Dear Editor:
Today I had the pleasure of attending a school sanctioned baseball tournament hosted by Holmesville public school and played at the Lavis and Ginn municipally owned ball diamonds located in Holmesville. This is an annual occurrence and is always hosted by Holmesville, attending were Colborne / Brookside / Holmesville and two GPS teams, which will soon be three or four. The results of the tournament have gone to the score keepers for review as it appears to be a three-way tie. Having said that, it really isn’t about who wins or loses it is about the spirit and intent of the game.
As most of us know “there is no I in Team” and that could not have been more obvious than today while we watched our grade three through grade six HPS students challenge the GPS grades five and six students and win three out of four games. It was interesting to watch Colborne students faced with the same challenge when it came to the number of students and the fact that their team also consisted of grades three through six. The population of these two schools combined offered a solution to an obvious problem, it was interesting to see the parents of the students got it and yet the trustees did not. Even in discussions on Friday, June 15th not all trustees understood that class sizes could have been addressed. AMAZING !!!!!!
I have provided you with a picture from today’s game for you to consider, the ball is up in the air with everyone involved in the game wondering where it will land and who will win or lose! If the ball hits the ground, the game isn’t over and our rural option remains a contender in the game. If the ball is caught the game is over and Toronto wins 7 -1 and “YOUR” legacy lives on. You can probably predict the outcome just as we did back in fall of 2011. I do believe that some of the trustees experienced restless nights as a result of the decisions made prior to the final meeting. I do not believe it was as a result of closing two “rural schools” but more the fact of delivering the message to the communities affected.
There is not a person young enough in our municipalities who will see the day when we Thank You for doing “right thing.” We will never realize that, contrary to your own belief.
Regards
Brian J Barnim
PS: That large yellow thing in the background is a school bus used in the transportation of students in rural areas. I realize we had very little discussion around these transportation wonders as it only impacted your budget by 10 per cent in the transportation portion of your budget. Still only one taxpayer, just a different way of distributing the funds.
