CTR CATHOLIC BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

The Board held their annual organizational meeting on June 22, 2024. Andrea Keenan, Trustee for Foothills County, will remain as Board Chair, and Andrew Gustafson, Trustee for Okotoks, will remain as Vice Chair for the 2024-2025 year. Trustee memberships for the Board committees were also established.

All teaching staff will attend the Opening Mass and Professional Development Day at St. James Parish in Okotoks on August 26th. The theme of "Joyful Witness: A Catholic Teacher's Calling" will set the 2024-2025 groundwork for teachers in the Call to Know, the Call to Teach, and the Call to Love.

Results from the Career and Off-Campus Program Review were shared with the Board. The review highlighted the commitment that school staff, senior administration, and the Board have to this area. Work to implement the recommendations is underway, with the priority being to standardize this work throughout the division, ultimately freeing staff time for students.

Deputy Superintendent Behm advised that most staffing positions for 2024-2025 are successfully being filled. This is accredited to recent recruitment efforts, including fostering effective relationships with candidates, the development of a moving expenses procedure, and attending career fairs. Credit was also given to teachers who took on pre-service teachers as part of their post-secondary education, which also aids in recruitment efforts.

This fall, CTR students in Okotoks will participate in a piloting project with St. James Parish about the beauty of Eucharistic miracles. Students will receive a presentation and attend a mini retreat. The project is meant to deepen students’ understanding of Catholic beliefs and the beauty of the Eucharist to strengthen their participation in Mass and adoration.

Christ The King Academy and St. Joseph’s Collegiate in Brooks continue to experience classroom shortages. An initial request to the City of Brooks for space in the Recreation Centre was denied based on other users’ needs. However, the use of this or other locations are now being reconsidered, and it is hoped that space will become available.

Associate Superintendent Kilcommons provided the Q3 financial update from September 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024. Barring any unforeseen negative circumstances, it is expected that the division will end the year in a stronger financial position than originally anticipated. This is due to prudent management of the budget.

Changes in the calendar for Prairie Rose School Division warranted changes to the calendar for Assumption Roman Catholic School to ensure that student transportation needs were consistent. By motion, the Board approved the revised calendar for Assumption which can be viewed here.

The Drumheller community hosts an annual Seniors' Christmas Dinner, and this year, St. Anthony's School was invited to participate. The student body embraced the opportunity, and 40 students from Grades 7-12 volunteered for hosting duties, including meal preparation, escorting seniors to their seats, and serving meals. Staff and students were grateful for the opportunity to be part of this cherished, long-running event serving community seniors.

ASBA Zone 5 representatives last met on June 7th. Items of discussion included the Emergency Preparedness Procedure for summer hazard preparation for wildfires and floods, and Alberta Education new school announcements. ASBA representatives recently met with the Minister of Municipal Affairs to discuss trustee political affiliation and land designation for new school builds.

Trustee Salm (Strathmore), past president of ACSTA advised that Brendan Cavanagh, Executive Director, has devoted himself to advocacy work in the area of formation within Alberta. Planning for the ACSTA AGM that will be held in November is underway, and school boards are being asked to consider and identify any areas of advocacy they would like brought forward at the AGM.

Associate Superintendent Kilcommons advised that no further meetings had occurred since the last Board meeting, and that central table negotiations will begin in the fall. The timeline for local negotiations will depend on central table negotiations.

Trustee Rude-Volk (Oyen) advised that Premier Danielle Smith attended the Caucus’s June 2nd meeting. Items discussed included the need for a different funding model for rural schools, rural teacher recruitment and retainment, mental health services, and dual spacing with the possibility of schools having space for daycare, gyms, and community space.

The Board approved renewals of four locally developed courses for use in the division, including Positive Psychology, Psychology - Abnormal, Military Studies, and Speech and Debate.

by Mark MacDonald

Trustee (High River)

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” – Psalm 90

Psalm 90 reminds us of God’s unfailing love for all of us and that there can be a simple path to joy in our lives, and also great joy, if we stop to measure our many blessings. June is that reminder for many of us.

With the arrival of summer holidays comes a natural rest and a pause as we reflect on the many great accomplishments of our students in the past 10 months. In the past month, I had the opportunity to attend graduations in High River, Canmore, and Drumheller. Each ceremony was unique, yet the common theme generated by all grads was one of great optimism, anticipation, and joy for their future. What a wonderful message and reminder for all of us to embrace and enliven our own lives again with this beacon of great hope and of a promise of a bountiful future ahead, just as Psalm 90 reminds us. Congratulations to all our graduates; we wish them joy on their journey.

As we close another school year, we are grateful for the gift of our faith and our community of learners in each of our schools. June is a month of culmination, celebration, and putting a final capstone on another step in our journey. Students have been busy with school-wide Masses, celebrations, awards ceremonies, and graduations. School staff have been busy with exam preparation and marking, year-end class activities, and starting preparations for the upcoming year. Although we tend to think of June as the completion of our school year journey, June is also the “advent” of looking forward to another year ahead in September. Thank you, students and staff, for your diligence and great efforts to make this another successful and joy-filled year.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees I also would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest thanks to all parents and families who have supported and nurtured our students throughout the year and continue to support Christ The Redeemer Catholic Schools in many ways from School Council support, support of our Parishes and support of our many faith and educational initiatives.

We must always remember, above all, that we are entrusted with the hopes and dreams of our students and must place this as our primary focus.

I wish you all a joy-filled summer holiday and wish you many opportunities to re-connect with family and friends in the weeks ahead.

Blessings and peace,

Mark MacDonald

Trustee, High River Ward

The next Board meeting will take place on Thursday, September 26, 2024, at 9:00 am at the Catholic Education Centre, #301, 23 Riverside Drive, Okotoks, AB.

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