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.
Dear Editor: On many occasions I have read Letters to the Editor only to become incensed by the misconceptions and untruths being told by people concerning the feasibility of extending Creighton School to include grades 10-12. I am concerned that people writing these letters have not read the feasibility study or researched the "facts" that they incorporate into their letters. One such misconception or overlooked fact is that by Mr. Roger Cathcart. He states: "It is unfortunate that the Creighton board of education did not include any outside educators or professionals in drafting the report." As a matter of FACT if you read the report, in Appendix A, you will notice a list of six well respected, diverse educators included in the External Task Members portion of the appendix. These external task members were an integral part of the process of drafting the report. In another letter to the editor, Mr. Glenn Smith made a few statements that I would like to know where he received his information. One such statement was "...School divisions designate one school for university bound students, another for vocational or general students, and perhaps another school for special programs." Recent communications with Saskatchewan Learning, Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation, and many small Saskatchewan schools have indicated that none of them have heard of or could conceive of any such practice in Saskatchewan. Schools all over the province offer different courses within their school to cater to individuals that wish to enter university or vocational or general studies but there are not schools that are designated for each strand (as does Hapnot). The third statement that I would like to take issue with is that of Mr. Smith's statement that in small community high schools the average amount of students going to post secondary institutes is 10-15% after graduating from a small high school. See 'Small' P.# Con't from P.# Again, recent communications with "small community high school" principals in Saskatchewan found that their averages being between 40-60% (as is the case with Hapnot). The "competitive critical mass" did not seem to bother any of these schools, and in one such "small community high school" there were 14 of 19 graduates that moved on to post secondary schools. In communications with the principals of small community high schools, they spoke of parent, community, teacher, and school atmosphere as an integral part of their success both academically and athletically. The students at their schools have competed against large schools and have received numerous university, provincial, and national scholarships. In one such school division, which includes Carlton High School (400 graduates), a female student from a class of 19 graduates won one of the two top scholarships in a major school division. Those same schools have also competed athletically against large schools and have won many tournaments and provincial championships. One such school lays claim to the 2A (26 to 50 female students from grade 10-12) provincial champions in basketball, yet this team beat the 4A (250+ female students grade 10-12) and 5A (city schools such as Carlton High School) provincial champions in the same year. How does Mr. Smith explain this with his "competitive critical mass"? In our own schools Parkdale and Ruth Betts are smaller than that of Creighton and McIsaac. Does this mean, according to "competitive critical mass", that neither of these two schools can compete? Size is not the issue when competing academically or athletically, it's the atmosphere, climate, and the focus of the school. As for the issue concerning saving money and classes available should Creighton School be extended into the high school years, please read the feasibility study that was prepared by an extensive number of educators and professionals. Academics and options will be available to the students should there be an extension of Creighton Community School. Students will not miss out on academic courses such as Calculus, Chemistry and so forth, as Mr. Smith has tried to tell readers. I believe that everyone has the right to express their opinions (Mr. Clarence Pettersen makes many good and well thought out points in his articles). I do not, however, believe that people should be expressing and giving statistics and "facts" if they have not researched them properly or read the Creighton School feasibility study that is available. Some of these letters are more about scaring the reader and misinformation than informing the public on the issues. Sincerely, Jason Straile
