From Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools

A former Father Henri Voisin School student, Julie Burke, was lovingly remembered today through an outdoor blessing and dedication ceremony.

The Julie Burke Memorial Bench was unveiled to the Father Henri Voisin School community and blessed by Father Jan. Julie’s family, division senior administration and Grade 5 student leaders were in attendance in a socially distanced manner.

The memorial bench will be a friendship bench for students.

Julie’s former Grade 4 teacher, Jessica Maloughney, fondly remembers Julie as a girl who was full of kindness and bravery, despite her illness, and says that the bench will, “be a symbol of Julie’s love and bravery. Even though Julianna is no longer here with us, she lives on in all of our hearts. When a student is brave enough to sit on the bench, waiting for a friend – Julie will be there with them. When one of you sees someone sitting on this bench, and invites them to play – Julie will be with you too.”

Father Henri Voisin School Principal, Jeff Tuchscherer, added, “we feel extremely blessed and privileged to have been provided this bench by the Burke family. It will honour Julie’s memory and provide a powerful reminder of the value of friendship, as well as the importance of bravery. Present and future students will vastly benefit from this legacy of a child that lived her life with steadfast love in her heart for all.”

The Julie Burke Memorial Bench faces the school playground and will serve as a reminder to all the students at Father Henri Voisin School that nothing is more important than friendship and kindness, just like Julie believed.

Father Henri Voisin School serves over 385 Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 5 students in Red Deer. As a learning institution, Father Henri Voisin School is committed to serving students with a complete offering of learning opportunities delivered within the context of Catholic teachings.

Red Deer Public welcomes federal money to address COVID-19 needs

Red Deer Public Schools welcomes the provincial announcement on distribution of federal funding that will help support COVID-19 needs across schools in the Division. In total, the provincial government is distributing $250 million to local school jurisdictions on a per student basis. Red Deer Public’s portion of those funds with 11,000 students is $3,921,750.

“We knew the Division would face significant costs related to COVID-19 and we are tracking all those numbers,” said Board Chair Nicole Buchanan. “We appreciate that the province distributed these funds leaving it to school jurisdictions to make the best use of the funding following federal guidelines. These are significant dollars and without those, we would have to utilize our limited reserve funds.”

Following federal conditions on the use of funds, Red Deer Public Schools will allocate funding to support COVID-19 related costs in staffing, adapting learning spaces, Personal Protective Equipment, cleaning and safety considerations as well as online learning. Specific allocation in these areas include:

• Personal Protective Equipment = $127,000

• Additional cleaning and caretaking supplies = $613,000

• Staffing and supports for at-home learning = $1.26 million

• Anticipated substitute costs related to COVID-19 illness and isolation of staff = $1.86 million

“The Division has worked diligently preparing for back to school. Over 90% of our students have returned to at-school learning which started September 1 with staggered entry of students. The remaining students will be supported with at-home learning. Initial response from students, parents and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. We salute our schools for being well prepared and excited to welcome students back,” said Buchanan.