TUESDAYAPRIL 29, 2014
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SCHOOL CLOSURES
Decision tonight
Community rallies to save its elementary school AUREN RUVINSKY writer@pqbnews.com
With possible school closures being announced tonight, more than 100 people gathered Friday to show their support and raise awareness of their plan to save Qualicum Beach Elementary School. Now formally organized as the Qualicum Beach Community School Steering Committee, the event Friday afternoon was fun and active, keeping the audience moving with aerobic dancing interspersed with short speeches about the importance of the school to the community. “Closing QBES is going to drive children and families out of the public school system and out of the town,” co-chair of the committee Anna Sjoo told The NEWS. “Community schools have been proven to be successful and sustainable. Creating a community school is an opportunity to provide an alternative, innovative and more attractive model of education for our children.” Complete with a 23-page working plan, the committee is calling on the trustees of School District 69 (Qualicum) to hold off closing QBES for one year to give them time to convert it to a community school model to help save it. “We have given you many compelling reasons to keep the school open — improved learning opportunities and outcomes for students, community wellness, access to increased revenues and in-kind donations, improved community relations, among numerous others,” said co-chair Anne Skipsey. The committee is calling on all supporters to wear red and attend the school board meeting tonight, Tuesday, April 29 at 7 p.m. in the Parksville Civic and Technology Centre.
JOHN HARDING PHOTO
Kwalikum Secondary School grad, RCAF Master Cpl. Craig Boyd, was in one of the F-18s that did a fly-by over Parksville’s beach Thursday on route to Comox from Cold Lake, Alta. Piloting Boyd’s jet was Major Yannick Gregoire while the other F-18 was piloted by Captain Adam Runge.
FLY-BY LAST WEEK IN PARKSVILLE
Saying hello at 1,100 km-h JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
Master Corporal Craig Boyd got a unique look at his hometown last week. Sitting in a CF-18 Royal Canadian Air Force fighter jet, Boyd convinced pilot Major Yannick Gregoire to take a small
detour on the way to Comox from their base in Cold Lake, Alta. Those who were fortunate enough to be at Parksville’s Community Park got to see a pair of CF18s fly right over the beach, take a turn and come by once again. “It definitely was interesting from where I was sitting,” said Boyd, a grad-
uate of Kwalikum Secondary School and a member of the RCAF since 2006. “I lived there forever but I was barely able to recognize it.” Boyd is a mechanic with the RCAF based in Cold Lake. He doesn’t often get to fly in the jets he works on. See CONTINUING, page A9
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