The Red Deer Catholic School board is looking forward to the coming school year, with the division going through some big changes, says Paul Mason, superintendent for the board.“We're very excited to enter a new school year. Holy Trinity (in Olds) is in the second year of operation of its new facility and we're looking forward to a new playground being built and installed in September on the Olds property,” said Mason.Innisfail's St. Marguerite Bourgeoys school is also getting some nice facility upgrades this year.“We're looking at new millwork, paint, and classroom space so we can provide better programming for our students,” he said.One issue the faith-based school division is having to deal with this year is increased enrolment, he said.“It's a good situation to find ourselves in,” he said. “It also creates some issues related to space and ensuring we have enough space for all of our students, so we continue to work with government to ensure adequate space is available.”Despite the extra government funding that comes with an increased number of students, there is still the challenge of hiring new staff and making sure there is enough room for the new students, he said.This year the board is launching both Twitter and Facebook accounts, which they hope will help bring important issues to the attention of the board.“We're looking to leverage social media to engage our stakeholders, parents, teachers and students in order to provide feedback and to help the board make decisions so we can move forward in a positive manner. We're quite excited about that and looking to launch in early October,” he said.Another change this year will see the school division start up its LIFT initiative.That program, which will run for the next three years, “focuses on literacy, inclusion, faith, and then looking to include technology throughout the literacy and faith components,” he said.The school year was formally opened up on Friday, Aug. 31 with an annual half-day welcome-back mass, complete with opening remarks from the board chair, the Alberta Teachers' Association president, and Mason.“It's a great way to start the school year together, celebrating our faith together and starting off the school year on a really good note,” he said.
