“

_A6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 1, 2006”

ing activities.

a That time of year |
ALICIA BROUSSEAU is surrounded by sandbags ‘filled by local scouts. The

sandbags, meant to provide weight for vehicles during winter driving condi-
tions, are now on sale at various locations. Money raised goes toward scout-

ALICE SEXTON PHOTO

Dear Sir:

“School board chair Lorrie
Gowen’s quoted comments
“about French Immersion in
~ your Oct. “11 issue are both’
irresponsible and" unfaiz.
~ While she is right to seek
full: information about the’
potential costs and benefits

_ of reconfiguring Kiti K’San |

‘as a K-7 French Immersion
‘.school, she is wrong to spec-

ulate as she does on what .

that information might be.
- Ms. Gowen states she has
a “feeling” that FI is “subsi-
“dized” without stating what
that “feeling” is based on
or giving her definition of a
“subsidy”.

Would she characterize_

"the costs of providing other
_ School district programs,
. Such as special education,
gifted education, music edu-
cation ‘or First Nations edu-
cation as a “subsidy”, while
- speaking of the participants _
of those programs and their
families as “them”? We sin-
cerely hope not.

‘Ms. Gowen scapegoats -

the FI program by suggest-
ing that parents’ aspirations
to strengthen FI will scuttle
a heretofore unmentioned
return to the’five day week,
yet she provides no detailed
explanation to support such
a statement.

She further does a dis-
service to First Nations stu-
dents and their families by
portraying the program as
primarily non-native.

_ The: French Immersion
program in Terrace has
students from a variety of.
economic and cultural back-
grounds,
First Nations children than
Ms. Gowen might assume.

Parents of varied back-

grounds are capable of see-

- ing. the intellectual; social
.. and economic. benefits of
learning a second or third
language at a young age.’

figuration,

including © more’

‘ime for all the facts’

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

Instead « of painting the’
program as a burden, Ms.
Gowen, as board ‘chair,

should support efforts to”
‘strengthen it, in the recogni-

tion that a strong FI program
has the potential to not only

-better serve those students

participating now, but many

“more students in the future. _
It can also. help Terrace

present itself as a good place
in which to live, ‘work, and
raise a family. We welcome

any public: consultation . on.

the south side school recon-
and encourage

“

‘aie ira

parents of children in all

programs to attend and voice

. their opinions and concerns.

We will be there to sup-
port our opinions. with facts
as best we can. We hope
schoo! district officials will
provide the financial and
other information needed to
properly discuss this propos-
al. Let’s resist Ms. Gowen’s
“us” and “them” approach
and work together to ensure
all school district programs
are the best they can be. ..

Johanna Payjack,.
. Terrace, B.C.

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