Superintendent's Message - October 2008

Welcome to the second month of the new school year! Our September school start-up was an exciting time as almost 33,000 students began attending classes in Edmonton Catholic Schools.

This was also a time of “firsts” for our school district. We are very pleased to have the first all-girls senior high school program in western Canada open at St. Joseph Senior High School. As well, our school district’s first junior high Spanish bilingual program opened with grade 7 at St. Kevin Junior High School. The STEPPS program (Supportive Transition for Emotional Physical Psychological and Spiritual Well-Being), which provides therapeutic educational programming for young children with mental health challenges, was opened at St. Elizabeth School. French Immersion junior kindergarten programs for 4 year old children were opened at St. Angela and Father Leo Green Schools. We welcome the students of all these programs and congratulate the staff of these schools and district administration for their initiative and effort in establishing these innovative programs.

As the new school year begins, we also look back at the commitment of students, staff and parents to improve the world around them. Our district goal of demonstrating our Catholic identity though social justice actions continues to come to life through thousands of hours of service and many initiatives that support those in need. Through the many projects, our schools are showing social justice is established as a core commitment of faith. Please see our website http://www.ecsd.net/aboutus/community_giving.html for a list of what some of our schools have been doing.

We have just celebrated the site blessings of our three new schools:

• Sister Annata Brockman Catholic Elementary Junior High School, Grades K-9 in the Hamptons
• Monsignor William Irwin Catholic Elementary School , Grades K-6 in Terwillegar
• Monsignor Fee Otterson Catholic Elementary Junior High School, Grades K-9 in Rutherford

All these schools are scheduled to be open for September 2010. Our new high school in Terwillegar, Mother Margaret Mary Catholic High School, will now open in 2013. We hope that some changes in planning for our high school can be done to accommodate the initial opening date of September 2012.

Many blessings on the year ahead!

“Oh God, I love you with my whole heart above all things, because you are infinitely good; and for your sake I love my neighbor as myself.”

Sincerely,

Joan Carr
Superintendent