walking together in god’s love: holy trinity student ... · presentation of the indigenous...
TRANSCRIPT
“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
A new year is upon us and we gathered together for our monthly meeting to celebrate and look forward to 2019 with love, hope and optimism.
At the January 29, 2019 Board meeting, Trustees celebrated our students’ gifts, our commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and our staff, who work tirelessly to ensure the safe and well-being of our students.
Walking Together in God’s Love: Holy Trinity Student, Rikki Abesamis
The Board took time at the January meeting to honour Holy Trinity student Rikki Abesamis as the celebrant of the monthly tribute of the District school year theme of “Walking Together in God’s Love” and the heartwarming work that happens daily in our schools.
A Grade 12 student, Rikki has created stunning religious works of art for our schools and sites and uses his artistic talents to bring together those around him closer to God through his art. Rikki shares his work generously to help elevate our faith experience. Rikki’s work can be found throughout the community including the “Holy Door” at St. Clement School, “The Saints of the Passion” at Holy Trinity School and even the nativity scene at St Theresa’s Parish.
Rikki was also a recipient of the District’s God is Love award, which is given to those special ECSD students who give deeply to their faith and their Church. In his essay as part of the nomination process, Rikki said: “with every step, with every action, we can do much to evangelize. I personally bring people to God through my artwork and my actions…and hope that through my artwork they will also appreciate all good things that God has given to us and the unconditional love that he has shown through Jesus’ crucifixion.”
Rikki’s stunning sculpture of Mary is currently on display at the District’s downtown office, Lumen Christi Catholic Education Centre.
Ward 71 TERRY HARRIS Cell: 780 937-8268 [email protected] Ward 72 • (Vice-Chair) SANDRA PALAZZO Cell: 780 965-6083 [email protected] Ward 73 CARLA SMILEY Home: 587 408-3589 [email protected] Ward 74 DEBBIE ENGEL Cell: 780 970-7160 [email protected] Ward 75 ALENE MUTALA Cell: 780 242-5926 [email protected] Ward 76 LISA TURCHANSKY Cell: 780 903-2033 [email protected] Ward 77 • (Chair) LAURA THIBERT Cell: 780 231-6312 [email protected]
AUPE Memorandum of Agreement
At the January 29 meeting, the Board of Trustees voted in favour of ratifying the final Memorandum of Agreement with Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).
For the official signing, the Board was honoured to welcome Kevin Quinn, a Control Technician with our District and the Vice Chair of the AUPE Local 71, Chapter 13, who was part of the negotiations on the agreement.
The collective agreement expired in August 31, 2016, with a deal in principle was reached on December 14, 2018 and on January 19, 2019, AUPE voted on the agreement in favour of acceptance.
Presentation of the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada
On January 18, 2019, Ben Calf Robe/St. Clare school welcomed the Alberta Government, represented by Ministers Eggen, Feehan and Mason, and the Canadian Geographical Society, represented by John Geiger, who presented the gift of the Canadian Geographic Indigenous People’s atlas of Canada to the school and announced that the atlas will be given to every school in Alberta.
This publication and its distribution is an excellent way of sharing the history and recognizing the contributions of the Indigenous peoples to Alberta and nationally. It allows a wonderful opportunity to showcase and educate students on the accomplishments of Indigenous people.
Trustee Carla Smiley was honoured to receive the atlas on behalf of the Board of Trustees and presented this gift to the rest of the board at the last meeting. The Board and the District are committed to the Calls to Action of Truth and Reconciliation that
honour and educate Albertans on Indigenous history.
Transportation & Human Resources Annual Report
The Board of Trustees welcomed both the Transportation and Human Resources teams who presented their annual reports.
The Transportation team fields approx. 200 calls per day and is available from 7:00 am until the very last student arrives home for the day. The team continuously accommodates special requests and adjusts routes accordingly and has processed close to 10,000 routing requests to accommodate families.
Human Resource Services (HRS) acts in a supportive role to ECSD, addressing human resources needs for all District employees. This includes good hiring practices, staffing, staff development, employee orientation and recognition, employee health, occupational health and safety, grievances and disciplinary response, employee assistance programs, benefits management, contract negotiations and management, production and distribution of payroll and handling data for the District’s 5,500+ employees.
The next meeting of the Board will be held on February 26, 2019. This edition of The Messenger is from the January 29, 2019 meeting.
The Messenger: Notable News from the Board is published following the public Board meeting and is an opportunity for the ECSD Board of Trustees to communicate the accomplishments and pay tribute to the wonderful initiatives that our District undertakes. If you would like to view the latest Board meeting, here is a link to the webcast: https://www.ecsd.net/BoardofTrustees/Reports-and-Resources/public_board_meeting/Pages/Default.aspx