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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Just call it Mining 101. Flin Flon high school students will get a taste of technical careers available in their community's lifeblood industry. Through a partnership with the Northern Manitoba Mining Academy, Hapnot Collegiate has launched a geology course, with classes in surveying and engineering planned. 'Our goal is to really turn our kids on to the possibilities in mining,' said Superintendent of Schools Blaine Veitch. 'So we want to add curriculum that's related to a variety of career areas, and hands-on learning opportunities where they can apply that learning in a real situation.' Six students have registered for Hapnot's new grade 11/12 geology course, which began last month and will run for the rest of the semester. See 'Web...' on pg. 6 Continued from pg. 3 It's a predominantly web-based class, but about every week and a half there is a lab exercise. Some of the exercises will be at Hapnot, others at the Mining Academy. Over the next two years, the goal is to add eight more mining-related courses for a total of nine. That would include three courses _ spread across grades 10, 11 and 12 _ in each of geology, surveying and engineering. Students who pass all nine courses would simultaneously earn six credit hours from the University of Manitoba, a partner of the Mining Academy. The goal is to include hands-on learning by working with local companies. '(Students) are going to get a lot of different opportunities to experience the range of careers and educational opportunities within the mining field,' Superintendent Veitch said. Approval of the new Hapnot-Mining Academy partnership was among the items on the agenda as the Flin Flon School Board met last week. Highlights Other highlights from the Feb. 26 meeting: Trustees voted to boost the home-ec budget by up to $2,000 to cover the cost of student projects. Trustees voted to provide up to $2,000 to support the school wrestling provincials to be held in Flin Flon. Trustee Murray Skeavington, a wrestling coach, abstained. Superintendent Veitch announced that Flin Flon students will participate in World Literacy Day, World Math Day and World Science Day competitions from March 4-8. Using the Internet, they will compete against students from around the world to answer age-appropriate questions. Trustee Skeavington shared how much he enjoyed participating in reading events at Ecole McIsaac and Ruth Betts schools earlier in the day. Trustees learned of safety concerns related to the growing number of small appliances, such as toasters, microwaves and kettles, in Manitoba classrooms. 'It is recommended that, with the exception of classroom facilities designed to support curricular programs (eg., family studies, life skills, etc.),' Keith Thomas, risk manager for the Manitoba School Boards Association, wrote in a letter, 'that such appliances be restricted to cafeterias or where proper eating / cooking facilities exist and where there is proper supervision.' Thomas detailed scalding and burning injuries resulting from hot liquids being spilled, and one ''near miss' incident' in which students at an unidentified school were caught trying to explode a D-cell battery in a microwave. Trustees received the letter as information.
