NEWS
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The 3 R’s still rule
GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
BROCKVILLE | Scores in the three R’s con- tinue to soar higher in Upper Canada district schools. But district want to see students grow even stronger with their reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic. Upper Canada District School Board trust- ees (UCDSB) reviewed a report from Educa- tion Director David Thomas on the results of Ontario’s Education Quality and Account- ability Office (EQAO) standardized tests for the province in general and the UCDSB in particular. Thomas reported excellent re- sults for Upper Canada over the past de- cade of testing and he has hopes they will get even better in future. “Our classes are becoming places of learning as opposed to places of schooling,” Thomas told trustees. EQAO scoring for the past 10 years shows primary composition skills have risen from 52 per cent of UCDSB students able to write at either the third or fourth level to 74 per cent now. In the junior grades reading scores have gone from 52 per cent to 74 while writing skills improved from 45 per cent to 71 per cent over a 10-year span. Junior math scores are also higher at 77 per cent compared to 67 per cent a decade ago. But the increase is not as significant as for reading and writing and Thomas prom- ised the board that helping students de- velop their arithmetic skills, both in the pri- mary and junior class grades, will get more attention in the district’s curriculum plans. Police thank drivers in advance for staying safe The annual Festive Rider police counterat- tack on drunk drivers during the Yuletide season starts this weekend. But police are thanking drivers ahead of time who make a point of avoiding getting too “cheerful” during the holidays. The OPP R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driv- ing Everywhere) campaign kicks off Nov. 23 and continues through to Jan. 2, 2014. OPP and other police forces in Ontario will be doing regular checkstops during the com- ing weeks to intercept suspected impaired drivers and also check on vehicle safety, and enforce provincial regulations on manda- tory seatbelt use and the ban on cellphone texting and other activities that distract driver attention on the road. “I am calling on all road users to help us keep everyone safe over the holidays,” stated Superintendent Don Bell, OPP high- way safety division commander. “Never al- low yourself to drink and drive, never allow someone you suspect is impaired by alcohol or drugs to drive, and if you are out on the road and suspect that a driver is impaired, call 911. I would like to thank in advance the hundreds of thousands of drivers we know we can count on to take these simple but important measures to help us get every- one through the holidays safely.
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