Latest news with #CalgaryCatholicSchoolDistrict
CTV News
23-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Committee pushing for new playground at N.W. Calgary school short $20K
St. Luke Elementary School has been campaigning to build some new playgrounds but says it's still $20,000 short. (Supplied/Google Maps) Parkgoers will relish in the summer sun, but it means time is running out for the St. Luke playground committee to raise the remaining $20,000 it needs for a new playground. Students at the northwest Calgary elementary school have been using the same playgrounds, one since 1999, the other since 2001. 'The recommended lifespan of most playgrounds is approximately 25 years,' said the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD), which owns and maintains all playgrounds at district schools. About 250 students attend St. Luke School, and the playground also serves area families. 'Playgrounds provide a place for students to explore and develop many skills,' said the CCSD in an emailed statement. Slated for removal St. Luke playground committee chair Carly McLuskey explains after failing a safety inspection, the swings were removed about three years ago, but no other changes have been made throughout the years. 'Our schools are made aware of their playground structure replacement schedule several years in advance and they consider fundraising initiatives, applying for various grants and community outreach to help raise funds for a new playground,' said the CCSD. The playground is slated for removal in July 2025, and the committee has raised $320,000, with an expected total price tag of $445,000. For those who are interested in helping, the playground society page (HYPERLINK: has the most up-to-date information about fundraising efforts. The committee is hoping to replace the two playgrounds with one new and improved one before the 2025-2026 school year.
CBC
11-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Calgary Catholic high school development controversial among some Aspen Woods residents
A new Catholic high school is moving forward in southwest Calgary, but not without opposition from some residents. Calgary council approved a land use amendment in Aspen Woods for the Calgary Catholic School District's proposed school project, tentatively called West Calgary High School, on Tuesday. The land in question contains expansive aspen forest and semi-native grasslands, providing natural spaces for residents to utilize as well as habitat for various species of wildlife. The development is expected to remove the vast majority of forest area from the 20-acre site to make way for the school and open spaces, leaving behind approximately 10 per cent of trees. Christina Wyllie, one of several residents to publicly oppose the project, told council that she recognizes "the potential need for additional school capacity" but doesn't agree with the location of the development. "This space is not just vacant land," she said. "This is one of the few green spaces left in Aspen Woods." She pointed to the abundance of wildlife found in the forest area, including various bird species as well as mammals such as deer, coyotes and moose. "If we tore down these woods, we would be taking away their home and destroying a whole ecosystem," said Wyllie. "It is unfair to the animals in the area who are already starting to roam the streets more and more because we have taken away all of their natural spaces, and this is all they're left with." Beyond wildlife, she said the natural space being converted to a school removes local opportunities for recreation. "Families walk their dogs here," she said. "It's a space that supports physical and mental wellness and lets people connect with nature without having to leave the neighborhood." She also pointed to the proximity of the development to three other schools currently within one kilometre of each other in the area: Calgary Academy, Webber Academy and Guardian Angel School. "If any of you live nearby, have children attending these schools or have driven through the area during drop-off and pick-up times, you know it's a traffic nightmare," said Wyllie. "Adding a fourth school regardless of access points would only worsen an already overburdened infrastructure." Project will benefit community, says superintendent Brad MacDonald, Calgary Catholic School District superintendent of support services, told council the school is necessary to accommodate increasing enrolment numbers and better support Catholic students. "Students on the west side of Calgary are asked to commute about an hour each way to Saint Mary's High School, which is the Beltline downtown," he said. According to the school district's data, its 13 high schools are projected to hit 106 per cent utilization next year. West Calgary High School has a proposed capacity of 1,200 students and is expected to be ready in 2028, according to the Calgary Catholic School District. The site is "one-of-a-kind," said MacDonald, adding that the development offers not only a school but 10 acres of publicly-accessibly open space and recreational facilities. MacDonald said the school district underwent thorough community consultation regarding the project. "We are being very intentional with our design, placing the building as far from existing residents as possible," said MacDonald. To minimize the impact of traffic congestion in the community, part of the development proposal would offer direct access to 17 Ave S.W. Schools are a priority for council "We are bursting at the seams in schools," said Coun. Sonya Sharp, currently supporting Aspen Woods as one of three representatives of Ward 6 following the resignation of Coun. Richard Pootmans last year. "I know there's some folks upset about the school going up in Aspen. It is a requirement at this point," she told CBC News. "You need to balance the needs of the community." Sharp said she anticipates more conversations around the development of new schools in Calgary, including elementary and junior high schools. " If we keep growing as we're going, it's just going to be popping up in more of the residential areas, and everyone's going to have to get comfortable with that," she said.
Calgary Herald
21-05-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Construction to be fast-tracked for west Calgary Catholic high school project
A long-awaited Catholic high school in west Calgary is one step closer to being built. Article content Article content Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced the third funding stream for the province's School Construction Accelerator Program (SCAP) in Aspen Woods on Wednesday, including two projects that will benefit the Calgary Catholic School District. Article content The projects receiving funding through the latest round of SCAP include construction of a new Catholic high school in west Calgary, and design-related work for the modernization and expansion of Bishop McNally High School in Falconridge. Article content Article content 'There has been a lot of commentary from parents in west Calgary about the need for a new high school,' Nicolaides told Postmedia ahead of his announcement. 'This project has now moved through the design phase and is ready to begin construction, so we'll be able to provide construction funding to the school division so the project can start to move ahead right away.' Article content Article content Parent advocates have long called on the provincial government to fund a Catholic high school in west Calgary. Currently, Catholic high school students in the southwest attend St. Mary's High School in the Beltline, which can involve nearly an hour's commute each way. Article content 'It's a long commute time, and I do know for a lot of families in the neighbourhood, they'd obviously prefer to have their kids attend school closer to home,' Nicolaides said. 'A lot of them switch and enrol into the public system, (with) Ernest Manning as their designated high school, which cascades and creates other capacity issues.' Article content Article content The new grades 10-12 school will be built at 1579 93rd Street S.W., on the western edge of the city limits, and is expected to open in 2028, states the CCSD's website, which doesn't specify when construction will begin. Article content Article content On the opposite corner of the city, the Bishop McNally modernization project will expand the campus to handle a capacity of 1,880 students, according to the province's major projects portal. Article content 'It is a top project for the school division and we're now able to move it to the design phase, which is a really important stage,' Nicolaides said. 'The school division can really start mapping out what that addition is going to look like and how the space is going to be modernized.' Article content Shannon Cook, chair of the CCSD's board of trustees, said the division is grateful to see two of its highest-priority high-school projects receive funding through SCAP. Article content 'With our student population growing rapidly and our high schools already over capacity, these new builds and modernizations/additions are critical to ensuring our students have access to quality, Catholic education close to home,' she said in a statement. Article content Article content SCAP is an $8.6-billion program that aims to address Alberta's growing student enrolment pressures in the K-to-12 education system, brought on by the province's recent surge in population. Article content As evidence of a worsening space crunch, more than one-third of public schools in Calgary are now operating at or above a 100 per cent utilization rate. Article content 'This growth in population has been quite quick and quite sudden over the past couple years, and it's put significant pressure on our schools,' Nicolaides said. 'That's why we're stepping up to the plate and announcing our plan to invest $8.6 billion to build and renovate more than 100 schools to help address the space needs of our school divisions. There's no question there's a lot of demand and pressure out there.' Article content Article content For SCAP's next funding stream, 11 previously announced school projects will receive either design or construction funding. Article content In addition to the two Calgary projects, Nicolaides said the province will allocate money for school projects in Coalhurst, Donnelly, Falher, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie County, Lac La Biche, Red Deer, Strathmore and Wetaskiwin. The Strathmore project includes design funding for a replacement of Westmount School. Article content When complete, the projects will create more than 8,000 new and updated student spaces. Article content 'Most of the projects we're moving forward are outside of Calgary and Edmonton this round,' Nicolaides said. 'That helps other communities around the province recognize and understand that we're trying to achieve both goals; building space in our fast-growing communities while also ensuring we have the highest quality infrastructure as possible in some of our smaller communities.' Article content
CTV News
14-05-2025
- CTV News
‘Be aware': Calgary police say popular ‘Senior Assassin' game comes with risks
Calgary police worry it's only 'a matter of time' before a major incident will occur as students throughout the city participate in a popular game known as 'Senior Assassin.' The live-action game is typically played by senior high school students and involves players eliminating 'targets' during a set time period using water guns, spray bottles or other methods. In Ontario, police issued warnings after students with replica firearms or spray-painted water guns prompted lockdowns and community alerts. In Guelph, Ont., for example, a school was put into lockdown earlier this month and a teen was arrested at gunpoint after police were called about a group spotted with a gun. The weapon turned out to be a realistic-looking water gun. 'We haven't, fortunately, had any major incidents in Calgary yet,' said Insp. Colleen Bowers with the Calgary Police Service's Youth Services section. 'I fear that it could be a matter of time.' 'There are youth that are playing this game, and the concern is they're carrying replica handguns or water pistols that look like a real handgun, and when police or citizens see that, they treat it as a real handgun.' Both the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District acknowledge students in this city are playing the game and the school boards are working with police and school principals to address concerns. Weapons, including replica guns and water guns, are not permitted on school property, each school board confirmed. The game is powered by an app that assigns the 'targets' and uses location data of the participants, something parents should also speak to their teenagers about, police say. 'As parents, be aware of the social media. Be aware of what they're doing on their phones,' said Bowers. 'Make sure they know not to take any of this stuff into the schools and to be really, really careful when you're playing this game, because sharing your location to anyone – you don't know who's getting that, and they could have nefarious reasons for having your location. 'It's just not safe to do.'
