P1

www.thereckoner.ca

February 2013 VOL. 1 NO. 4

TDSB Keeps SchoolsSchool Buses Cancelled as City Sees Biggest Snowfall since 2011

Open Through Snowstorm

by MAHAN NEKOUIOn Friday 8 February, as meteorologists predicted almost 30 cm of snowfall for what turned out to be the most serious snowstorm since 2011, the police, the Canadian Automobile Association, and school boards across the province urged students to stay off the road. The TDSB, however, remained open. School boards in Halton, Hamilton, and Peel, as well as McMaster University, York University, and parts of the Univer-sity of Toronto were only a fraction of a long list of institutions that decided to keep their students home on Friday. Students, anxious to plan for the day, began checking for a decision on Thurs-day night, but the TDSB’s decision did not appear until early Friday morning. All TDSB school buses were cancelled, but

classes were not. The Ontario Provincial Police reported at least 340 collisions on Friday, and urged drivers to refrain from driving if possible. The TDSB followed this advice by asking their contracted school bus drivers to cancel their service, but stu-dents themselves were left without a way to get to school. Many students were able to walk to school, but those who required the use of a car or the TTC found them-selves being driven in decidedly unsafe conditions. The school’s distaste for the TDSB’s decision was clear. Students, teachers, and administrators all told The Reckoner that they believe that schools should have been closed on Friday. Many classes were covered by on-call teachers, and those

teachers who did show up to their classes found the student turnout too low to con-duct a useful lesson. The TDSB’s justification for such a decision is unknown. Both the school’s trustee Gerri Gershon as well as Director of Education Donna Quan were unavail-able for comment. In the afternoon, Principal Golden-berg announced that the scheduled after-school staff meetings were to be cancelled, and that all students were to vacate the building at the end of classes at 1:45 PM. But for the MGCI community, this was not the end of Friday’s freak snowstorm. The trip home yet awaited.

HowEffective are ourEnglish

Classes?See P3

Literacy Classes at MGCI

by PETER WEN

Blue signs cover MGCI’s halls, adver-tising Ontario Secondary School Liter-acy Test (OSSLT) preparation classes. The courses are not taught strictly to cover test content. In order to improve general literacy skills, Mr. White em-ploys a traditional method of teaching basic English: he points to the words. To avoid having to photocopy pas-sages onto acetate paper before using the projector, he uses a new device called the Lumens Camera Projector, which copies and projects pages from regular books and sheets of paper. The advantage to this is the ability to inter-act with the text; he can point, review sentence structure, and write directly on the copy. This way, he can “show students what key points are necessary to highlight and how to make anno-tations beside each paragraph with a post-it or if they own the document, they can write on it”. Classes are currently running Mon-days and Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 in room 217 with the help of Mr. White, Ms. Huskovic and Ms. Mak. Currently, about 40 students attend these classes which will be held more frequently as students sign up. Mr. White antici-pates more students as there is still a lot of time until the test in April, and because “[Marc Garneau has] a large immigrant population, many students are very bright and multilingual, but English is a new language for them.” All students in grade 9 and 10, as well as any students in grades 11 and 12 who are eligible to write the OSSLT are welcome to attend the classes. Stu-dents who are preparing for the liter-acy test or just want to sharpen their literacy skills should, as the blue signs suggest, see Mr. White in guidance to sign up for these interactive sessions.In It to Wynne It

by MARA GAGIU and LILY SONGOntario’s newest premier-designate, Kathleen Wynne, is Ontario’s first female and first openly lesbian premier. Accord-ing to the Toronto Star, she is a “savvy, gutsy, progressive, reflective politician” who “would probably make the best pre-mier”. Ontarians are hopeful that Wynne will bring fresh and positive changes to

our lives in terms of health, food, and es-pecially education. Wynne is the MPP for Don Valley West: MGCI’s constituency. Starting her political career in 2000, the Torontonian was first elected as a public school trustee in Ward 8 York West. She then entered provincial politics, moving through the cabinet as the Minister of

Education (2006 - 2010), Transporta-tion (2010 - 2011), Municipal Affairs and Housing (2011 - 2012), and Aboriginal Affairs. Winning with 1150 votes to her opponent’s 866, she became Ontario’s premier-designate on 26 January 2013.

See WYNNE on P4

Thorncliffe Park Public School has attracted the attention of a fair num-ber of construction projects since its opening in 1961. Previous upgrades to the public school include a major con-struction project in 2003, which saw the addition of three gyms, numerous courtyards, a play area, as well as a li-brary-theatre system. Following that in 2008, artificial turf and a running track were added as well. Thorncliffe Park PS will be re-ceiving another upgrade soon. The school serves a JK–Grade 5 popula-tion that spans 47 different national-ities. Thorncliffe Park is one of North America’s largest elementary schools with a student population of 1917. Considering the population of the school which almost matches its as-sociated high school (MGCI), Thorn-cliffe Park PS does not currently have adequate facilities to support 28 full-day kindergarten classes. The TDSB is addressing this issue by the construc-tion of a separate, all-kindergarten school beside the main school, com-plete with its own standalone building and principal, with a bridge between the two facilities. The new kindergar-ten school will serve about 700 junior and senior kindergarten students.

See CONSTRUCTION on P4

Thorncliffe Park PS

Construction Projectby DAVID LI

Cat Nap

Artwork on P2 by Ananna Rafa

Artwork on P2by Susie Liu

Garneau students have difficulty getting to and from school through the 27 cm of snow.

Illustration by Susie Liu.

www.thereckoner.ca

February 2013P2 VOL. 1 NO. 4

SWINGby SUSIE LIU

LIFE

NOT EVEN ONCEby MJ CHEN

I have a problem. You see, I love classical music. Of course, I wasn’t supposed to. I was supposed to sit obediently at the piano for eight years. I was supposed to keep awake through tedious lectures on mu-sical rudiments. I was supposed to pull a sixty on the practical exam and quit with a shiny grade twelve credit. That should’ve been my life—clean, orderly, unmusical. But somewhere along the way I made a mistake. I started to embrace the music, broken and fragmented as it was under my two left hands. I opened my ears to five centuries of melodies and harmo-nies, from the delicate (Herr Mozart) to the grotesque (Comrade Prokofiev). Be-

fore I knew it, I was hooked. As I spiralled deeper and deeper into the world of classical music, my cravings gradually got more and more intense. I soon tired of YouTube recordings and library CDs—I needed a stronger fix. I sought music from the source, untouched by studio equipment and low-quality speakers. I wanted it live. It wasn’t long before I was out of pocket money. Every paycheck, allow-ance, and red pocket went straight to the box office on St. Andrew. I learned their names and saw them as heroes—musical director Peter Oundjian, concertmaster Jonathan Crow, even guest conductor Sir Andrew Davis. But to them, I was Patron 347930. Nothing more than a number on

a list, like a name on a prison register. My parents never suspected a thing. To them, it was ‘education’ or ‘culture’, or some other nice, palatable name. I never stood a chance. I’d like to say I could stop if I wanted to, but I can’t. It really changes your life, being a classical music addict. It’s all I listen to nowadays—nothing else gives me the same rush, the same depth of ex-pression. And I’m not alone. There are thousands out there just like me, hooked for life. Nobody ever sees it coming. A so-nata here, a nocturne there—before you know it, you’re out on the cold pavement standing in line for rush tickets. Take a lesson from me. Say no to Dvořák.

What’s the Story?by MICHELLE YEUNG

My feet tap against the tiles of Union Station’s northbound platform, more from the music resonating from my ear buds than from impatience. Tapping in rhythm to the tune that sounds in my ears, the tips of my boots threaten the yellow border that lines the platform. Couples, families, and best friends surround me. Despite being alone, I do not feel lonely in the slightest. After all, I have these strangers, a weathered copy of my favourite book, and my music to keep me company. That is enough for me on this chilly winter evening in To-ronto. Two circular lights emerge from the darkness of the tunnel. The train whisks by me, sending loose strands of my hair into a flurry. I can’t help but smile at the excitement of the little girl beside me. The gust of wind is nearly strong enough to send her flying if not for her father’s strong but gentle grip on her hand. Her pigtails flap behind her as she giggles. I

can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve ridden the subway with my father. Did I wear pigtails? Did my eyes glimmer with such incredulity at the seemingly impossible speed of an incoming subway car? Did he hold my hand with the same grip of a gentle giant? I certainly hope so. The family, couple, friends, and vari-ous other strangers pile into my subway car. Preferring to stand, I lean against the back door. The sound of the doors closing brings a man rushing in. The double doors brush his tailored jacket, still damp from the snow outside. He stands directly in front of me. The insignificant noises of the subway drowned out by the voice echoing from my ear buds, I can’t help but wonder about this man. He’s tall, probably six feet at least. He seems to be in his late forties or early fifties, bits of gray peeking through his slicked-back hairdo. Judg-ing by the nice jacket and shiny leather briefcase, he seems to be quite well-off.

Perhaps he is a lawyer? Or, maybe, he’s the CEO of a big company. Is he mar-ried? Does he have kids? Grandchildren? Perhaps, after a long day of signing pa-pers, he’s heading home to his wife for their twentieth wedding anniversary. Or, maybe, his husband. He gets off the sub-way at Dundas station before I can make any further speculations. My attention turns towards the teen-age couple sitting to my right. Both the boy and girl have black headphones. The girl has hers around her neck, and the boy has his on. They both have blue streaks in their jet-black hair. They hold hands, but they do not look in love. There are subtle mascara stains underneath the girl’s electric blue eyes. Between the boy’s brows is a crease that could either be temporary or permanent, but I can’t really tell. I can see that the girl’s knuck-les have turned white from her grip on the boy’s hand. Is it from anger, or from the desire to not let him go? What hap-

pened? Are they in an argument? Why did they argue? Was this the boy’s fault, or the girl’s? Will they break up, or will they end up getting married? They exit at Eglinton station, leaving me with un-answered questions. Two boys to my left erupt into fits of laughter. The boy with a varsity jacket and quarterback good looks playfully punches his friend. The second boy has tousled hair and wears a wool coat, a collared shirt peeking out from under-neath. They both look to be around eigh-teen to nineteen years old. Intuitively, my gut tells me the two are best friends. Have they been best friends since they were children? Were their parents best friends? Did they spend their entire lives together? I can see that both are very dif-ferent. Were they always different? Or did they change in high school? Perhaps the one in the varsity jacket was on the football team, and the one in the preppy coat and oxford shoes was captain of the

debate team. Or, maybe, it was the other way around. Do they still go to the same school? Will they continue to be best friends? I certainly hope so. They get off at North York Centre station, still laugh-ing. The automated subway voice inter-rupts my thoughts on the tall man, the teenage couple, and the attractive best friends: “Next stop is terminal station: Finch. Finch station.” As I exit the train, it dawns on me that I am once again as alone as I was forty minutes ago at Union station. Except, now, I am no longer in the company of strangers. Although they have all left, their stories still only a sketch in my mind and so very strange, they no longer feel like strangers. And, walking away from the train, I can’t help but wonder: what story did they write for me?

The Reckonerof Marc Garneau C.I.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFMAHAN NEKOUI

PRODUCTION MANAGER

SOHEIL KOUSHAN

NEWS MANAGERTIANYI MA

LIFE MANAGERKASRA KOUSHAN

EDITORIAL MANAGERTHOMAS DONNELLY

DIRECTOR OF PRINT DEVELOPMENT

SUSIE LIU

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHYSABRINA BERTSCH

DIRECTOR OF WEB DEVELOPMENT

ABDULLAH MEMON

BUSINESS MANAGERRIGERS RUKAJ

DESIGN CONSULTANTYANCHENG LU

SAC CORRESPONDENTMICHELLE YEUNG

STAFF MEMBERSABIGAIL CHAU

ALIE TEACHMANANANNA RAFA

CHRISTINA CHENCINDY ZENG

CLAIRE HAMILTONCONNOR ADAIR

DAVID LIFELIPE GONZALEZ

FRIEDA RONGGABRIEL WONG

HENRY HEJACKIE HO

JOSHUA TSENG-THAMKHADIJA AZIZMARA GAGIU

MIKE LIMJ CHEN

NEERAJEN SRITHARANPETER WEN

QUINCY LAMREMI HOSSAINRYAN MARKS

SHIRLEY MIAOTASLIMUL HOQUE

VALIANT CHANVASILI MANIKASYUSRA JANGDA

APPRENTICESBENSON WAN

DANIEL PEKARDAVID HAO

HELEN FENGLILY SONG

KAARTHIC PULOGARAJAHSHELA QIUVICKY XU

CA

T N

AP

AN

AN

NA

by RA

FA

www.thereckoner.ca

EDITORIAL

February 2013 P3VOL. 1 NO. 4

The Prince and the PotheadA Lack of Trust in Politics

by THOMAS DONNELLYA year ago, the Federal Liberals voted in favour of a resolution calling for mar-ijuana to be legalized and regulated. While the resolution doesn’t mean the Liberal party must campaign on legaliz-ing marijuana during the next election, seventy-seven percent of delegates sup-ported the resolution and, in response, interim leader Bob Rae stated that the current drug policy is ineffective. On 28 January of this year, the British Colum-bian branch of the party released a report on the economic benefits of legalization. It also recommended for marijuana to be sold in existing liquor stores, money to be invested in drug education and pre-vention programs, and amnesty to be extended to possession-related offences. When I hear the topic being brought up by people I know, it is always met with

the same criticism. No one disagrees with the move by arguing that the prohi-bition should continue. For that matter, the topic of the resolution isn’t even ad-dressed. “The Liberals are just trying to get more votes”, they say. “They’ll never actually try to change anything.” People simply don’t trust any political action. Obviously, the resolution won’t trans-late into legislation anytime soon. For the Liberal Party, which holds only 34 seats in the House of Commons, just re-gaining its former status as official oppo-sition would be difficult. But what’s im-portant is that a major political party has a chance to reinvent themselves to better fit the views of the people. The Liberals, in response to their current unpopular-ity, are considering changes. ‘Never leave home without a healthy

dose of skepticism,’ so goes the proverb. We should always be doubtful, especially when it comes to politics. But there’s a distinction between skepticism and cyn-icism. If we truly believe that politicians don’t care about issues and only say what gets them the most support in the short-term, what reason is there for us to make our voices heard? Saying the Lib-erals are just trying to grab votes implies that no one should care when party pol-icies change. It means there’s no point involving oneself in politics because the parties and their proposals are insincere. And it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Democracy cannot work without a pub-lic that involves itself and is vocal about what its people want. But what ensures politicians do fol-low through with their promises? That’s

a question we’ll have to answer when the Liberals are choosing a new leader, and in the next federal election. For now, however, it doesn’t make sense to question faithfulness. This resolution wasn’t rhetoric tossed into a speech by the party leader; it was submitted by the youth wing of the party to be voted on by delegates. This is an idea, offered to be added to the party platform and supported by a majority of the party’s members, not to mention a majority of Canadians1. I want parties that try to grab votes. If they look at an issue one way and rec-ognize that the majority of people feel differently, why should they keep an un-popular, impractical or outdated view? Why would they want to? A politician who makes campaign promises that peo-

ple want is more likely to get elected be-cause that politician reflects the people’s views. As for whether or not those prom-ises are kept, a politician who keeps campaign promises is more likely to get re-elected because that politician deliv-ers on the people’s views. To expect all politicians to lie is to give up on our gov-ernmental system. If we expect change, we need to start expecting politicians to follow through. Not because it is the norm or because they seem superficially trustworthy but because it is their job as elected officials.

1h t t p : / / w w w . s u n n e w s n e t w o r k . c a / s u n n e w s / c a n a d a / a r -chives/2012/12/20121204-083953.html

Open the BoxThe Shortcomings of High School English Classes

by ALIE TEACHMAN

Most English teachers spend a lot of time trying to fit their students into a neat lit-tle box. They teach them formulas and structures. They tell them what to write and how to write it. They do all of this so that their students can be “literate”, so that their students can pass the OSSLT. And maybe, if we all cross our fingers, by the end of grade twelve they’ll be able to send an email. It’s important that we don’t send our youth out into the real world unable to communicate with any degree of effec-tiveness. That is what high school En-glish is for, not Shakespeare or Sopho-cles. But this method of education poses a huge problem: students aren’t being taught how to think. I like to believe that the ultimate hope of all teachers is to eventually tear down the box they’ve constructed around stu-dents and let them play. They teach the formulas and structures so that one day students can make their own. Unfortu-nately it seems that most students never reach this point. They never see beyond the five-paragraph essay or word count and page limit. The University of Toronto is finding that its students have trouble with criti-

cal thinking. They’ve sent out a letter to Toronto schools urging teachers to take a different approach with their teaching. Students have become so stuck in their neat little boxes that they can’t get out: every essay needs three points, every paragraph needs an introduction and a conclusion, every piece needs a thesis statement and that statement must be one sentence. Then these students get to university and they’re told that every-thing they were taught is wrong. Every rule they know was meant to be broken. They’re told to be original. They’re told to think. And they can’t because it’s al-ways been forbidden. It’s no wonder that we have issues with plagiarism: new ideas aren’t what it takes to earn a passing grade. All students have to be able to do is regurgitate other peoples’ thoughts into a prettily-for-matted collection of paragraphs in dou-ble-spaced times new roman, or worse, comic sans with borders and fancy line breaks. Students shouldn’t be rewarded for making words that look good. They need to learn how to make words feel good. Realistically, teachers may never be able to provide enough individual atten-

tion to suit every student’s specific needs. Students require feedback and attention and someone to push them to their full-est potentials. Some students need lots of guidance from the instructor, while others need to be thrown into the deep end and left to find a creative and bril-liant way out. Of course it’s unfair to ask this much of a teacher who sees upwards of a hundred students in a day. However, it is possible to provide dif-ferent classes to support the differing needs of our students. At our school, ‘es-sential’, ‘applied’, and ‘academic’ English classes are all offered. It’s important that we make these distinctions. Their purpose is not to separate or alienate students based on their abilities, but to know what kind of box to build for them and how long to let them stay in its com-fort. The reality is that our students are entering post secondary education sorely under prepared. We’ve armed them with a basic understanding of the plotline of a few major classics and an assault of pre-packaged outlines. But we’ve failed to let them in on a vital secret: that essays can be six paragraphs, too.

End Senior Privilegeby MAHAN NEKOUI

A grade 11 student walks into guidance and asks to switch into grade 12 philoso-phy. The course had space. The student had all the prerequisites. A few grade 11 students had even taken the course in semester 1. But the student was turned away. Why? The course spaces were be-ing reserved for grade 12 students who might later decide to take it. Welcome to senior privilege. I should start by saying that Marc Garneau CI is one of the schools least affected by this problem. Our guidance counselors, teachers, and administra-tors have been known to work together to ensure that all students can translate their ambitions to their course schedule. Our administration has implemented a remarkable new policy this year, al-lowing students to take higher-level courses provided they indicate this op-tion on course selection day. Students in other schools often find themselves definitively bound to their own grade’s courses. But still, during course-switching

week, MGCI’s junior students must go to heroics to overcome the senior privilege. We are far from perfect. There are compelling reasons for accelerating courses. Students may be particularly interested in a subject, or looking to broaden their horizons with an attractive specialized senior course. It’s true that many of these ambitious students are setting themselves up for a tough semester, and to ask a teacher to deal with what could be an unusually wide range of abilities is unreasonable. But what about the students who have both the ambition and ability to do well in a higher level course? They’re told to stick to the path. They’re told that they won’t be able to manage. They’re told that the spaces are needed for seniors. So, why do we enforce this system that celebrates mediocrity? The answer is – you guessed it – money. Our province’s education system is an industrial as-sembly line: students walk in; students take largely the same classes in the same

order; diplomas are printed; students walk out. The province has fulfilled its obligation; and suddenly, you’re on your own. As crude as it is, the ministry can’t let teenagers take control of their time-tables because it can’t afford the possi-bility of their failing. Trying to provide a solid education to the largest number of people is rea-sonable, but only to a point. By grade 11, most students are at least sixteen. They’re big kids now; they can make their own decisions. Let’s give high school juniors more freedom to take the electives they want, when they want to take them. If the stu-dent, the parent, and the course instruc-tor all agree that the student is capable, then a student should be allowed into the course. It’s that simple. Classes belong to interested and able students, without regard to grade level. Spots should be given on a first-come, first-served basis. It’s not ambition we should be shut-ting away from guidance offices across the province, but rather senior privilege.

www.thereckoner.caFeedback? Business inquiries? Letters to the editor? Contact us at info@thereckoner.ca

February 2013VOL. 1 NO. 4P4

Ms. Panousis Leaves

GarneauAs semester one comes to an end, one of the friendliest office administrators will be leaving Marc Garneau. Although she was only with us for a short time, Ms. Panousis carefully managed the school’s budget, including the funds for all the clubs. Originally stationed as an office assis-tant at Victoria Park, Ms. Panousis was transferred to work at Marc Garneau in August of 2012. Although very far from her home in Milton, Ontario, she said that the staff were welcoming and nice: working together, they felt like a team. Other school administrators said she got along very well with the the office workers, and that she was very helpful and great with people. Ms. Panousis describes her experiences at Garneau as “wonderful... and the environment was pleasurable and fun to work in.” She also told The Reckoner her favour-ite memories would be of staff, and

of working with students. She helped students with club fundraisers and ac-counts, and managing the budget for the entire school was a challenging and fulfilling experience. The parting administrator leaves us with a bit of advice: “Never give up; make the best of your high school years, because when you’re adults, you won’t be able to go back. There will be good moments, however, there will also be challenging ones. When things seem difficult, make the best of it and forge ahead.” Ms. Panousis will be leaving to be-come an office administrator at York Humber High School. York Humber is significantly closer to her home, almost half the distance compared to MGCI. She says that this will let her spend more time with her family, particularly her two sons.

by LILY SONG and DANIEL PEKAR

Powering Through to Semester Two

by TIANYI MAMusic streams from Marc Garneau’s PA system as students mill about, consult-ing dark green schedules on their way to class after eight days of exams. Whether it was your first time roaming the halls of Garneau or one of your last, 31 January brought a long-anticipated conclusion of Marc Garneau’s 80th semester. Marks entered, exams graded, and results returned, teachers and students alike are slowly settling into the spring semester. Even the washrooms seem quieter during class time as students set-

tle into their new courses. With empty binders, new seating ar-rangements and new course outlines to read, the new semester proved strangely nostalgic to some seniors. “It feels like September again”, comments Joshua T.. Granted, new beginnings are never without tribulation. Winter weather woes aside, Garneau students have dealt with frantic timetable adjustments, and waking up in time for their early period classes. Still, students seem up for the change. “I’m excited,” says a grade 11

student. “Last semester didn’t end on as high a note as I hoped, so I’m happy to start anew”. “I feel great,” adds another. “I was and still am looking forward to it.” Despite all the changes, some things seem here to stay. The 2013 Spring se-mester is the third semester with the new timetable. A year and a half after adopt-ing a schedule with five periods and a spare for each student, students remain ambivalent on the matter. “What I don’t like is the day one, day two.” comments Stephen W., a grade 11 student. “It feels

awkward doing a different thing every day. I want it to become more routine.” Others, like Jacqueline S., think differ-ently: “I like the fact that we all have spares now—I have more time to do work.” After a rocky first semester with labour situations interrupting extracurriculars and in-school events, students remain optimistic about the new beginning. “Both the TDSB and the Liberal Party of Ontario have found new leaders. I think there’ll be some change in the air” com-

ments a student. Last semester, students volunteered to coordinate contests and searched for different ways to remain in-volved while clubs were cancelled. Many found their experiences extremely re-warding. In spite of setbacks, SAC orga-nized a semi-formal dance, and several clubs continue to hold fundraisers and events. It’s safe to say that MGCI is not a school to simply give up. Whether the school’s 81st semester is your second or your last, it, like all others, promises to be an interesting one.

In hopes of improving our economy and reducing the fiscal gap, Wynne has said last month that she is willing to work hard to eliminate the $12 billion deficit by 2017-18, find room for small busi-nesses to expand, and to help welfare recipients find jobs. She cited strength-ening Northern Ontario and other ru-ral agricultural areas a priority as well, and hopes efforts will further economic growth for our province. Speaking to her experience as the former minister of transportation, the idea of investing in bridges, roads, and public transit is high on her website’s to-do list in allowing On-tario to prosper. In order to raise Ontar-io’s quality of living, Wynne said she be-lieves in protecting our health care while

reducing spending amounts, as well as mending together the relationships with Ontario teachers so that it will make “the experience for young people better”. ”I will never stop working to bring people together to find common ground,” said Wynne on her website. And indeed she hasn’t. Wynne has already been made much progress, in-cluding hosting discussions with teach-ers’ unions and swapping out the cab-inets. Despite worries about Wynne’s ignorance of rural Ontario’s pressing issues, she has made promises to serve as the Minister of Agriculture. As both premier and minister, Wynne hopes to regulate urban sprawl and the amount of new wind turbines appearing in rural

Ontario, drawing her closer to the farm-ing community and understanding their needs. This confident political figure has al-ready left good impressions on Ontar-ians: “The right candidate for the lead-ership of our Party can help Ontario navigate these difficult times, and find a way to ensure the best interests of every-one in our province are served. Someone who does not see our province divided as left or right, but someone who takes the middle ground and is a consensus builder. The right candidate is Kathleen Wynne.”, said the minister of Labour, Linda Jeffrey.

NEW LIBERAL LEADERSHIPWYNNE

Continued from P1

The project was set to be completed by the fall of 2012, but parking space issues have forced a redesign, pushing back the opening to September 2013. After TDSB negotiations with Zellers (now Target)

and a nearby church failed, 134 parking spaces have been moved to the roof of the new building. There is talk of naming the new build-ing the Fraser Mustard Early Learning

Academy, in honour of an early child-hood developmental psychologist from Toronto.

New SchoolCONSTRUCTION

Continued from P1

Construction is underway at Thorncliffe P.S.

The sun sets on semester one.