Connect with us

Education

Jessica Snyder honoured as 2021 Gateway Christian School Valedictorian

Published

5 minute read

Gateway Valedictorian to become a teacher to make a difference

Following in her mother’s footsteps after seeing the difference she has made in the lives of students is Jessica Snyder’s goal in becoming a teacher after she graduates from Gateway Christian School this month.

Jessica has been named the Gateway’s valedictorian this year. Graduation ceremonies will take place June 29 at Canyon Ski Resort.

“I was so excited to learn I was named valedictorian. I was so happy!” said Jessica. “It’s such a huge honour that I get to address my class and congratulate them.”

She added being named valedictorian has been a goal of hers since middle school.

“It took a lot of hard work and I had to be very dedicated to my work. It took a lot of strength especially through COVID,” said Jessica. “My family and friends really helped me to keep going and keep learning. It’s all a learning experience, so that was a motivator to me – the more I devoted myself to my work, the more I learned.”

Completing high school in a global pandemic has presented a number of challenges, but Jessica didn’t let that stop her from achieving her goals.

“It has been hard. The biggest thing that has helped me this year has been the support of my family and the Lord too – just praying for the strength to get through it and find the best path for me and my family to navigate this,” she said. “Having that steady anchor of my family and the Lord has definitely helped me keep committed and keep going.”

Looking back at her time in school, Jessica said there were many highlights, but it’s the small moments that stand out to her the most.

“Most people like to remember the big things that happen like school trips, which were so much fun. But I think the real moments where I bonded with my class were the small moments like sitting and playing Uno at lunch, and if it’s a hot day outside, we go and play at the park. It’s those small moments which meant the most to me.”

As for her future, Jessica will attend Red Deer College next year as she has been accepted to the Bachelor of Education program.

“I am going to go with the secondary route, which means I will be teaching in the higher grades,” she said. “My mom is a teacher, so I have taken after that just seeing the impact she has had on students’ lives. Growing up in a family with a teacher has definitely helped shape my life, so I think it would be great for me to follow in her path and make it my own.”

Jessica added she is excited to address her fellow classmates during graduation.

“Over the past couple of years we’ve had to show a steadfast character – being loyal and committed, devoted and dedicated whether that’s with our relationships or working towards finding a job,” she said. “I want to encourage my class to keep going with that because it helps us get to great goals like achieving our graduation.”

Chris Kooman, Vice Principal at Gateway Christian School, said he is extremely proud of Jessica.

“Jessica is a hard working student with attention to detail and a love of learning. She takes her studies seriously, working diligently to excel in every area,” he said. “She cares about her classmates, is fun and energetic, and works on relationships as much as her studies. Jessica’s willingness to help others, improve herself, and constantly improve are qualities that will take her far in life!”

Alberta

Parents group blasts Alberta government for weakening sexually explicit school book ban

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The revised rules no longer place restrictions on written descriptions of sexual content.

Some parental rights advocates have taken issue with the Conservative government of Alberta’s recent updates to a ban on sexually explicit as well as pornographic material from all school libraries, saying the new rules water down the old ones as they now allow for descriptions of extreme and graphic sexual acts in written form.

As reported by LifeSiteNews last week, Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides of the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) released revised rules outlining the province’s ban on sexually explicit content in school libraries.

The original ban included all forms of sexually explicit as well as pornographic material. However, after a large public school board alleged the ban applied to classic books, the government changed the rules, removing a clause for written sexual content that has some parental rights groups up in arms.

Tanya Gaw, founder of the conservative-leaning Action4Canada, noted to media that while she is happy with Premier Danielle Smith for the original book ban, she has deep concerns with the revised rules.

“We are very concerned about the decision that no longer places restrictions on written descriptions of those acts, which is problematic,” she said in an interview with The Epoch Times.

Gaw noted how kids from kindergarten to grade 12 should “never” be “exposed to graphic written details of sex acts: incest, molestation, masturbation, sexual assaults, and profane vulgar language.”

According to John Hilton-O’Brien, who serves as the executive director of Parents for Choice in Education, the new rule changes regarding written depictions “still shifts the burden onto parents to clean up what should never have been purchased in the first place.”

He did say, however, that the new “Ministerial Order finally makes catalogs public, and what we see there is troubling.”

Alberta’s revised rules state that all school library books must not contain “explicit visual depictions of a sexual act.” To make it clear, the standards in detail go over the types of images that are banned due to their explicit pornographic nature.

As reported by LifeSiteNews in May, Smith’s UCP government went ahead with plans to ban books with sexually explicit as well as pornographic material, many of which contain LGBT and even pedophilic content, from all school libraries.

The ban was to take effect on October 1.

The UCP’s crackdown on sexual content in school libraries comes after several severely sexually explicit graphic novels were found in school libraries in Calgary and Edmonton.

The pro-LGBT books in question at multiple school locations are Gender Queer, a graphic novel by Maia Kobabe; Flamer, a graphic novel by Mike Curato; Blankets, a graphic novel by Craig Thompson; and Fun Home, a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel.

Continue Reading

Crime

Canadian teacher showed Charlie Kirk assassination video to young students, said he deserved to die

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

A Toronto teacher was suspended after reportedly forcing students to watch the assassination video while lecturing them about ‘anti-fascism, anti-trans, and how Charlie Kirk deserved this to occur.’

A Canadian teacher from the Toronto area has been suspended after showing the assassination video of Charlie Kirk to children aged 10 to 11 in his class, allegedly telling students Kirk deserved to die.

The teacher, from the Corvette Junior Public School in Toronto, Ontario, has been suspended and is under investigation by officials at the Toronto District School Board.

According to a Toronto Sun report, a source close to the situation said that several students from the teacher’s class “went home and complained to their parents, traumatized at witnessing the on-camera death, which they were forced to witness numerous times over.”

The source added that “parents subsequently reached out to school administrators, who will be putting him on leave at the start of the school day, September 12th, 2025.”

According to the source, while the teacher was playing Kirk’s assassination video, “repeatedly, he gave a speech to his students regarding anti-fascism, anti-trans, and how Charlie Kirk deserved this to occur.”

This past Friday, school officials sent parents a letter about the incident, calling the teacher’s alleged actions “extremely troubling and completely disturbing.” 

“During class, students were said to have been shown a portion of a violent video in response to questions being asked about a recent tragic event in the United States,” reads the letter, which was signed by Corvette Junior Public School Principal Jennifer Koptie.

The letter confirmed that the video was allegedly shown to kids in grades 5 and 6 by a staff member at the school, who was supervising a French immersion class, but was not the student’s regular teacher.

“While an investigation must still be conducted to learn all of the details, the report of this incident is extremely troubling and completely unacceptable,” the letter continued.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Kirk, who was the CEO of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), was shot in the neck during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University last Wednesday and later died.

Law enforcement has Kirk’s alleged shooter in custody, as reported by LifeSiteNews.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, the roommate and alleged “partner” of Charlie Kirk’s assassin suspect has been confirmed to be a man who identifies as transgender.

Canada’s Conservative Party leader, Pierre Poilievre, last week, gave a touching tribute to Kirk, saying he was “mercilessly assassinated” for simply expressing his “contrary views.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, after a long delay last Thursday, broke his silence on the assassination of Kirk, saying he was “appalled” by his murder while calling for “prayers” for his family.

Continue Reading

Trending

X