By Amy Fendley Myrtle Philip Community School has 516 pupils and enough seats for them all to sit down and face a teacher. Myrtle Philip had 475 students at the end of last season and projected just over 500 for the 1998-99 school year. Some schools in the Lower Mainland may be faced with cutting teaching jobs and losing funding because student enrolment is well below projections. One Myrtle Philip teaching position was vacated early on in the school year by a teacher who relocated to Squamish. Two other teachers will be leaving their classes to go on maternity leave. Principal Bob Daly says these positions were posted and filled quickly. The teachers who were recruited from the area, are Marta Hollander and Nathalie Boisvert. Hollander has already begun her term teaching kindergarten and Grade 1. Boisvert, who will teach the Francophone intermediate program will start within the next few weeks. "We’re really good in terms of staffing," said Daly. "We managed to fill the vacancies quickly." Daly also says that class sizes are within the standards set by the school board’s collective agreement. The maximum for an intermediate class being 30 pupils, a primary class up to 25 and kindergarten 20. "Our numbers were right there with most of them," says Daly. When asked whether or not there was a need for an additional classroom portable in addition to the one the school already has, Daly replied: "It was a close call, but so far, so good." And things are in good shape at Whistler Secondary School, too, says principal Rick Smith. "We’re in real good shape and all the kids are in their places," said Smith. "We have a new science teacher, Jennifer Hancock, moving in to take over senior chemistry and physics. Overall, this month we’ll just be dealing with the usual management stuff."
