News release from Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools

Sod turning ceremony celebrates the future of Blackfalds’ St. Veronica Catholic School

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) celebrated a significant milestone last week with the sod turning ceremony for St. Veronica Catholic School, marking the ceremonial beginning of construction for the new school in Blackfalds. The event on October 17 was filled with excitement and reverence as various members of the community gathered to celebrate the future of education in the region.

The ceremony began with greetings from Ryan Ledene, Associate Superintendent of System Services, followed by a heartfelt rendition of O’Canada performed by students from St. Gregory the Great Catholic School. RDCRS Vice-Chair Anne Marie Watson led the opening prayer, setting a tone of gratitude and hope for the new school. Jonathan Mauro, Indigenous Education Services Coordinator, then provided an acknowledgement of the land, which was followed by a teaching on the importance of the land by Elder Darryl Lickers.

Father Liju Jose from Lacombe’s St. Stephen Parish then led a beautiful liturgy, blessing the grounds of the new school.

Dignitaries, including Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Devin Dreeshen (who brought greetings on behalf of Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides), Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson, Blackfalds Mayor Jamie Hoover, RDCRS Board Chair Murray Hollman, and Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Finnigan delivered greetings, emphasizing the importance of St. Veronica Catholic School as a place where students will be nurtured both academically and spiritually.

The highlight of the ceremony was the official groundbreaking, where RDCRS trustees, community leaders, dignitaries, and future students symbolically dug into the earth to signify the start of construction.

Trustee Cynthia Leyson concluded the event with a closing prayer, asking for blessings over the construction process and the future students and staff of the school.

Following the ceremony, guests were invited to a reception at the Eagle Builders Centre, where community members continued to celebrate this exciting new chapter for Blackfalds.

“This sod turning ceremony is a reflection of the excitement and growth in Blackfalds. St. Veronica Catholic School will be a vibrant addition to our division, serving the needs of our students and the community,” said Ryan Ledene, reflecting on the momentous day.

“The Board is deeply honoured to be part of this project. St. Veronica’s values of compassion and kindness align with our vision for Catholic education. We look forward to the many students who will walk through these doors and the bright futures they will build,” said Murray Hollman.

“St. Veronica Catholic School will be a place where faith, learning, and community come together. Today’s ceremony is just the beginning of a journey that will inspire generations to come,” said Superintendent Finnigan, sharing her excitement about the school’s future.

St. Veronica Catholic School will accommodate approximately 500 students. The school is designed to meet LEED Silver certification, ensuring an environmentally sustainable future for the next generation of learners.

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools serves over 9,600 students in 21 schools in Red Deer, Blackfalds, Sylvan Lake, Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail, and Olds. It also supports the learning of over 950 students in a Home Education Program. The Division is committed to serving children and parents with a complete offering of learning opportunities delivered within the context of Catholic teachings and within the means of the Division.

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Michael Zwaagstra

“Resistance to colonialism is not terrorism.”

This quote was shown to more than 5000 Winnipeg School Division (WSD) staff last week at a professional development session that Dr. Chris Emdin from Teachers College, Columbia University  delivered. Not surprisingly, many teachers found the quote offensive, with more than a dozen walking out.

The teachers who walked out did the right thing. Whatever one’s political views might be, there is no context where intentionally murdering innocent civilians, which is an act of terrorism, is acceptable.

Even more offensive was the fact that this presentation took place only two days after the first anniversary of Hamas’s brutal attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 1,200 Israelis were murdered that day, with many others wounded or taken hostage.

Considering how often Hamas apologists justify their antisemitism by reframing it as “resistance” to colonialism, it’s not surprising that a quote minimizing the evils of terrorism wouldn’t go over well with many teachers, particularly Jewish educators.

WSD Superintendent Matt Henderson was quick to engage in damage control. Henderson apologized for the quote in a letter to staff and explained that “the speaker’s view does not reflect the views of the WSD in this context.”

However, Henderson shouldn’t be let off the hook so easily. No competent superintendent would organize a division-wide professional development event without carefully vetting a keynote speaker, reviewing the PowerPoint slides, and knowing exactly what message that speaker would deliver to his staff.

The fundamental issue here is how this incident exposes the divide between two different visions of public education. On one side we have the traditional view of education, which emphasizes the importance of knowledge acquisition and skill development in school. On the other side is the progressive view, where teachers engage in social justice activism and seek to liberate students from colonialism and oppression.

This is not a new debate. In her 2000 book, Left Back: A Century of Battles Over School Reform, education historian Diane Ravitch chronicled the long struggle between traditionalists and progressives for control of Teachers College, the most influential teacher training institution in North America.

In the end, the progressives won the power struggle and took effective control of Teachers College, where Emdin currently teaches.

In other words, by inviting a well-known political activist to be the keynote speaker at this WSD event, Superintendent Henderson signaled his desire to take WSD schools in a more progressive direction, where teachers focus more on activism than on traditional academics. This won’t surprise anyone who has read any of Henderson’s many articles over the last decade or so. His left-wing political views are hardly a secret.

Not surprisingly, many parents are uncomfortable with this approach. Most parents send their children to school because they want them to learn basic facts and master essential skills—not to be indoctrinated into an ideology that conflicts with what they are taught at home.

A far better approach would be for all schools to focus on the fundamentals of teaching and learning. Help students become knowledgeable and skillful and leave political activism out of the classroom.

If teachers want to be political, they should do it on their own time. A school division’s focus should be on academics, not on political activism.

Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher and a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.