News Archive

Vice principal of St. Joseph's Collegiate Kristina Brillantes-Hall, shares what she loves about living and working in the Brooks community.

CTR OFFERS FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN: CTR’s kindergarten programs are open to all and focus on active learning, skill development, and relationships. CTR offers full-day, full-time kindergarten in many schools. Registration is open now! Visit www.redeemer.ab.ca

CTR HAS DYNAMIC ATHLETICS PROGRAMS: CTR Catholic offers dynamic sports opportunities for all students and skill levels. CTR’s athletic programs are highly successful with many tournament banners and provincial championships.

CTR Catholic was pleased to welcome Bishop William McGrattan and local priests and deacons to a luncheon event at the Catholic Education Centre in Okotoks yesterday with senior administration, trustees and school principals. The theme was Together on a Mission. Participants gathered to discuss how our schools and parishes can collaborate on the Pastoral Renewal and opportunities that exist to enhance our collective commitment to Catholic Education. #IBelieveinCatholicEd

CTR STUDENTS ARE COMMITTED TO COMMUNITY SERVICE: All CTR students complete 30 hours of community service as a part of our Catholic social teachings for preferential treatment of the poor. CTR guides all students to appreciate the goodness of all creation and to meet the challenges of life with hope and confidence.

CTR ADDRESSES CONCERNS WITH STUDENTS’ ONLINE LIVES: CTR delivers lessons in Grades 4 to 11 that teach students responsible use of technology and address the impacts of screen time and smartphone use on their wellbeing. The initiative # Relationships In a Digital Age, is infused across all schools.

CTR and Southland Transportation have made the decision to cancel all buses tomorrow morning and afternoon, Monday, Jan. 15, in Okotoks (including St. Francis), High River, Strathmore, Brooks, Drumheller, and Canmore due to extremely cold temperatures and severe wind chills. All of our schools will remain open, as many families rely on our facilities. Students and staff driving to school should use extra caution and plan for additional travel time. Please ensure children are dressed appropriately for these extreme conditions CTR will continue to monitor road and weather conditions. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding!

CTR OFFERS ADVANCED LITERACY PROGRAMS COMBINED WITH LITERACY AND NUMERACY INTERVENTION: CTR has robust plans to promote early interventions for students in the areas of literacy and numeracy. CTR has numerous programs to support literacy such as Enhanced Reading, Early Reading Intervention, and Readers’ and Writers’ Workshop.

CTR HAS SUPERB SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL AND LEARNING SUPPORTS: CTR is committed to supporting the mental health of students in our schools. Every school has a Family School Liaison Worker and/or Connections Worker dedicated to enhancing our schools as safe and caring places to belong.

CTR and Southland Transportation have made the rare decision to cancel all buses tomorrow morning and afternoon, Friday, January 12, in Okotoks (including St. Francis), High River, Strathmore, Brooks, Drumheller, and Canmore due to extremely cold temperatures and severe wind chills. All of our schools will remain open, as many families rely on our facilities. Students and staff driving to school should use extra caution and plan for additional travel time. Please ensure children are dressed appropriately for these extreme conditions. CTR will continue to monitor road and weather conditions. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we navigate these cold temperatures.

Great Learning Starts at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools! Register today for kindergarten and pre-kindergarten! Students must be five years of age by Dec. 31, 2024 for kindergarten and four years of age for pre-kindergarten. Registration in our kindergarten program guarantees placement in Grade 1 and beyond. We accept registrations year round. All students are welcome whether they are Catholic or not. There are no fees to attend our schools. We are publicly funded. Pre-kindergarten is available in Strathmore, Oyen, and Okotoks! Visit our website for full registration information. https://www.redeemer.ab.ca/kindergarten

Calling all artists! In its fifth year, Curated. Art Collective is an opportunity for students at CTR Catholic to showcase their artistic talents in a division-wide art collective. This year’s theme aligns with CTR’s new Three-year Faith Theme: Faith Seeking Understanding. To provide some inspiration on how to incorporate the theme, students are invited to consider how the following help our faith in God grow, as they create their artwork: • The Beauty of Creation • The Marvel of the Sciences • How God’s Grace Builds Upon Nature • The Joy of a Diverse Humanity • The Wonderful Complementarity of Christian Faith and Science Talk to your school about entering. Deadline is March 25. Winning entries will be displayed at the Catholic Education Centre in Okotoks! Call your school if you have questions about submitting your child's artwork or email communications@redeemer.ab.ca 🎨

CTR HAS HIGH GRADUATION RATES! CTR’s 3-Year High School Completion rate is 87.1%, close to 6.5% higher than provincial rate. CTR students are successfully graduating high school on-time.

TRANSPORATION UPDATE: The current forecast suggests that we will experience severely cold temperatures towards the end of this week, especially on Friday. Please be reminded that our practice is that rural buses will not run in the morning if the temperature is -35 degrees or lower, and in-town buses will not run if the temperature is -40 degrees or lower. If buses do not run in the morning, they will also not run in the afternoon of that same day. In consultation with Southland Transportation, we make transportation decisions between 5:00 am and 6:00 am on inclement weather mornings, and we communicate our message prior to 6:30 am. This will either be via the Spotfinder app and/or a phone call from the bus driver. Even if buses run, CTR will respect a parent’s decision to either drive their child to school or keep their child at home if weather conditions are not reasonable. Even when buses do run there may be delays, which we will communicate as soon as we know. Please ensure that students are dressed appropriately, and that young students especially, are not left alone and unattended. All families should have a safety plan for their child should there be bus delays, such as returning home if the bus does not arrive in a timely manner. If your child does return home, please let your school know. Thank you for your patience as we navigate these colder temperatures.

CTR HAS SMALL CLASS SIZES! CTR’s average class size is 22.3 which helps with more support, one-on-one or small group work and better overall learning.

With colder temperatures expected this week, bus route delays and cancellations may occur. Please check the Bus Status tab on the division website for route updates at www.redeemer.ab.ca Delay and cancellation notices will be sent to families through the Stopfinder parent app, and when time allows via text message as well. We would like to remind parents that students should be dressed for the weather and be ready to board their bus at least five minutes prior to bus departure time. Please have alternate plans in place in the event of cancellations or long delays. Do not leave students unattended at the bus stop in very cold temperatures. We understand that transportation delays and cancellations are inconvenient for our families, and we will work with Southland Transportation to quickly communicate any transportation disruptions that may occur. Thank you for your understanding!

Happy New Year and Blessings to each of you! Join us as we pray for each of our Christ The Redeemer families that the year ahead will be filled with hope, joy, and love!

Merry Christmas! Christmas is a season of joy and merriment and it lasts all the way until January 8! Remember to keep Jesus in the centre of this season all the way to the end. Greet everyone you know with a spirit of joy! From all of us at CTR Catholic to all of you, Merry Christmas and a Blessed and Happy New Year! (Image: Adoration of the Child (c. 1619-1621). Oil on canvas, 95.5 x 131 cm (37.6 x 52 in). Uffizi Gallery, Florence)

Celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” – Luke 1:32-33