CTR CATHOLIC BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

Following a comprehensive AI Program Review last year, continued exploration of emerging AI opportunities and challenges has shaped a two-year action plan. Year 1 will focus on foundational learning and planning for administrators, and Year 2 will move into implementation through subject and grade-specific professional learning. Evaluation and refinement of the plan will be ongoing and consultation with a third-party partner is underway.

At a recent PD session, learning support teachers deepened their understanding of Student Services referral processes, service thresholds, and programming requirements to support equitable student access. Professional learning emphasized universal supports that foster independence and inclusive classrooms, while multidisciplinary sessions in behaviour, speech-language, occupational therapy, and mental health strengthened staff capacity to meet diverse learner needs.

CTR's teacher supervision, growth and evaluation process includes the evaluation of new teachers and enhanced supervision of current staff. New staff undergo robust observations with midpoint and year-end evaluations. Current staff undergo evaluation, including observation, on a four-year cycle. The process promotes professional excellence, faithful reflection, accountability, and continuous improvement.

The École Good Shepherd replacement school is scheduled to open in September 2027. The new location and grade configuration necessitates a review of the Okotoks attendance boundaries, and a community engagement is scheduled for November 2, 2026. Community feedback gathered will help inform the decision-making process. More information can be found here.

Bishop McGrattan joined the Board for a portion of their meeting to speak about an assurance tool that has been developed by the Bishops to ensure Catholic schools are authentically Catholic and respecting of human dignity. The assurance tool will be utilized by CTR in this year's review of Catholic Education as per Board Policy 28 School Program Reviews.

The connection between the Brooks schools and the parish is being enhanced with the addition of Seminarian Andre Boudreau who is teaching in classrooms and joining student activities. Lunch visits at Christ The King Academy and St. Joseph's Collegiate provide an opportunity to connect with both youth and staff. Staff are also able to attend bible studies with Mr. Boudreau.

The Pauw Foundation continues to provide valuable support to Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Academy through enriched learning experiences for students at every grade level and funding an additional Family School Liaison Worker. In addition, their support enables School Council to allocate more fundraising proceeds toward transporting students to the parish for Mass.

Trustee Salm shared that Holy Cross Collegiate began the year with an Opening Mass and a procession of the Blessed Sacrament from the church to the school, symbolizing the return of the Eucharist to the school community following the summer break. This visible expression of faith provided a meaningful beginning to the school year.

At its meeting of October 22nd, the Faith and GrACE Committee received an update on CTR's 2026-2027 faith plan, including information on the faith team roles, year one of the three-year faith theme, faith priorities, faith retreats, Catholic Education Week, and Faith Days. Paramount to the meeting was the Committee's commitment to reinvigorate GrACE and actively recruit for new members.

By motion, the Board approved in principle St. John Paul II Collegiate's international trip during the 2028 Easter break to Ireland. The trip will now be presented to the Okotoks Ward I Committee, and if supported will return to the Board for approval in full.

Harry Salm, Strathmore Trustee

Greetings from the Board of Trustees of Christ The Redeemer (CTR) Catholic School Division!

As we move into November, we start with All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and the first Gospel reading is from Matthew and gives us the Beatitudes. Remembering the Saints gives us direction to look around and see Jesus in everyone we encounter as we are created in the image and likeness of God. Next, we remember those who have gone before us. We offer Mass and prayers to God that the faithful departed be welcomed into heaven. Finally, the Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew emphasize spiritual dependence, comfort in mourning, humility, justice, mercy, purity, peacemaking, and endurance through persecution. These three together represent some of the traditions and values put forward to our students every day.

The main value of Catholic education is the holistic formation of the whole student - integrating intellectual and academic excellence with spiritual, moral, and character development rooted in the Gospel values of Jesus Christ.

If Catholic identity in our schools is not front and center, obvious in all that we do, we may be simply another good school in the area. Academic excellence is crucial, but without our Catholic identity, we cease to have a defensible reason to exist.

As Catholic school trustees, we approve, undertake cyclical reviews and amend our school division policies to reflect the expectations that we have for our schools in our division. This is the identity we seek to create in all CTR Catholic schools.

Christ The Redeemer Catholic School Division has a strong history of advocating to the provincial government for Catholic education through our MLAs and the Education Minister and working with our local Bishop to present Catholic virtues to our students and instill that recognizable Catholic identity in every Catholic school. We also meet regularly with our local municipalities, both rural and urban, to present our concerns and our successes and to also discuss future school sites.

Publicly-funded Catholic education is truly a blessing for us in Alberta, and at Christ The Redeemer Catholic Schools, we direct our efforts to advocate for this and for the benefit our students experience in our Catholic schools.

Thank you very much, and may God’s blessings be with all of you.

The next Board meeting will take place on Thursday, November 26, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at the Catholic Education Centre, #301 - 23 Riverside Drive, Okotoks.

Back row from left to right: Andrew Gustafson, Vice Chair, Okotoks; Dr. Matthew McIsaac, Chair, Canmore; Harry Salm, Strathmore; Michelle Rude-Volk, Oyen

Front row from left to right: Michelle Gietz, Brooks; Louise Henrickson, Drumheller; Andrea Keenan, Foothills County; Jacqui Vanderfluit, High River

For any information on items in this publication, please contact Diana Atkinson, Associate Superintendent, at datkinson@redeemer.ab.ca or at 403-938-2659.