Our Annual Meeting October 28, 1970 provided an opportunity for presenting to our membership an overall view of the Regional Planning Boards. Mr. Donovan Russell, head of the Department of Education’s Educational Planning Unit, made a very able presentation showing the proposed area boundaries and giving the rationale behind the planning.

The National Department of Health and Welfare invited the assistance of Home and School in promoting a DON'T START campaign to discourage smoking by school children, and offered cash prizes for essays and posters. Mr. Om Joshi kindly undertook the chairmanship of the Smoking and Health Committee. In March 1971 we launched a poster and essay contest in the schools across the Island, culminating in the presentation of awards to the winners by the National President of Home and School, Mr. Vic Dotten, in May 1971 on the occasion of our Semi-annual Meeting.

As a follow-up, in the fall of 1971 we participated in a smoking survey during which we distributed 3,000 questionnaires to students across the Island, and later forwarded these to Waterloo University for processing. These data were to produce the first nation-wide statistics on smoking habits.

Horne and School was asked to participate in a two-day Seminar on Drugs held in December 1970, and Hesta MacDonald represented us at these meetings. The seminar was the result of recommendations made by the late Mr. Elmer Blanchard, Attorney General. Discussions covered such topics as why young people are motivated to take drugs, the rebellion of youth, the

need for adults to understand, and the need for drug education in the schools.

Home and School was happy to meet with the President’s Committee on Teacher Training comprising Prof. Smitheram, Dr. Leon Loucks, Mr. Eric Hillis, and Miss Doris Anderson. Some of the areas we stressed were the raising of standards for teachers, programmes designed specifically for elementary and secondary school teachers, a short course for supervisory teachers working with trainee teachers, and courses in curriculum development and the teaching of slow learners. We supported the concept of an internship for teachers to be followed by a permanent licence after two or three years. Also mentioned was the need of perma-

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