickly as possible and NOT be allowed to “go back to the drawing board.” Too much time and money have already been spent and further delays will only continue to compromise the education of all our children.

Yours truly;

Stephen Bruyneel
Chair

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Will Tomkinson
Friday, November 28, 2008

This Just In....(insert telex noise here)

Eagerly awaiting the last official results of the 2008 New Westminster civic elections, we are pleased to relay that the judicial recount for the position of school trustee has been completed. In a message this afternoon from New Westminster Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Doris Fassbender, the results were announced:

Following a two day judicial recount at the BC Provincial Court, New Westminster Registry, Judge Her Honour Alexander declared the results for the office of School Trustee for the 2008 General Local Election for the City of New Westminster. Brent Atkinson received 3665 votes and Vivian Garcia received 3663 votes. Therefore, Brent Atkinson was declared School Trustee-elect.
As reported here, Vivian Garcia was endorsed by re-elected Mayor Wayne Wright.

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Will Tomkinson
Thursday, November 13, 2008

Winner, Best Campaign Staff: Kirpaul Kaur


Taking a (web)page straight from the David Plouffe hand book, this local school trustee candidate has been kicking it Obama style by launching a polite and engaging army of telephone campaign staff on the voters of New Westminster.

Oh yes, after getting a call a week ago, my wife asked some questions about the "School on Grimston Park" controversy (against btw) and as a follow up, she asked further questions that the volunteer simply could not answer on Ms. Kaur's behalf. "May I take your information and Kirpaul can get back to you?" Why Yes! Lets do that! One day later, Kirpaul Kaur herself called in, eager to help answer a voter's questions and assist the democratic process (get that vote!). Almost 40 minutes later, we were satisfied that we had been talking to a genuine, honest and thoughtful candidate.

While in a recent article in the Record, she states that a third middle school was a priority, Kirpaul (and all of the candidates) submitted their brief blurbs before the Grimston Park Blowup. Since that time, many candidates have learned, like the citizens of the West End, of the details behind the school building options. She stated that she wanted to lead and direct a process that would solicit options from stakeholders and the community, synthesise them down to a manageable format and present them for deliberation to the public. We need some schools built but which ones do we need, how do we want to organise them? She also advocated a level of transparency and informatuon sharing that can only be achieved through the internet.

So then this evening, not 15 minutes ago dear readers, I was called by another Kaur-ista. "Hello, I am calling in support of Kirpaul Kaur". After a brief an ironic conversation, my call waiting started to beep. I ended the Kaurnversation and picked up the other line: " Hello I am calling on behalf of Kirpaul Kaur!"

Woah, if that is not someone who can get things done... I don't know what is.

ENDORSED: Kirpaul Kaur by the two voters at Tenth to the Fraser.

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Briana Tomkinson
Monday, November 10, 2008

CTV coverage of Grimston Park protest


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Briana Tomkinson
Thursday, October 23, 2008

New middle school could be built on parkland

And then there were none...

A small geographical footprint is both one of New Westminster's charms and one of its challenges. Density is inevitable. Sprawl is not an option. This is great, if you're assessing public transit feasibility or walkability within the city. It means, however, that options are limited when it comes to new development.  

New West has long known it needs new schools. The current high school is in need of upgrades and isn't adequate to house all of the city's kids. The original idea was to rebuild on the same site. The catch? Our secondary school is built on an indian burial ground. 

It's like something out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I keep expecting some kind of monstrous hell-beast to emerge from a Hellmouth deep in the bowels of the school, threatening to bet all the city's kittens at poker and cursing the local mallrats with syphilis. 

So, we need new schools. And we can't build them on the site where NWSS has stood for 60 years in case executed Tsilhqot'in warrior Chief Ahan was buried there 144 years ago. 

Something has to give. And that 'something' seems likely to be park land. Three parks are currently being considered for a new middle school site, all in the West End:
While residents would lose some park space (and potentially see more traffic), we have it on good authority that if land for the school is carved out of a park like Grimston, the site would also see upgrades that could offset the loss. 

In any case, this is all still tentative. The city is gathering feedback now, so if you want to learn more about the ghost of Chief Ahan or share your opinions on the new school site, there are some important dates to know (all events at the NWSS library):
  • Oct. 25 (11am, 1 & 3pm)  & Oct. 30 (7pm) (just in time for Halloween!) - Historical research on the cemetery at NWSS. 
  • Nov. 1 (11am, 1 & 3pm) & Nov. 4 (7:30pm) - Public info sessions on middle school options.

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