Forest Glade parent protesting plan to move French immersion program
Harmony Peach says she will speak out at the board's information meeting Wednesday night at the former Eastwood Public School.
"From a logistical standpoint, we will now have three children who will be attending three different schools, which will require three different arrivals and three different pickups," Peach said.
"Our youngest is going to face being trucked four times the distance away," as a result of the change, she said, and she's also worried about the psychological impact of the move.
The school board sent a letter to parents on Friday, signed by Superintendent of Education Todd Awender, informing them of the change.
"It must be noted that this decision was necessary due to the declining French immersion enrolment at Forest Glade Public School," the letter read.
Questions about enrolment numbers
But Peach said she's skeptical of the suggestion that numbers are down because her daughter, who is in junior kindergarten, has 24 children in her class.
She also questioned if the board was relying on numbers from the era of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders to inform its long-term planning.
The school board's superintendent of elementary staffing said COVID-19 did impact French immersion enrolment right across the province, but enrolment at Forest Glade has not trended up again since.
In 2019, the school, which had been adding a French immersion option to one grade every year, had 149 students enrolled in the program ranging from junior kindergarten to Grade 3, Kari Bryant said.
This year, it has 151 French immersion students between junior kindergarten and Grade 8.
Peach's daughter's class is actually a combined junior and senior kindergarten class, Bryant said.
"We had hoped that all of our French immersion programs would be robust and viable, and that we wouldn't be at this point," Bryant said.
"But we're just not seeing parents make those choices."
School board decision based on data, superintendent says
Peach is also frustrated about how the information about the change was communicated to parents, she said.
"There's been no public consultation for it," she said. "There's been no public discussion …we received a letter home just this Friday rumpled at the bottom of my child's bag."
But Bryant said the decision is based on data, and the board has to act in ways that "prioritize program sustainability and student success."
"We really have to make those decisions and then work with families to listen to concerns and answer questions and support them through this transition," she said.
The community meeting will allow the board to hear logistical concerns, such as Peach's about busing and conflicting pick-up times, and try to address them, she added.
Bryant says Forest Glade is one of two schools whose French immersion programs are moving due to low enrolment.
The program at Marlborough Public School is also moving to Bellewood Public School because enrolment at Marlborough has declined to the point where the board was forced to combine children in three grades into a single class.
"We had a Grade 2,3,4 and a Grade 5,4,7 this year," Bryant said.
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Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg libraries take huge hit from lost, unreturned items
Perched on the stone ledge outside the Millennium Library, a lifelong reader settles into his next book. John, 71, has loved the library as long as he can remember, having popped in once a week for years. On Friday, he checked out a backpack's worth of hardcover sci-fi and fantasy novels. Even he has, at least once, been fined for losing a library book. 'I tried to replace it, and they wouldn't take it, they wanted the one that I took out,' he joked. MALAK ABAS / FREE PRESS John, 71, loves a good book. He's taken out hundreds from the library, and admits he's lost at least one. He's not the only one. Records released under FIPPA show the cost of Winnipeg Public Library material marked 'lost' or 'not returned' increased exponentially from 2020 to 2024. The lowest-cost loss in those years was in 2021, when the library lost $77,519 worth of material. In 2024, the most recent data available, city libraries had their highest yearly loss, $212,832. The amount doesn't include material that has been removed due to wear and tear. When told about the dollar amounts, John shrugs. The library could do more to prevent losses, he said, but he guesses that the numbers reflect more and more people enjoying the library, as the cost to buy books gets higher. 'I make sure I return books in good condition. I mean, I like books, and I think the library's a great place,' said John, who didn't want to give his surname. 'If there wasn't the library, a lot of people wouldn't be reading. It's so expensive to buy a book at the drug store or something.' Provincial data show Winnipeg Public Library branches have nearly 900,000 print items, 43,337 audio items, and 43,606 video items, along with a number of digital, serial and miscellaneous material. The operating expenditures for physical material was $1.66 million in 2024. Pam McKenzie, a communications officer with the City of Winnipeg, said a number of changes in the past five years that could be responsible for the increase in lost and not returned items: closures due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, the post-pandemic spike in borrowed material, the removal of fines for late returns as of Jan. 1, 2021 (although charges are imposed for lost or damaged items). Some libraries have expanded hours over the past five years and inflation has resulted in library items being more costly. While most Winnipeg library items are returned on time, the items most often not returned are adult non-fiction book, DVDs, and video games. 'Providing access to material and information are core library services,' McKenzie said in a statement. 'We encourage all customers to return their items so they can be enjoyed by others.' If an item is overdue by 21 days, its cost is charged to the cardholder, and the charge is removed once they return it. If a reader owes $50 or more, or if they have 10 or more overdue items, their card is suspended. Depending on the situation, the account could be sent to a collections agency. At the South Central Regional Library, which includes rural branches in Altona, Manitou, Miami, Morden, and Winkler, fines for late materials still exist. They send out automatic billing notices when a book is late, but will refund the cost if it's returned within three months. It's relatively rare for a book not to make it back after that, said SCRL director Cathy Ching. 'It has definitely dropped the amount of payments we have received on lost books, because people want their money back,' she said. 'When you have to pay full price for a hardcover book, it makes you look a little harder.' Fines total $20,000 a year for the seven libraries, Ching said, which is spent on programs. The SCRL faced threats of defunding over books about sex and gender education in their libraries in 2023. 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Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
2 days ago
- Global News
Survivors recall frantic escape 20 years after Air France crash in Toronto
Lisa Platt was returning to Toronto with a French exchange student on Air France flight 358 on Aug. 2, 2005. At 15, Platt hadn't travelled by air very much at that point and was enjoying the trip. 'We were all excited, wearing headphones, listening to the same music. It was a great day,' said Platt. Eddie Ho, age 19, was a business student from South Africa attending Queen's University in Kingston. He also said the trip from Paris was memorable. 'The service was great, the food was great, it was actually a very enjoyable flight,' Ho said. But it was a flight that ended with the plane going up in flames after a disastrous landing, even though it initially appeared to passengers that the pilots would be able to stop on the runway 24L at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Story continues below advertisement 'I felt a huge impact like you were on a roller-coaster,' said Platt. 'The plane was making its way down the runway and everybody started clapping. Nobody knew what was going to happen after that,' said Ho. View image in full screen Lisa Platt and Eddie Ho are pictured in downtown Toronto in July 2025. Sean O'Shea/Global News According to the aviation investigation report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, weather conditions for the landing included 'very dark clouds, turbulence and heavy rain.' 'The runway was covered with water, producing a shiny, glass-like surface,' the report continued. The Air France Airbus A340 touched down '3,800 feet down the 9,000 foot runway' and was not able to stop, crash investigators concluded. 'It departed the end of the runway at a groundspeed of 80 knots (148 kilometres per hour) and came to rest in a ravine,' the TSB report said. Story continues below advertisement Seconds after the plane came to a stop, fire was observed out the left side of the aircraft and smoke was entering the cabin, the report said. 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Story continues below advertisement Platt, seated with her friend toward the rear of the plane, had an easier time escaping. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'My shoe popped off. I remember grabbing my shoe with my hand thinking, 'I'm going to need this,'' Platt said. After descending on the escape slide, Platt observed a passenger concerned about what he left behind. 'I remember a guy in a brown suit worried about his luggage at the bottom of the chute, and I thought, that's not the right time to worry about your luggage,' Platt said. View image in full screen Police survey the site where an Air France Airbus A340 jet slid off the runway and crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005. All 309 passengers and crew aboard the Air France jet survived the crash Tuesday afternoon. David Duprey/AP via CP Ho, Platt, and others made it out of the plane, but weren't out of danger yet. 'My first thought was, we have to get away from the plane because it's going to explode,' he said. Story continues below advertisement 'We need to get away.' Ho said he and another man assisted an injured passenger lying on the ground. '(We were) carrying him, just trying to drag him away from the plane,' said Ho. About the same time, Ho pulled out his Canon Powershot digital camera and quickly grabbed a few frames of the burning airplane as he moved away. At the time, smart phones hadn't been invented and few people carried cameras every day. 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'It was exhausting, I think it was the next day when it all hit me,' said Platt. In the months and years ahead, the survivors would come to terms with what they had gone through that afternoon in the driving rain and lightning at the end of the runway. Ho and Platt experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sought help from therapists for about a year. 'I remember I started to get nightmares, and I slowly didn't like to be on buses, I didn't like to be in cars,' said Platt. To this day, Platt says she must be the one driving a vehicle in a rainstorm. At the end of her counselling sessions, Platt says her therapist would hold her feet for about five minutes, encouraging her to stay grounded. Platt later had the Air France flight number, AF 358, tattooed on her ankle, a daily reminder of what she had survived. Air France provided a free, return trip to every passenger on the ill-fated flight. Platt chose to travel back to Paris and to return to Toronto exactly one year later on the same day and flight. Story continues below advertisement 'I cried and you grip harder than you normally grip,' she said, referring to holding to the armrests. Years later, Platt went on to pursue a career that might be considered unusual for an air crash survivor. 'I thought, 'I want to be a flight attendant, I want to get on these planes and I can do this,'' Platt said. After initially working as a customer service representative, Platt got a job as a flight attendant with Porter Airlines. She spent almost ten years with the company flying in and out of Toronto before pursuing another career. Eddie Ho finished his university education and became a chartered professional account in Toronto. He says he took first flight a year after the crash but it took about five years before he stopped thinking about the crash when he boarded plane. 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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Two pubs claim to be London's oldest riverside pub. Which one is right?
LONDON (AP) — On a charming cobblestone street tucked away in London's East End, a pub proudly hangs out a sign that reads 'Oldest riverside pub in London.' Across the Thames River, a pub with a different name makes the same bold claim. The unofficial title of the oldest riverside pub in the city has long been disputed, with both the Mayflower and the Prospect of Whitby laying claim to the title. The two contenders can be found along a quiet stretch of the Thames, far from the city's crowded souvenir shops and tourist sites, serving up traditional British dishes — from steak and ale pie to sticky toffee pudding — with a side of history. The Mayflower is named after the Pilgrim Mayflower ship, which set sail from the site in 1620 to begin its journey to America. Though it only got its name in 1957, it is said to have some of the ship's original timbers incorporated into its structure. Today, pubgoers who can prove direct descent from one of the Mayflower passengers can sign its 'Descendants Book.' Escaping the skyscrapers Every night, tourists step out of black cabs at the doors of the two pubs, trading the capital's modern skyscrapers for the storied streets of London's East End, lined with quaint terraced houses and red brick warehouses. In both pubs they enter spaces where old paintings hanging on dark paneled walls and other mementos of their histories seem to leave the contemporary world behind. 'There really is a feeling that you might have stepped back in time and could be drinking beer with sailors or pirates or anybody from any Dickens novels really,' said Emily Godwin, a Londoner who has been to both. She spoke while sipping a pint of lager with friends at the Prospect on a recent summer evening. The Prospect boasts a pewter bar – the longest of its kind in Britain — where the infamous 'Hanging Judge Jeffreys' is said to have watched the many hangings that took place at the nearby 'Execution Dock.' Early on, the pub was known as the Devil's Tavern due to its association with thieves and smugglers. A hanging noose outside serves as a reminder of the pub's grisly history. It 'feels like such a pocket of history in London,' Godwin said. 'So much of London's East End feels very new and trendy, and the Prospect feels like it's barely changed.' Challenging times for the pub industry British pubs have always been at the center of social life, with locals coming together over a pint, even in times of war and economic hardship. But the last five years have been challenging for the industry as pubs contended with the COVID-19 pandemic and rising costs. This year an estimated 378 venues are set to shutter across England, Wales, and Scotland, according to the British Beer and Pub Association. 'When a pub closes, it puts people out of a job, deprives communities of their heart and soul and hurts the local economy,' said Emma McClarkin, head of the BBPA. Pubs across the country have been forced to find new ways to attract customers. History is a big draw for pubgoers, with a trip to a traditional British pub coming in high on tourists' London bucket lists, raising the stakes of the Prospect and the Mayflower's competition. A 'loving rivalry' The Prospect claims it was established in 1520, with its original flagstone surviving an arson attack in 1666 — the same year as the Great Fire of London. The pub was outside of the city limits at that time and was not affected by the conflagration that gutted the medieval city. Justin Billington, assistant manager at the Prospect, said some people date the pub to its full reconstruction in 1774 after the 1666 fire. But he doesn't see it that way, noting that it operated continuously. The day after the fire, the workers rolled out a barrel of beer that had survived the flames and locals showed up with their tankards, drinking vessels, and enjoyed a drink on the spot. There were several reconstructions in the pub's subsequent history, but none withstood the salt water and shifting foundations of the Thames, Billington explained. Not, that is, until 1774 when the retired captain of a merchant ship called 'The Prospect' rebuilt it using the ship. 'This rebuild held and continues to hold on for dear life,' he said. If the pub was actually established in 1774, that would make the Mayflower — established in the 16th century — older. But there are no hard feelings between the pubs as Billington described their competition as a 'loving rivalry.' 'We compete against each other to be the oldest, and to serve the best food and drink,' he said. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The search for the oldest pub in London But the question remains: How can either pub definitively claim the title? Unlike the title of the 'Oldest pub in England,' held by the Porch House in southern England, which is said to date to the 10th century, there is no official certification for the oldest pub in London. Guinness World Records said it has not formally awarded the title because of the complexities created by numerous name changes, relocations and reconstructions. 'There are lots of very old pubs that might make a claim to being oldest, but it could be contested because it could be argued they weren't always in 'London,'' English historian and author Jacob Field said. 'Many pubs have changed name over time, making it hard to claim they are the oldest.'
