Education
Rebels earn Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy as WHL Scholastic Team of the Year
![](https://www.todayville.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tvrd-red-deer-rebels-scholastic-team-of-the-year-image-2024-04-30.jpg)
News release from the Red Deer Rebels
It’s a great accomplishment for the Red Deer Rebels as the club is the Western Hockey League’s Scholastic Team of the Year.
The Rebels were announced Tuesday as the 2023-24 winner of the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL member Club that achieves the highest overall academic performance during the regular season.
“On behalf of the Red Deer Rebels, I’d like to thank the league for being selected for the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy. We take great pride in working with our players to be the best they can be,” says Teresa Jaeger, Rebels Education Advisor.
“I’d like to thank the players for all the hard work and commitment they put into getting their assignments done and getting the best grades. I’d also like to thank the teachers at Notre Dame and Athabasca University for helping the team.”
The Rebels had nine players attending École Secondaire Notre Dame High School in Red Deer during the season, while other players did online programming through Athabasca University.
The combined average for all Rebels high school players this season is 88%.
The Rebels have taken a collaborative approach to working with players to achieve academic success. Jaeger, Rebels Hockey Operations Manager Arie Postmus, and Notre Dame Vice Principal Curtis Lansing, work hand in hand to continually monitor how players are progressing. Daily liaisons with players provide the structure and support necessary to getting the most from the time available to learning.
Students not enrolled at Notre Dame are monitored in their progress by the Education Advisor having contact with their teachers and home school administrators.
“It is fantastic to see our players rewarded for the effort they put into their schoolwork. The dedication they showed to balance on ice performance and off ice performance in the classroom is very rewarding” said Postmus.
“I am very happy for them all. Teresa also deserves a ton of credit for the countless hours she gives to head our education program and support these players to ensure they graduate with stellar marks.”
The WHL Scholastic Team of the Year Award is named in honour of Jim Donlevy, long-time WHL Director, Education Services, who passed away in August 2019 following a courageous battle with cancer. This marks the fourth presentation of the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy to a WHL Club since its dedication.
Donlevy was instrumental in the creation and continued success of the WHL Scholarship program – the largest privately-funded amateur sports scholarship program in Canada, and one of the most comprehensive education programs for hockey in the world today. Since the establishment of the WHL Scholarship in 1993-94, nearly 8,000 scholarships have been accessed, totaling an investment of over $35 million by WHL Clubs.
“This award win is a great achievement that celebrates all the hard work by our players and staff. The Rebels place great importance in ensuring our players are focused on their academics during the season, and we take pride in their success.” says Rebels Owner, President, and General Manager Brent Sutter.
“Congratulations to the players, Teresa and Arie for this well-deserved honour, and thank you to our partner schools for all your help.”
The Rebels are just the third Alberta-based team, and first since the Calgary Hitmen in 2013-14, to win the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy/WHL Scholastic Team of the Year Award since 2000.
News release from the Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League announced today the Red Deer Rebels have been awarded the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy as the WHL Scholastic Team of the Year for the 2023-24 season.
The WHL Scholastic Team of the Year Award was renamed in honour of Jim Donlevy, longtime WHL Director, Education Services, who passed away in August 2019 following a courageous battle with cancer. This marks the fourth occasion on which the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy will be presented to a WHL Club since its dedication.
“On behalf of the Red Deer Rebels, I’d like to thank the league in being selected for the Jim Donlevy Scholastic Team,” said Teresa Jaeger, Education Advisor for the Red Deer Rebels. “We take great pride in education here and working with our players to be the best that they can be.
“I’d like to thank the players for their hard work and all their commitment they put into getting the best grades and getting their assignments done. I’d also like to thank the teachers at Notre Dame and Athabasca University for helping the team.”
With nine players attending high school, the Rebels combined high-school average for the 2023-24 academic season was 88 per cent. A hardworking group, the Rebels’ high-school aged players put pride in achieving in the classroom, going the extra mile in order to have success.
“On behalf of my family, I am honoured to present the winner of the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy, presented to the WHL Scholastic Team of the Year,” said Lisa Stollery, daughter of Jim Donlevy. “A huge congratulations to the Red Deer Rebels – their extremely hardworking student-athletes, their teachers who help these young men to excel in their academics, their Education Advisor Teresa Jaeger, the Rebels coaches and management team, and the families that support and love them. They are extremely hardworking students.”
As an organization, the Rebels have taken a collaborative approach to working with players to ensure academic success. Jaeger works closely with Hockey Operations staff and leadership from Red Deer’s Notre Dame High School to continually monitor how players are progressing. By having daily sessions, players are provided with the structure and support required to get the most from the learning time available to them.
While on the road, Hockey Operations staff provide leadership and support to keep players on academic track during road trips. Times are designated for players to focus on coursework and they have the opportunity to connect with teachers and Jaeger through Zoom, text, email and Google Meets.
The Rebels insistence on a regular and productive academic routine, combined with support and supervision, has created an environment that fosters academic success.
This is the first occasion in which the Red Deer Rebels have been named the WHL Scholastic Team of the Year.
Winners of the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy (since 2004)
2023-24: Red Deer Rebels
2022-23: Portland Winterhawks
2021-22: Brandon Wheat Kings
2020-21: Not presented due to COVID-19
2019-20: Kamloops Blazers
2018-19: Portland Winterhawks
2017-18: Saskatoon Blades
2016-17: Victoria Royals
2015-16: Spokane Chiefs
2014-15: Kamloops Blazers
2013-14: Calgary Hitmen
2012-13: Portland Winterhawks
2011-12: Edmonton Oil Kings
2010-11: Swift Current Broncos
2009-10: Tri-City Americans
2008-09: Prince Albert Raiders
2007-08: Chilliwack Bruins
2006-07: Kamloops Blazers
2005-06: Kootenay ICE
2004-05: Vancouver Giants
2003-04: Portland Winter Hawks
Education
Toronto-area Catholic school hid ‘trans’ identity of 10-year-old girl from her parents
![](https://www.todayville.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/tvrd-ls-lgbtq-education-image-2024-09-06.jpg)
From LifeSiteNews
A school in the York Catholic District School Board kept ten-year-old Julie’s ‘transition’ a secret from her parents and called the Children’s Aid Society when her parents questioned what was happening with their daughter. The girl has since detransitioned.
A Toronto-area Catholic school has been exposed for hiding a young girl’s “gender transition” from her parents, and calling the Children’s Aid Society on the family when the parents expressed concern over the decision.
In a September 3 article, the National Post revealed that an unnamed school in the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB), located in the suburbs of Toronto, kept a ten-year-old girl’s “transition” a secret from her parents and called the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) when her parents questioned what was happening. The National Post article uses the alias “Julie” for the girl for privacy reasons, it also uses aliases for the names of the parents.
“Transgender activists were actively posting videos about ‘safe’ breast binding and how euphoric testosterone makes you feel and how it makes all your problems suddenly disappear. The more I was brainwashed by these videos, the more I started to resonate with them,” Julie, who is now thirteen and no longer thinks she is “transgender,” told the outlet.
The article retells Julie’s experience, relaying that her gender dysphoria began in 2021 when she installed social media app TikTok and spent hours on it during COVID lockdowns. While online, Julie fell down rabbit holes and “discovered the LGBTQ+ community.”
In 2021, at the start of her grade five year, after watching a video asking viewers whether they were “anxious and uncomfortable” in their own bodies, Julie became convinced she was “non-binary.”
In 2022, she came out to her class and began using “they/them” pronouns and a male name with the help of a teacher from the YCDSB. This development was kept from her parents who only discovered it in June 2022 when Julie began cutting her hair short and revealed that she did not feel “like a girl anymore.”
“It was a horrible time for me as a parent because so much was happening behind my back. I didn’t know for a long while about many things that were happening. I suspected that something was really wrong,” Julie’s mother, Christina, recalled to the National Post.
Many Ontario school boards have policies requiring teachers and staff withhold students’ private information from their parents, including the York Region District School Board, Thames Valley District School Board, and the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.
By the beginning of grade six, in September 2022, Julie believed she was a boy, using a male name and looking into testosterone injections and a double mastectomy.
Julie also began wearing a chest binder, which led to a fight with her parents who worried about its long-term effects, especially as it had already caused bruising. Shortly after, Julie ran away from home and was later hospitalized with the intent to self-harm.
However, instead of addressing Julie’s underlying phycological issues, doctors assured her that chest binding was safe and even asked if she would like to learn about puberty blockers.
“At that age, I can’t make a conscious decision about medical interventions with an extremely high risk of life-threatening side effects that could make me unable to ever conceive a child,” Julie declared. “All accepted that I’m a boy and never tried to dig up any underlying problems that might be causing these suicidal ideations.”
After Julie ran away, the school called CAS, claiming that Christina’s opposition to Julie’s transition is a potential “culprit of conflict.” Over the next few months, the school called CAS several times, leading the agency to visit the family in their home at least five times.
The school principal told CAS that “she knows that the family loves their child and want the best for the child but they are doing a lot of damage emotionally at this time.”
Finally, in the early months of grade seven, now aged twelve, Julie’s father brought home Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier, which discussed the reasons behind gender dysphoria. While her father had bought the book for himself, Julie read it out of curiosity.
“After reading about detransitioners and how they came to identify as transgender, I understood I was heading in the wrong direction and needed to turn around before I hurt my loved ones or myself,” she revealed.
This began Julie’s detransition journey, which she discovered was not as celebrated as her initial decision to identify as a boy.
“When we announced that she wants to go back to female pronouns, everyone kept asking: ‘Are you sure? Are you sure you want to transition?’” Christina said.
Similarly, Julie revealed, “I did not really lose any friends, but my closest friends seem to be, pushing away from me. Like, they’re not talking to me as much, and they’re part of the LGBTQ” community.”
Now, as she enters grade eight, Julie revealed that she “finally felt truly at peace with my identity.”
Unfortunately, Julie’s story is not unique.
As LifeSiteNews previously reported, many Ontario parents revealed that public schools did not ask for parental consent before “gender transitioning” their children, resulting in child-parent relationships being destroyed.
Despite the claims of LGBT activists, a significant body of evidence shows that “affirming” gender confusion carries serious harms, especially when done with impressionable children who lack the mental development, emotional maturity, and life experience to consider the long-term ramifications of the decisions being pushed on them, or full knowledge about the long-term effects of life-altering, physically transformative, and often irreversible surgical and chemical procedures.
Studies find that more than 80 percent of children suffering gender dysphoria outgrow it on their own by late adolescence and that “transition” procedures, including “reassignment” surgery, fail to resolve gender-confused individuals’ heightened tendency to engage in self-harm and suicide – and even exacerbate it, including by reinforcing their confusion and neglecting the actual root causes of their mental strife.
Alberta
Alberta to introduce bill to make sex-ed classes in schools optional
![](https://www.todayville.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/tvrd-ls-classoom-teacher-high-school-education-image-2024-09-05.jpg)
From LifeSiteNews
Students would no longer be automatically enrolled in sex-ed classes and parents would be able to have a hand in deciding whether they want a child enrolled in the classes
A bill from the United Conservative Party (UCP) provincial government of Alberta will make it so that parents will have to specifically opt their children into sexual education lessons rather than opt out, as is the case now, meaning by default those classes will not be included in a child’s education.
In a statement to the media this past Tuesday, Alberta Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides confirmed the coming legislation.
“We intend to propose legislation this fall and will continue to consult with stakeholders throughout the implementation of these policies,” he told The Canadian Press.
When the bill will be introduced remains unclear, but Nicolaides said that his ministry is consulting with school boards and educators. Alberta’s legislature will not return until October.
For some time now, grassroots parental rights groups have been calling for sex education classes to be opt in rather than opt out to prevent their kids from being exposed to extreme LGBT agendas being promoted in some schools.
News of the bill was slammed by the teaching union through Jason Schilling, the head of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) who said he does not “necessarily understand what was broken that needs to be fixed.”
“When we pressed government, there was no real understanding of what this will look like,” he added.
Of note is that the ATA has supported teaching of radical LGBT ideas in schools in the past.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith earlier this year promised that she would introduce a bill that would uphold parental rights within the school system and change sex education classes to an opt-in model as opposed to the opt-out model it is today.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Smith told UCP members last year at its AGM that she unequivocally defends parental rights, saying society depends on “strong and nurturing families” and parents are the “primary caregivers and educators” of their children.
At the UCP AGM, party members passed a host of resolutions calling for parental rights to be protected, such as resolution 8 that calls for parental consent for children to “change” their pronouns at school.
UCP members also passed resolution 17, which calls for the party to support a comprehensive bill of “Parental Rights which ensures that all legislation will recognize and support parents’ rights to be informed of and in charge of all decisions to do with all services paid for by the province, including education and health care.”
Party members also passed resolution 20, which calls for the party to ban pornographic materials from being allowed to be used by teachers.
Earlier this year, Smith announced strong pro-family legislation that strengthens parental rights, protecting kids from life-altering, so-called “top and bottom” surgeries as well as other extreme forms of transgender ideology.
There have also been numerous protests against the LGBT agenda in schools, including the September 2023 “Million Person March” that drew thousands of Canadians from across the country.
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