September is a time for new starts, particularly as kids head back to school next week. The buzz around the real “new year” of the year is well captured by the hive of activity on the construction site for the new Argyle Secondary.
The project hasn’t been without its troubles – notably years of delays that had the predictable result of ballooning a $49-million price tag to a $61-million one. But finally, it’s underway.
Meanwhile, additional portables are continuing to be plunked down at other North Van schools each year.
Also looming over the new school year is the ongoing provincial bargaining with teachers. Although the NDP is a more sympathetic dance partner than the BC Liberals were, the issue of what to do on the key issue of class size and composition remains a thorny one for both teachers and the government. The reality is that fewer students per class means more classes and those mean more classrooms – and eventually more requests for spending on new schools and expansions. That isn’t lost on those holding the government purse strings who were paying attention in math class.
This weekend also marks the tradition of North Shore high school students marking the start of the year with bush parties. And while “unauthorized social gatherings” involving drugs and booze are not exactly new among teens, the potential dangers faced now are particularly acute.
As these “rites of passage” seem to grow each year, we’ll offer the observation that this really is only the beginning. There will be other milestones, and more joyful and important ones.
Let’s not make the “last year of high school” anyone’s “last year,” period.
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