Education
Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools launches LIFE CHANCES 50/50 LOTTERY
Creating life chances for students from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 and beyond, the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools launches its third annual LIFE CHANCES 50/50 LOTTERY. Get your tickets for a chance to win up to $25,000 in cash prizes! Sales end Tuesday, October 3, 2023 with the draw taking place on Thursday, October 5, 2023.
More than 10,400 tickets were sold totalling $23,330 during last year’s LIFE CHANCES 50/50 LOTTERY. A resident of Edmonton took home the prize.
Ticket packages include:
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25 for $50
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10 for $25
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1 for $10
“From giving kids a Bright Start to school to reconnecting with students so they graduate and cross the Finish Line, the Foundation helps students who face challenges in school and makes things better,” said Kristine Plastow, Chair of the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools. “We motivate struggling students and inspire them to read and write through Reading College. For students who come to school without basic needs, we give them that needed Step Up.”
Hundreds of students have benefitted from various programs through the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools. Nearly 80 students have ensured they have the best start to Kindergarten via the Bright Start program; more than 700 students have increased their reading and writing skills through Reading College; and more than 500 students, who otherwise wouldn’t have due to various barriers in their lives, have graduated thanks to the Finish Line program. These are just a few examples of the programs that give kids a life chance through the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools, and which directly benefit from tickets purchased through the LIFE CHANCES 50/50 LOTTERY.
“All of these programs make a real difference in the lives of kids and help them reach their full potential,” said Plastow.
The Foundation also supports community initiatives which impact thousands of students to enrich their learning. None of these are funded so the Foundation counts on community support to make these Above and Beyond projects happen.
“None of these programs are possible without the generous support of our community,” said Plastow. “We encourage the community to purchase tickets and to give kids a life chance.”
To purchase tickets, click here. For more information on the programs through the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools, click here.
Education
RDCRS celebrates Gillian Hallam as 2024 CCSSA Excellence in Catholic Education Award recipient
News release from Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools
Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools is thrilled to announce that Gillian Hallam, a Grade 1 teacher and Faith Coach at Father Henri Voisin School, has been honoured with the prestigious Council of Catholic School Superintendents of Alberta (CCSSA) Excellence in Catholic Education Award.
The CCSSA Excellence in Catholic Education Award is presented annually to teachers who exemplify a deep commitment to nurturing the faith of Alberta’s youth and guiding them to become exemplary Catholic citizens. This recognition highlights those educators who go above and beyond in their efforts to foster spiritual growth and moral development in their students.
Gillian Hallam has significantly influenced both the educational and spiritual environments at Father Henri Voisin School. She embodies the spirit of Saint Matthew’s exhortation, “Let the little children come to Me.” Her initiative, “student faith leadership”, has been pivotal in bringing the student voice into our community, deeply integrating faith into the daily school experience.
Being selected as Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools’ recipient of the Excellence in Catholic Education Award is a huge honour, Gillian stated.
“My passion for fostering a faith-filled environment at Father Henri Voisin School is inspired by our students’ openness and eagerness to grow in their spiritual journey. Every day, I am blessed to guide these young hearts towards a closer friendship with Jesus, helping them to embody the virtues of compassion and kindness in every aspect of their lives,” she said.
“Gillian’s dedication is nothing short of inspiring. Her ability to integrate faith deeply into her teaching and her unwavering commitment to our school community exemplifies the essence of Catholic education. She doesn’t just teach; she transforms lives through her faith, love, and an infectious zeal for spiritual growth that impacts everyone around her,” stated Father Henri Voisin Principal Shane Chisholm.
“On behalf of the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools Board of Trustees, I extend our heartfelt congratulations to Gillian Hallam for her exemplary service and dedication. Her recognition as this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Catholic Education Award is a testament to her profound impact on our community,” said Murray Hollman, RDCRS Board Chair. “Gillian embodies the spirit of this award through her tireless efforts to make Christ known to all, guiding both students and staff with love, patience, and wisdom.”
Gillian Hallam not only leads educational activities at Father Henri Voisin School but also serves as a bridge between the school and the wider community, including local parishes and senior care facilities. Her leadership also extends to professional development within the school and support for new teachers in the Division-wide faith formation program.
Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools serves over 10,650 students in 21 schools in Red Deer, Blackfalds, Sylvan Lake, Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail, and Olds. It also supports the learning of over 850 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 Fraser Institute
According to a new study published by the Fraser Institute, if Canada wants to remain competitive with emerging economies around the world, we must increase our math, science and reading scores—and not simply pursue high levels of “equity and inclusion” as the primary goal for our schools.
Indeed, highly equitable and inclusive schools—with declining PISA scores, as is currently the case in Canada—do a disservice to students and society at large.
Why? Because higher test scores translate into greater “knowledge capital”—that is, the full body of knowledge available to an economy—and boost economic growth (and, incidentally, the tax revenues that fund our schools).
Indeed, the goal should be equitable access to a quality education. And the most realistic and meaningful way to measure student progress is through PISA tests, which every three years assess the performance of 15-year-olds worldwide in core subjects of math, science and reading rather than the limited curriculum objectives used in provincial testing, which can only show progress or decline within individual school systems. In today’s world, where competition is truly global, we must know how our students and schools perform compared to their peers in other countries, especially the “Asian Tigers” of Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Tiawan whose rapidly growing economies have been driven by rising PISA scores.
Obviously, countries with higher test scores can teach other countries how to improve—although there are limits and some traps here. Attempting to cut and paste Singapore’s or Korea’s much more meritocratic systems of highly competitive student assessment and selection would be impractical and impolitic in Canada. Even so, policymakers should consider reinstating more meaningful meritocratic norms in Canadian schools to encourage and recognize academic achievement. Nothing succeeds like success, except recognized and rewarded success.
Closer to home, other provinces could benefit from considering why Quebec is such a stellar performer in math and why Alberta has the highest overall PISA test score average of all provinces.
But fair warning, recent attempts at school improvement in Canada show that top-down one-size-fits-all changes—including extending compulsory attendance, reducing average class size and tinkering with course content—have had little positive effect on student performance, although they may please teacher unions. If policymakers want to achieve more equitable success for more students, they should introduce more flexibility, school autonomy and choice into our top-heavy centrally regulated school systems. In this respect it may be no accident that the three highest performing, mid-spending provincial K-12 education systems (Alberta, Quebec and Ontario) offer relatively high levels of school choice, although of quite different kinds.
Equity and inclusion are noble goals, but they shouldn’t interfere with student progress. There’s too much at stake, for students and the country.
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