CTR CATHOLIC BOARD HIGHLIGHTS
from Board Meeting held on January 30, 2021
BOARD SELECTS TRANSPORTATION REVIEW PROPOSAL
Every year the Board commissions a review of one of CTR Catholic’s programs. This year, the Transportation Department is scheduled. Administration contacted an experienced representative of the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) to identify qualified personnel to conduct this review. Administration then shared two ASBA proposals with the Board. The first was $5,000 and involved surveying stakeholders about their level of satisfaction. The second was $10,000, but also focused on budgeting, ridership, and route efficiency. The Board chose the more robust initiative to provide greater assurance to their stakeholders.
BOARD VOTES TO ADD SOUTHERN FRANCOPHONE TO SHARED FACILITY TITLE
Stakeholders outside of Canmore might not know that CTR Catholic shares our facility with the Southern Francophone Education Region. Our Lady of the Snows and École Notre-Dame des Monts are two Catholic schools that operate independently under one roof. The trustees spoke of the mutually beneficial relationship that has served them for over 10 years, and their desire to safeguard its viability into the future. To this end, the Board passed a motion to request that the Minister and the Town of Canmore add the Southern Francophone Education Region to the title of the shared facility.
MINISTER APPROVES DR. MORRISON'S REAPPOINTMENT
In late 2020, the Board wrote to the Minister of Education, requesting an extension to Dr. Morrison’s Superintendent contract. Chair Schreiber (Okotoks) received a response and informed the Board that the Minister wrote a letter of approval for an additional four-year term. The letter was circulated to all trustees.
FOUR YEAR EDUCATION PLAN WILL ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH
Early this year, Trustee Domingo (Canmore) petitioned administration to delve deeper into universal supports for student mental health in our division. Trustee Domingo’s sentiments have been echoed by teachers in the Superintendents’ Superchats this year. (Superchats are focused conversations between each school’s staff and the four Superintendents.) A theme arising out of every Superchat this year is ensuring CTR Catholic continues existing initiatives that support mental health such as #Relationships in a Digital Age, Zones of Regulation, and the Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC) philosophy. In addition, teachers have expressed the desire to learn more universal strategies to support mental health. Universal strategies are those that are carried out by every school employee, during every moment of every day.
WARD HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH
At each Board Meeting, the trustees select one highlight arising out of the eight Ward Committee meetings we have around the Division every three months. A Ward meeting is attended by trustees, the Superintendent, principals, school council chairs, and parish priests. In this cycle of meetings, the Board was most impressed with a discussion arising out of Okotoks Ward 1 about our priests around the division.
CELEBRATING OUR PARISH PRIESTS
This Ward suggested that the Board facilitate a process where site-based administrators, school Faith Leaders, and the Board’s Faith Committee brainstorm a host of activities our priests can engage in when they come to our schools. Our priests want to engage in our schools, but it is natural for them to want that engagement to be meaningful and purposeful. The Board would like to give this area focused attention, so we can continue to enjoy the strong engagement of our priests.
As trustees enthusiastically embraced the idea of making our priests even more welcome in our schools, the conversation around the Board table turned to our appreciation for our priests. Many of the trustees raved about the transformational impact their priests are having on our schools. Moreover, trustees noted that our priests are effusive in their praise for the work CTR Catholic is doing in Catholic education. Dr. Morrison indicated he couldn’t remember a time when there was such universal satisfaction with our parish priests and their connections to our schools. Our roster of parish priests is below, and the Board encourages parishioners to thank their priests for supporting our schools so earnestly.
Father Marino Infante
Father Nathan Siray
Father Tomy Manjaly
Father Troy Nguyen
Father Vincent TuanHa
Father Lukas Drapal
Father Mariusz Sztuk
Father Newton Rodrigues
WARD COMMITTEE REPORTS
The communities of Drumheller, Strathmore, High River, Okotoks Ward II, Brooks, and Okotoks Ward I hosted a Ward meeting since the November 28 Board meeting. The minutes with more detail are attached to the Board Meeting agenda on our website. The meeting summaries follow.
DRUMHELLER WARD:
This Ward includes St. Anthony's School in Drumheller.
Faith: The new pandemic protocols will not hurt Mass attendance too much as St. Anthony’s Parish is already at only one third capacity. Parish finances are in good order; the Parish has a lean staff and Father supplements finances with his prison Ministry.
Learning: St. Anthony’s is focused on improving exam results by involving all teachers rather then just those who teach Grades 6, 9 and 12.
Safe and Caring: The school council sponsored the purchase of a program called Movement to assist students with physical, emotional, and social wellness.
Stewardship: School council is polling parents to help determine how to spend fundraising monies.
STRATHMORE WARD:
This Ward includes Sacred Heart Academy and Holy Cross Collegiate in Strathmore.
Faith: Father expressed that Strathmore’s schools have been the most receptive he has ever worked with. He was, for example, very pleased to be asked to bless the classrooms and impressed that over 30 students attended an optional adoration.
Learning: Principals expressed readiness for online learning while also recognizing the benefit of having teachers in school to collaborate and support one another.
Safe and Caring: Everyone is proud of our re-entry plans. There was particular praise for our custodians, the staggered entry, the collaboration between teachers, the communication, and the support.
Stewardship: The schools have all of their Chromebooks signed out and were both surprised at the demand and appreciative that they had the computers to loan.
HIGH RIVER WARD:
This Ward includes Holy Spirit Academy, Notre Dame Collegiate, and St. Luke's Outreach in High River.
Faith: Both schools are very appreciative of Father Mariusz's willingness to do online masses and connect with the schools in every way. They also appreciate being involved in the sacramental preparation.
Learning: The Ward was interested to hear of things like Foods and Construction demonstrations being done via live streaming during the time secondary students were home. It looked a little like the Food Network.
Safe and Caring: Holy Spirit's work on racism and discrimination is being used as a model strategy for other schools in the division to use a springboard to discuss issues related to racism and discrimination.
Stewardship: The Ward acknowledged the trustees work in lobbying for the support for our increased insurance expenses. It resulted in a million dollar subsidy.
OKOTOKS WARD II:
This Ward includes The Centre for Learning@HOME and St. Luke's Outreach in Okotoks.
Faith: Father Vincent will be doing Zoom liturgies with The Centre for Learning@HOME.
Learning: The Centre for Learning@HOME has introduced more junior high options, increased reading support, and is experimenting with more synchronous live streaming at high school.
Safe and Caring: St. Luke's new facility will be one of the few purpose-built outreach centres in the province and the division is looking to add new furniture and equipment to all three campuses.
Stewardship: In the New Year, The Centre for Learning@HOME and senior administration will brainstorm strategies to increase retention and improve onboarding.
BROOKS WARD:
This Ward includes Holy Family Academy, Christ The King Academy, St. Joseph's Collegiate, and St. Luke's Outreach in Brooks.
Faith: On December 8th, Pope Francis declared December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021, “The Year of Saint Joseph”.
Learning: The transition to online learning has been highly effective and both live streaming and communication have been effective.
Safe and Caring: The division has done a good job of promoting the wellness of staff and students during the pandemic. One special note has been the quality of the cleaning.
Stewardship: It is inspiring to note that volunteers have been assisting with cleaning the schools. The Ward is also pleased that the Parish used CTR Catholic's funds to help support the hiring of a Youth Worker.
OKOTOKS WARD I:
This Ward includes St. Mary's School, St. John Paul II Collegiate, École Good Shepherd School, and Holy Trinity Academy, in Okotoks, and St. Francis of Assisi Academy, in De Winton.
Faith: The Ward suggested that principals, the Board's Faith Committee, and the Division's Faith Leaders all brainstorm intentional activities for our priests when they are in our schools. These ideas should be shared with the priests for their comment and reflection.
Learning: School Council Chairs agreed most students are engaged in live streaming during the disruption, even the very young learners. Chairs cautioned that students with self-regulation needs struggle more with live streaming, and we should be very reflective about increasing screen time anymore than it currently is at all levels.
Safe and Caring: The Ward suggested that Board and Administration reflect on which pandemic practices should continue when the pandemic ends. For example, School Councils have enjoyed much higher participation via the use of Zoom. In addition, parents were largely very positive about the convenience and efficiency of Parent Teacher Interviews using Zoom. In addition, principals have noted improvements in safety and school culture by using staggered recesses.
Stewardship: School Councils continue to raise significant funds during the pandemic. Parent Councils have been highly effective at engaging parents and creating community. School Council hot lunches are helping the local economy.
ACSTA QUESTIONNAIRE REGARDING GRACE (GRATEFUL ADVOCATES FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION)
"The Will of the Board"
Summarized by Chair Ron Schreiber (Okotoks)
Trustees provided responses to a questionnaire from ACSTA regarding the work of GrACE locally and provincially. They unanimously supported the work of this organization and recognized the importance of its contributions to increasing awareness about and support for the value of publicly-funded Catholic education in Alberta. Trustees clearly see that the ACSTA and GrACE have the same goal of safeguarding publicly-funded Catholic education in the province but their roles are different. Trustees, being political in nature, are tasked with the oversight of the system and the lobbying and interaction with the government of the day to promote the system’s value to the province. In this work they are assisted by ACSTA. Trustees also have the job of trying to enhance awareness of the value of Catholic education amongst the system’s stakeholders and the public-at-large. In this second task, which is quite onerous requiring greater resources than a single person can normally provide, they are helped by ACSTA but also by GrACE. This organization has a provincial and local face. Provincially, it is able to provide guidance and resources and a place for the sharing of best practices. Locally, it operates in a manner to best spread the message of the value of publicly-funded Catholic education in a trustee’s own division. The ways this is done vary from place to place in response to local conditions. It is very important that consistent and effective messaging is used by Catholic education supporters and GrACE is able to support this through its provincial presence. GrACE thus has a very important role in helping trustees to more effectively spread the good news of Catholic schools to the grassroots of their communities. The formation of this foundation of awareness and support can help promote the success of the publicly-funded Catholic education system in Alberta but, in times of crisis, it can spell the difference between the continuance or loss of this education system. CTR Catholic's trustees enthusiastically continue to support the work of GrACE in our communities and throughout the province and they encourage all other Catholic trustees to do the same.
ALBERTA CATHOLIC SCHOOL TRUSTEES' ASSOCIATION (ACSTA) DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Trustee de Jong (Brooks) noted that the decision was made to have the Executive Director of GrACE attend an ACSTA Board of Director’s meeting at least once a year. Trustee de Jong (Brooks) was pleased with this decision, as he has been advocating for this for several years, noting it will increase the collaboration between GrACE and the ACSTA. Trustee de Jong (Brooks) also noted that they are quite pleased with the leadership and direction provided by the ACSTA’s Executive Director, Dr. Eugenia Pagnotta-Kowalczyk. He also noted that Bishop McGrattan continues to be a positive guiding force as spiritual advisor.
ALBERTA SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION (ASBA) ZONE 5 REPORT
Vice Chair Keenan (Foothills County) said that the most recent meeting concentrated primarily on reopening schools safely. As the province continues its work on curriculum reform, the Ministry has prioritized ensuring there is minority representation infused into the new curriculum. Vice Chair Keenan (Foothills County) commented that ASBA is calling attention to the relevance and influence of locally elected school Trustees as it prepares for upcoming elections.
THE BOARD ENDORSES SEA TO SEE PHILOSOPHY
Dr. Morrison reflected on what CTR Catholic did during the pandemic last year. He concluded our tendency was to simplify, exempt, and accommodate (SEA). We did so for our students with more simplistic lessons, fewer hours spent learning, and relaxed assessment. We did so with staff by canceling or suspending some of the tasks we considered to be an unnecessary burden, by eliminating some planned PD sessions, and by supporting the use of live streaming in the hopes it would eliminate the need for teachers to teach twice. Our tendency to SEA was in full view from March to June, but we continue to SEA this year by, for example, using no-fault final exams for students, and by suspending Friday professional development days in the weeks preceding Christmas..
Dr. Morrison asserted we must be very thoughtful about going forward is how and when we return to standards, expectations, and excellence (SEE).
If we consider the SEA to SEE continuum like a fuel tank, with empty being SEA and full being SEE, all the pressure and expectations we place on students and staff must be based on whether they’re more empty or more full, and this is contingent on assessing their social, emotional, and academic readiness to return to normal. Second, we need to consider which initiatives and strategies we’ll use to support staff and students in moving the needle toward full such as staff wellness initiatives, universal social and emotional wellness strategies for students, and the #Relationships in a Digital Age initiative.
There will not be an abrupt transition to normal. It will take awhile to SEE clearly again. We’ll need to evaluate most of our decisions for many years using the context of whether we are making recovery strategies a priority to fill up our tanks, as well as whether staff and students are full enough to proceed with new goals and initiatives or whether we need to slow the pace down.
BOARD PROFILES CTR CATHOLIC'S SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
During at-home learning last spring, many of our substitute teachers lost work when demand for their services decreased substantially. However, with the resumption of in-school learning, our substitutes are more critical than ever. In addition to covering for normal illnesses, they are also covering for teachers that are required to isolate as close contacts of confirmed cases of COVID. The Board identified the importance of our substitute teachers as a critical feature of Board operations and concurred that CTR Catholic should share how we are investing time and energy into their development in this edition of Highlights. There were two major things they wished to highlight. First, in an unprecedented move, CTR Catholic offered paid professional development to our substitute teachers during a recent professional development day. The professional development focused on the use of technology, with a targeted focus on delivering education to students who are learning remotely, via live streaming. In addition, to respond to significant disruptions due to COVID, CTR Catholic’s Human Resources Department ensured our remote communities had substitutes by paying them mileage, meals, and lodging to combat community-based shortages. The Board members were unanimous in desiring to express their appreciation for both CTR Catholic’s substitute teachers and administration for investing in their development.
BUDGETING IN A PANDEMIC
Challenges are manifold when managing budgets this year. There have been financial challenges in almost every regard, include the provision of personal protective equipment, the cost of cleaning, the cost of disruptions to in-person instruction, and many other unknowns. The Ministry is also being tested as its Finance Department plans for effective administration of limited funds in preparation for next year. On a positive note, the Board was pleased that to hear that administration expressed high satisfaction with how responsive Alberta Education personnel have been to administration’s many inquiries.
THANK YOU TO STAFF
Summarized by Trustee Harry Salm (Strathmore)
The Board wishes to thank our teachers, our administration, our caretaking staff, our educational assistants and all of our support staff. We have watched, most often from a distance, your trials in being our face of Catholic education during this pandemic. Hearing of the additional requirements of the cleaning protocols, the requirements to record the students desk locations for contact tracing, having to undertake delivering the curriculum both in person and online as the needs changed due to COVID impacts, trying to reach out while maintaining social distancing and ensuring your own health for your sake and that of your family, our prayers have been with you. We continue to pray for you that your own safeguards and those put in place by our Division will keep you healthy and safe.
We encourage our supporters of Catholic education to pray to St. Joseph to watch over and protect all our staff.
STATE OF THE UNION ON CTR CATHOLIC'S FRENCH LANGUAGE LEARNING
As requested by the Board, administration shared an update on French and other language programming in the division.
Most of our schools offer French as a Second Language (FSL) programing. In addition, Holy Spirit Academy (High River) and Sacred Heart Academy (Strathmore) also offer Intensive French in Grades 5 and 6. Intensive French is a program with more time and intensity than FSL. Three schools in Okotoks offer French Immersion. École Good Shepherd School offers Early Immersion in Grades Kindergarten to 6, St. John Paul II Collegiate continues the early immersion program from Grades 7 to 9, while also offering a late French immersion beginning in Grade 7, and Holy Trinity Academy completes the program offering French in Grades 10 to 12. Enrollments often decline in high school, as many students switch to English programming, believing it will give them a more competitive edge in university.
Trustee Van Donzel (High River) expressed appreciation for the presentation and reiterated the importance of providing second language programming. In conversation, the Board members expressed continued support for the considerable financial commitments required to maintain our second language programs. Recruiting staff, maintaining desirable class sizes for all students (both French and English), and expenditures for alternate resources require a responsibility to allocate sufficient funds annually.
BOARD STANDING COMMITTEES
Since the last Board meeting, the following committees met: Faith, Awards, and GrACE CTR. Their reports follow.
FAITH COMMITTEE
Vice Chair Keenan (Foothills County) highlighted two points from the recent meeting. First, Pope Francis declared 2021 the Year of Saint Joseph, and our communities will be celebrating accordingly throughout the year. Second, the Board made the decision to experiment with locally staged Faith Days for one year. Ironically, this decision preceded the pandemic and was done in response to a combination of factors; namely, requests from staff to try a year in their local communities and the desire from administration to reduce expenses. Local events will have both in-person and online components. Trustees have been invited to join the local events at their schools if it is convenient for both trustees and the school in question
AWARDS COMMITTEE
As promised, Trustee Rude-Volk (Oyen) and the committee came back this past meeting with two recommendations for recipients of the St. John the Apostle Honorary Life Membership award. One retired professional educator and one retired school staff member have been identified to be announced during Faith Days. The members were thrilled upon hearing the two names, and several comments were made regarding the deserving nature of both.
GrACE CTR COMMITTEE
Even during a pandemic, our local chapter of Grateful Advocates for Catholic Education has been busy with planning and support. They are consistently impressed by provincial advocate Dr. Bonnie Annicchiarico, who has plans for more future presentations, testimonials, and information to be shared across the province.
TRUSTEE'S CORNER
Have you picked your “word” for the year? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, there are blogs or websites where one can pick a word for the year, and that is what one tries to live by for the year. Personally, I have picked words in the past. They’ve included words such as: grace, peace, imagine, begin, glow, and the list goes on and on. One word, which has resonated with me for most of 2020, and will continue to be forefront in 2021, is “resilience”. It’s not my word for the year, personally, but I have witnessed time and time again resiliency in this pandemic exhausted world we live in right now. Resilience is defined or refers to an individual’s natural tendency to cope with stress and adversity. I think as Catholics, we display resiliency. “How” you may ask. Through love, faith, and prayers. Sounds easy doesn’t it? Not necessarily. We all stumble. We all fail. We all have hardships. We are all sinners. Life can bring us to our knees daily. And yet somehow, if we approach it the right way, we can reframe our problems and look at them as mere challenges that can be overcome.
I’ve observed the staff in our own school division, Christ The Redeemer, rise to the challenge, display great love, and be witnesses to their faith. With a calm head and heart all senior administrators, administrators, teachers, and support staff, have managed to handle the pandemic crisis formidably. Students and parents feel safe and well cared for academically and spiritually. This pandemic has truly shown all of us that it is hard and scary to be in control. But through the darkness, the light has been CTR Catholic's teachers, staff, and administrators. They have all been the beacon of hope and normalcy that so many people need and crave right now. They have all reminded us, that if we trust in the promises of God, no matter how the everyday life of school life unfolds, it will be ok. If Christmas concerts are cancelled, there is still a way to celebrate. If in-person classes are cancelled, there is still a way to continue without much disruption online. Hot lunches can still happen for children even if it has to be scaled back. In-person meetings switch to Zoom. Teachers will still be waiting and happily greeting each student with love when they return after classes resume from temporary closures. Resiliency stems from faith. Our faith leads us all to believe that God is always in control. We must remember that we are never alone, and from that, we gain strength, perseverance, and resilience in a time of adversity.
As we continue with this upcoming year, let us reflect on what St. Paul wrote, and maybe resilience will become your word of the year.
“ We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed.”
2 Corinthians 4:8
Trustee biographies can be viewed by clicking the button below.
NEXT BOARD MEETING DATE
The next Board meeting will take place on Thursday, February 25, 2021, 10:30 a.m., at 1 McRae Street, Okotoks, AB.
Board of Trustees
Ron Schreiber, Chair, Okotoks
Andrea Keenan, Vice Chair, Foothills County
Joanne Van Donzel, High River
Harry Salm, Strathmore
Mark Chung, Drumheller
John de Jong, Brooks
Michelle Rude-Volk, Oyen
Vijay Domingo, Canmore
Superintendents
Dr. Scott Morrison, Superintendent
Michael Kilcommons, Associate Superintendent
Vincent Behm, Associate Superintendent
Mariette Moss, Associate Superintendent
Treasurer/Directors
Jerry Bagozzi, Treasurer
Dawn Quinlan, Director of Human Resources
Dave Lunn, Director of Facilities
Cora-Leah Schmitt, Director of Student Services
Cheryl Kuemper, Director of Learning
Lindsay Fagan, Director of Catholic Education
For any information on items in this publication, please contact Michael Kilcommons, Associate Superintendent, at mkilcommons@redeemer.ab.ca or at 403-938-2659.