Superintendent's Message - June 2009

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart . . . and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Another school year is coming to an end with all of our students closing different chapters of their lives in our schools. For some students, it may be the much anticipated graduation after grade 12; for others, it is the changing of schools or simply saying good-bye to a much loved teacher and a group of classmates. Our graduates have important decisions to make as they move on to post-secondary education or the world of work. I wish all of our grade 12 students much success and God's guidance as they journey along this important stage of their lives.

Twice every school year, in October and in May, all school districts in Alberta receive a report card of their performance. This report card, the Accountability Pillar, is prepared by Alberta Education and measures student achievement, the quality of learning opportunities, and reports on survey results gathered from parents, students and school staff. I am pleased to report that, once again, Edmonton Catholic Schools has shown improvement in several areas.

The measures of School Improvement, Drop Out Rate, and Program of Studies improved, and the measures of Safe and Caring Schools, Education Quality and Citizenship improved significantly. No measures declined and there were no issues or concerns identified. These are excellent results and I thank all school staffs and parents for working together to make our schools such excellent learning environments for our students. The May 2009 Accountability Pillar summary is part of our Three -Year Strategic Education Plan which can be viewed on our website ­­­– www.ecsd.net after June 23rd.

Inspiring Education: A Dialogue with Albertans is an opportunity to shape the future of education in Alberta. David Hancock, Minister of Education, invites Albertans to share their perspective on the future of education in Alberta by participating in on-line conversations or by participating in a public meeting. Information about the June 20th public meeting in Edmonton is available at the Inspiring Education website:
http://www.inspiringeducation.alberta.ca/BecomeInvolved/tabid/61/Default.aspx

Earlier this school year, we partnered with Edmonton Public Library in a project to provide free library cards to all of our students. In the four months of implementing this project, more than 7,000 library applications were processed! Thanks to the dedicated teachers and school administrators who made this happen.

During this past month of May, our schools and sites celebrated “Care for Creation Day”, a day dedicated to focusing on how we are called to practise ecological responsibility and to care for the earth.

Sincerely,

Joan Carr
Superintendent