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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, December 15, 2011 · 20 Full-day kindergarten roll out is slow by design By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF With approximately 20 per cent of the public school board's four and five year olds enrolled in full-day, early-learning kindergarten, board staff say the rollout is intentionally slow to reduce problems. The Halton District School Board program is now in the second year of an implementation strategy that the provincial government wants complete by September 2014. It provides full-day, play-based learning for children in junior and senior kindergarten. "We're doing this in 13 schools," said superintendent of education, Mark Zonneveld earlier this fall. "Next year, we'll add the next 19 so that we get better and better. We may decide to go faster than that if we get this better. But right now, let's not create a lot of damage and roll this out too fast. Let's go slowly." With the addition of the 19 schools, the board will have 49 per cent of its kindergarten students in the full-day program. For this year, the Ministry of Education has allocated funding to the board for a total of 52 classes (1,352 students), while the actual enrollment is 62 classes (1,599 students). Zonneveld noted integration has been much smoother this year than the previous year, when the program was in its infancy. Teachers now have a better understanding of the program, he said. Along with the full-day kindergarten, there is also an extended-day program, which is a fee-based, before-and-after school childcare program provided by third-party partners. Zonneveld said there are waitlists for the program. "We moved to eliminate waitlists," he said. "We've provided more space for childcare, before and after school so that we have no waitlists as a result of space." He said wait times could result because of third-party staffing. He said there has been reluctance by teachers to share their classrooms with childcare providers, but the board is working to ensure there is space available for the extended-day programs "We've been moving to lots of communication, lots of idea sharing on how do we share that space and we learn as we go, so we can do this right," he said. Room for teens in PEACE Halton teens interested in learning how the police investigate and prevent crime are advised the Winter Police Ethnic and Cultural Education (PEACE) program still has openings available. The Halton Regional Police Service program, which is for teens between the ages of 15 and 18, runs from 6:30-9 p.m. every Tuesday night for 10 weeks, beginning Jan. 24 and ending March 27. Each week, students will be given presentations by the different units and bureaus within the police service, with the emphasis being on practical demonstration and involvement. Students will also learn about cultural tolerance and inclusion, how the police service strives to provide equitable service for all communities within the region and how they are educating new Canadians and recent immigrants about policing in Canada. For more information visit www.haltonpolice.ca and click on diversity. Complete the application form and mail, fax or e-mail it to the police service's diversity co-ordinator at the contact co-ordinates provided on the application form. Every time you donate to Goodwill, you help someone find a job. Here's how... 1 You donate to Goodwill. 2 Goodwill sells your donations in our stores. 3 The revenues help fund job training and other services to prepare people for job success. 4 People find good jobs. CONVENIENT GOODWILL LOCATIONS Burlington Oakv k ille Milton 4051 New St. 407A Speers Rd. 550 Ontario St. S (at Walkers Line) (west of Dorval) (at Hwy 25 & Derry Rd) 905-333-8989 905-338-6240 905-875-3533 Donate Wisely Not all organizations that collect donations make the best use of them. Some thrift stores solicit donations under the name of a charity but as little as 5 percent of the money generated from these donations may actually go to the charity. At Goodwill, 84 percent of our revenues are funneled directly back into our employment and training programs. Goodwill is consistently ranked among top charities that make your donation go further. 15% Off Every 42 seconds Goodwill connects someone with a job