Agassiz Observer, October 01, 2015

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015

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Senior named in care home death

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Police incident under investigation

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District tries to bring consistency to business in the ALR.

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TANYA JEYACHANDRAN / OBSERVER

Agassiz firefighters demonstrate how a person is extricated from a vehicle following a car crash. The demonstration, which took place at last week’s fall fair, was supported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Curriculum training cuts into teaching time

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Tom Fletcher BLACK PRESS

B.C. teachers switching to the education ministry's new curriculum this year will use 10 hours of classroom time to train on it. Education Minister Mike Bernier announced the training plan Monday at the B.C. legislature, with teacher, trustee and parent representatives alongside. Bernier said training the first 2,000 teachers to deliver the new curriculum this year will cost $1 million and take the equivalent of two teaching days. It's up to local school districts to decide how

that time is organized, but it may mean extra non-instructional days or parts of days when students would be sent home early. The new curriculum is being piloted this year for kindergarten through Grade 9 and will become mandatory across the province starting next fall. Curriculum updates for the higher grades are still in development. For the next two years, teachers across B.C. will use one of their current professional development days for curriculum training and an additional five hours, the equivalent of one classroom day, will

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also be devoted to the new curriculum. Bernier confirmed that the program is being implemented within existing budgets. The additional $1 million this year is to fund teacher training seminars and travel costs for rural teachers where the training isn't offered in their home districts. The training plan was announced with representatives of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, the B.C. School Trustees' Association, superintendents, principals and vice principals, parent advisory councils,

independent schools, and the First Nations Steering Committee. BCSTA president Teresa Rezansoff said school boards will decide how to structure the training to "best meet the needs of teachers while minimizing any impact on student learning time." Bernier says the new curriculum emphasizes "hands on" learning and more flexibility for individualized studies. Two areas of emphasis are environmental education and an enhanced aboriginal perspective in every subject.

The man who died following an incident with police at an Agassiz care home last week has been identified. The man was 88-year-old Rene Armand Vaugeois, said the BC Coroners Service on Tuesday. Vaugeois was a resident of Cheam Village, an independent-living seniors' residence in Agassiz. Shortly after 7 a.m. on Sept. 23, Vaugeois became involved in an encounter with Agassiz RCMP officers at the residence. He went into medical distress and died at the scene. Because of the police involvement, the Independent Investigation Office of British Columbia was called in to investigate. Initial reports said the man was holding a sharp object near his stomach, “believed to be a knife,” when police arrived. Vaugeois sustained an injury in the period immediately preceding his death, the coroners service said. Although some reports stated that it was the cause of his demise, the injury was found to be minor in nature and its role in his death is still under investigation. An RCMP member was also stabbed in the leg during the altercation. He was treated and released from hospital. Both the he BC Coroners Service and the Independent Investigations Office continue to investigate. Anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident is asked to contact the IIO toll-free witness line at 1-855-446-8477 (TIPS).

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