Smokey air and blustery air wasn’t enough to stop celebrations for the Lloydminster Catholic School Division. In honour of World Catholic Education Day and the 60th anniversary of the LCSD, students from across the division gathered at Holy Rosary High School to commemorate the division’s history.
To help celebrate, Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton and Bishop Albert Thévenot of Prince Albert led a ceremony with local religious leaders. Following the ceremony, students enjoyed breakout activities related to scripture and an afternoon talent show at Holy Rosary High School.
Deputy director of the LCSD, Glenda Kary, remarks that the division has certainly changed over the years since she started working with it. She began at the division when there were only four schools under its wing. Since then, the LCSD has grown to curate six schools in the Border City.
“Those six schools, I remember each time a new school opened thinking they’re so big, we’ll never fill them. Now we’re at full capacity at all of our buildings. We’ve grown a lot in numbers,” says Kary. She adds that when beginning at the division, there was very little modern technology such as the internet.
“When I actually came to the Lloydminster Catholic School Division, we never have the internet or email. I came from a division that did. I did the beginning sessions with teachers introducing it to them. Now people would think, how did we ever survive? We don’t just have that; we have wireless, we have 3D printers, we have drones, we have robotics, we have media studies and all kinds of amazing things no one dreamed was [sic] possible twenty-some years ago.”
Kary affirms that the LCSD teaches its students to respect all understandings of spirituality and beliefs held by others. The division also focused on providing strong academic programming and a way for students to grow emotionally and mentally. While the future is yet unknown, the student population continues to grow, which the division will strive to keep up with.