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FRIDAY, February 27, 2015
Volume 9 Issue 34
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WILLIAMS LAKE - The Terrace River Kings bagged the title of 2014/2015 CIHL Senior Men’s AA Champions with a tense 4-3 overtime win in game three against Williams Lake Sunday, Feb. 22 in Williams Lake. Tristan Murray scored the winner, putting an end to the hard fought series that saw the Kings take game one in Terrace Feb. 14, and the Stampeders force game three Feb. 21 with a 3-2 win at home. Next step: the Coy Cup in Fort Nelson at the end of March.
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School district backs off middle school plan
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By Alicia Bridges
THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
HAZELTON - The Coast Mountains School District board has buckled to community pressure and delayed indefinitely a plan to move elementary grade students to the Hazelton Secondary School. Responding to backlash from parents and teachers, the school board last week voted to absolve the Hazelton/Kitwanga Grade Reconfiguration Committee mandated to “reconfigure” grades at schools in the area. The committee of teachers and parents had been created by the school district to help implement a plan to move some elementary school students to the high school. The decision to absolve the
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committee was made after it presented its progress in a report at the Feb. 18 school board meeting. In the report, chairperson Janet Meyer put forward a motion that the district office carry out more consultation before establishing a middle school model but it was defeated. Instead the board adopted a new motion put forward by Hazelton school board trustee Shar McCrory, who was also acting board chair at the meeting. The new mandate absolves the reconfiguration committee and makes no mention of changing grade configuration at Hazeltons schools. “Coast Mountains School District 82 strives for improved graduation rates for all learners, including those in the Hazelton/
Kitwanga region,” it reads. “In an attempt to address the graduation rates in the Hazelton/Kitwanga area, public community consultation will be explored for possible interventions.” McCrory said she put forward a new motion because she wanted the phrasing to be more specific. “I wanted it to be very clear ... where we are going from here, that it was to community consultation and I didn’t feel that was quite reflected in the original motion,” she said. She said she could not comment on why there was a perceived lack of consultation in the first instance because she was not a trustee when the reconfiguration plan was made. McCrory said a reconfiguration would still take place but any
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changes would be informed by more community consultation. “The [gist] of it is that we’re striving to improve graduation rates and that the Hazelton Kitwanga area needs to look at public community consultation in order to improve those graduates rates,” she said. “The community has spoken and what I’ve heard from community groups, members and various organizations and individuals is that they were not consulted for this reconfiguration scenario that was put forward by the board. I think there was just different perception. The board thought that they were consulted and the communities didn’t feel that they were.” For a longer version of this story, visit www.interior-news. com.
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