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www.gregmonforton.com Volume 2, Issue 06
Weekend Weather Thursday
H 8º L 6º
Friday
H 6º L-2º
Saturday
H 6º L-1º
Sunday
H 0º L-3º
As reported from Environment Canada www.weatheroffice.gc.ca Harrow AAFC
SUNDAY MARCH 13 AT 2 AM
SPRING YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
FREE
www.southpointsun.ca
Students voice their opinions on their education
By Sheila McBrayne What do Ontario students think should be taught during sexual-education class? How much physical education is enough? And how many students are being affected by bullying in schools? An organization of students sought out the answers to these and other questions in a province-wide survey of their fellow students. The Ontario Student Trustees’ Association – the organization representing elected student trustees across the province – in partnership with Student Vote and Scholarships Canada released a report highlighting what they discovered. The survey included 69 of the 72 school boards across Ontario. The 15 boards with the greatest number of responses to the survey were used in a pie graph to demonstrate the results. The Greater Essex County District School Board was among the top 15 boards to participate. Leamington District Secondary School Grade 12 student Jessica Mastronardi, 17, is one of two student trustees on the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB). “I was surprised by the bullying stat – I thought it would be higher – but I guess it’s good that it wasn’t. Maybe it shows that all the awareness is working,” said Mastronardi. Some highlights include: • 72% of students believe cellular phones have no role to play as an educational tool in the classroom, challenging the caricature of students as overzealous cellphone enthusiasts. (GECDSB 62.2%) • 82% of students believe information on all sexualities should be taught during sexualeducation classes, possibly signalling a generational shift in attitudes towards sexual orientation. (GECDSB 81.1%) • 46% of students have been bullied in school. School bullying is widely reported but the extent it reaches the student population is overwhelming. (GECDSB 43%) • 50% of students feel they would benefit from starting their school day at 10 a.m. or later. The idea for a later start for high-school students has been recommended in education circles to compensate for teenage sleeping patterns. (GECDSB 52.7%) • 46% of students believe physical education should be mandatory until the end of high school. Ontario presently requires students to earn one credit in health and physical education. (GECDSB 47.3%) • 57% of respondents thought their school’s guidance system did offer enough support to them and their peers. (GECDSB 55.4%) More than 2,600 Ontario students (71.2% female and 85% in Grade 12) took part in the Ontario Student Survey, expressing their opinions on current issues impacting their education. The survey was hosted on Facebook through a downloadable application that students accessed from November to January. It was also available for non-Facebook users. The student trustees approached their peers through student senates and student councils to identify the issues explored in the survey. The final ten questions were constructed from the most frequently submitted issues. “Now the trustees are promoting the results of the survey. It was all student-driven. I think it shows that secondary students care about their education and care about what happens in the schools… We do want our wishes to be heard,” she added. The student trustees committee will be writing up reports on the question topics to look at what can be done
Jessica Mastronardi, GECDSB Student Trustee
with the results. Mastronardi has been serving as one of two student trustees on the GECDSB since September 2010. “It’s been the best experience I’ve ever gotten. It’s opened so many doors and opened my eyes to so much opportunity to make a difference… I’d like to go to Ottawa and maybe take politics now… I just think it shows there is a chance for better education and I get to be a part of it,” said Mastronardi. The graduating Mastronardi is the daughter of Katherine Ketler and Danny Mastronardi of Leamington.
Sonic boom creates third “quake” Flyers series tied 2-2 Page 12
“It was like a loud thud.” “It sounded like a boom.” “It shook the house.” “I thought it was another earthquake.” Wheatley and Leamington area residents reported various degrees of sound and vibration, but all agreed that at 5:10 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1 something happened. The noise shuddered from Windsor to Wheatley as reports to radio stations and Natural Resources Canada - which monitors earthquakes - flooded in Tuesday night. According to Natural Resources Canada there was no seismic activity (earthquake) recorded at that time. Of course residents in the Wheatley area had good reason to suspect another earthquake or aftershock having just experienced a 3.0 magnitude quake
on February 23 at 9:21 a.m. and a subsequent tremor registering 2.7 on February 25 at 5:13 a.m. On Wednesday morning, March 2 NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) issued a press release saying the F-16s, under the direction of NORAD, intercepted a corporate jet “that was out of communications” near Toledo, Ohio at about 5 p.m. Tuesday. Major Gary Bentley, executive officer for the 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio National Guard, confirmed Wednesday morning that the fighter jets did go supersonic. The noise and thud was the sonic boom created by the jet. The corporate jet regained communications after contact with the NORAD fighters and continued on its scheduled flight plan, according to NORAD.
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