SUMMERLAND REVIEW
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VOLUME 68 • ISSUE NO. 49 • SUMMERLAND, B.C. • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2015 • $1.15 INCLUDING GST
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Dec. 19, 2015 Redeemable until Jan. 19, 2016
Welcoming refugees
More than 80 people attended a meeting to discuss how to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis.
Page 3
Council’s response
S u m m e r l a n d ’s municipal council has responded to a potential school closure.
Page 7
Holiday drama
The Summerland Singers and Players will hold a special Christmas production.
Page 9
Food bank cooler
The Summerland Food Bank and Resource Centre has acquired a new walk-in cooler.
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Steam progress
The Summerland Steam had a turnaround month on the ice in November.
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Concerned parents
John Arendt Summerland Review
Parents of students at Giant’s Head School are uncertain about the future of the elementary school. From left are Jenny Kunka, Shawn Landriault and his threeyear-old daughter Chloe, Izabela Seel and Jennifer Martin.
Parents frustrated Teachers and parents urge board to keep Giant’s Head School John Arendt Students in Summerland would be best served by a middle school model, parents and teachers told trustees at a public hearing. The hearing, at Giant’s Head School on Dec. 3, was the eighth in a series of public input sessions on proposed changes to cope with low enrolment throughout the school district.
Linda Van Alphen, chair of the school board, said school closures are necessary to cope with low enrolment and limited funding. If no changes are made, she said other cuts must be made, likely to staffing and programming. “We’re in a position where it’s critical,” she said. One of the nine changes under consideration is to close Giant’s Head School and move the students to the Summerland Middle School building downtown.
The middle school building would then house students from Kindergarten to Grade 7, while students from Grades 8 to 12 would be at Summerland Secondary School. At present, Giant’s Head School and Trout Creek School house students from Kindergarten to Grade 5, while the middle school houses students from Grades 6 to 8 and Summerland Secondary School accommodates Grades 9 to 12. While Giant’s Head School is
full, the middle school and high school are below capacity. At present, there are 465 open seats in Summerland schools, Van Alphen said. Tina Martin said the school closure would affect more students than any other closure under consideration. “We already have the largest elementary school in the district,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense that our whole community school system would be reconfigured.”
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