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Kentwood and area residents invited to hear details about new 700 student Catholic Middle School

Published

5 years ago

4 minute read

From Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools

RDCRS connects with residents in the Kentwood neighbourhood about St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools has been provided funding for the construction of a new middle school in The City of Red Deer. St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School will be located in the neighbourhood of Kentwood. The location of the new school was selected to support current and future student populations in the community.

“The Division’s middle schools in Red Deer are currently operating at over 120 per cent capacity and we expect continued enrolment growth,” said Board Chair, Kim Pasula at Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools.

“Families and young people in our region continue to choose Catholic education. Over the last 10 years, enrolment in our Division has increased by 50 per cent and today well over 10,000 children are attending our schools.”

Work has begun on the design of the school, with preliminary geotechnical testing completed in early 2021 to understand site conditions.

“The new St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School will bring a $25 million infrastructure project to our community. The new school will help to alleviate the overcrowding in our existing schools and create new educational and amenity opportunities for the young people and families that live in the surrounding neighborhoods. We look forward to sharing more about the project and hearing from community members at the upcoming online meeting, the first in a series of planned engagement sessions,” says Pasula.

To keep residents informed on the progress, the Division is holding a community engagement session on Tuesday, April 6 at 5:00 p.m. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. The intent of this engagement session is to provide a forum for community feedback and an opportunity to voice concerns with the overall design of the school. This first engagement session will focus primarily on the site layout.

Dear Kentwood residents,

As you may be aware, Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools has been provided funding for the construction of a new middle school in the City of Red Deer. The school site in your community has been chosen for the location of the new school, St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School. The location of the new school was selected to support current and future student populations in the community

Interested attendees can join the Zoom meeting link (Meeting ID: 950 5484 1129 and Passcode: i2RDy0).

St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School features:

●  The school will be a two-storey design to accommodate 700 middle school students.

●  The school is planned to follow a traditional school year and will operate as a closed

campus.

●  The school site will provide parking lots to staff and visitors, with a potential student

drop-off lane within the visitor parking lot.

●  The current playground and skating rink will be retained on-site, and the retention pond

will not be altered.

●  Additional playground space is intended to be installed, including a proposed basketball

pad.

●  Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools will provide an opportunity for user groups to rent the

facility after-hours and on weekends.

●  Construction is expected to start late fall of 2021, with the school opening September

2023.

For more information, please visit https://www.stlorenzoschool.ca/.

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Alberta

Diploma Exams Affected: No school Monday as ATA rejects offer of enhanced mediation

Published on October 17, 2025

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Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Finance Nate Horner, and Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides issued the following statement.

“Yesterday, the Provincial Bargaining and Compensation Office wrote to the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and formally requested an agreement to enter an enhanced mediation process.

“This process would have ensured that students returned to the classrooms on Monday, and that teachers returned to work.

“Negotiating would have continued with the ATA, Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) and a third-party mediator to propose a recommended agreement.

“We are very disappointed that the Alberta Teachers’ Association refused this offer. Teachers and students should also be disappointed.

“PBCO made this offer to the ATA because the union has not made a reasonable offer and this strike is impacting students. Alberta’s government is trying to put kids first and bring an end to this strike.

“The offer of enhanced mediation provided a clear path to ending it.

“We want the same things as the ATA: More teachers. More pay for teachers. More educational assistants. And more classrooms.

“This strike has gone on too long and we are extremely concerned about the impact it is having on students.

“We are willing to consider further options to ensure that our next generation gets the world-class education they deserve. After about three weeks, a strike of this nature would reach the threshold of causing irreparable harm to our students’ education.

“The ATA needs to do what is right for its members, and for all Alberta students.

“If it refuses to do so, we will consider further options to bring this strike to an end.”

Diploma exam update

November diploma exams will be optional for students.

With instructional time in schools disrupted due to the teacher strike, the November 2025 diploma exams will now be optional for students. Students who wish to write a diploma exam may request to do so, and their school boards will accommodate the request.

The optional diploma exams apply to all schools provincewide. These exams will still take place on the currently scheduled dates.

Students who choose not to write the November diploma exams can still complete their courses and graduate on time. Their final grade will be based entirely on the school-awarded mark provided by their teacher.

Choosing not to write the November diploma exams will not affect a student’s ability to apply to, be accepted by, or attend post-secondary institutions after graduation.

No changes have been made to the January and June diplomas and provincial achievement tests.

Quick facts

  • Students are automatically exempted from writing the November diploma exams but can request to write them.
  • School boards must allow the student to write the diploma exam if requested.

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Alberta

Premier Smith addresses the most important issue facing Alberta teachers: Classroom Complexity

Published on October 16, 2025

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Premier Danielle Smith is posting this response to a media question about Classroom Complexity.

While Albertans are hearing a lot about capping class sizes, Premier Smith says it might be a much better idea to talk about capping “complexity”.

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