The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Creighton high school is beginning to take shape as administrators work on the policies to which the new program will adhere. Attendance, dress code, course registration, and smoking are among the issues that staff and parents have discussed at a handful of planning meetings in recent months. Between 25 and 40 parents have attended the sessions, held at Creighton Community School. "It has gone a lot smoother than I ever anticipated," said principal Guy Row. "I know the decision (to implement the high school) was difficult. I think once the (school) board made their decision and revisited their decision, I think people, certainly staff and students, have gotten right behind it." Creighton Community School will for the first time offer grade 10 programming this fall, with grades 11 and 12 to follow in 2005 and 2006 respectively. From then on, Creighton and Denare Beach students will no longer cross the border to attend high school in Flin Flon as they have for decades. Planning has included meetings not only with parents, but also with students, on what kind of high school Creighton should have. There has been a decisive response to some issues and debate around others. The consensus has been that the school's no smoking policy, for instance, should extend to the high school level. But on the matter of attendance, there are some who believe in a strict policy and others who feel the rules should be relaxed. "The debates have been wide ranging and they've been very positive," said Row. "People have been very honest with us and there have been no acrimonious statements. It's been very, very positive even though we have some parents that we know were opposed (to the high school)." The Creighton School Board will have the ultimate say on all rules for the high school. Row hopes to have the board look at the proposed policies by the end of the month. Not every policy for the high school will have to be worked out by the time the 2004-05 school year rolls around. Topics such as the procedure by which students may drop courses won't be an issue this upcoming year since grade 10 students do not have spares. "Probably most things will be in place within a year from now in terms of policy," said Row. "But we certainly are well on our way to having in place what we need to." As for staffing, all of the required teachers are in place for grade 10. Some will be new faces, but others are current Creighton teachers eager to bring their skills to the high school level. The school board voted 4-2 in December to implement the high school program at Creighton Community School and reaffirmed their decision by a 5-1 consensus vote in February.
