Latest news with #CatholicSchoolDivision
CTV News
01-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Sask. Catholic schools renew partnership with U of S on nursing practicum
The following story originally ran in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. It's paid for through federal Local Journalism Initiative funding and shared under a Creative Commons licence. A Prince Albert Catholic School Division nursing agreement with the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) will continue for another year. Last school year, the division hosted 12 nurses completing their practicum with the U of S College of Nursing. In a report presented at the board's regular meeting on June 16, the division confirmed the program would continue for another year. Next school year the division will have eight students and each student will complete 216 hours, two days a week from September until December of 2025. Prince Albert Catholic Director of Education Lorel Trumier said administrators at schools that hosted the practicum students saw the value they brought. 'They bring a rich element to support curriculum delivery and areas of support,' Trumier said 'We know that those young nurses need to see what community nursing looks like and what that involves. It certainly involves educating people around them about the different aspects (of health) so it's very important,' she added. Nursing students will be involved in creating health teaching, health promotion and disease prevention strategies. The nursing students will also develop resources for staff and students according to school needs. Nurses will also be able to do presentations about health-related subjects. St. John Community School, Ecole St. Anne School, Ecole Holy Cross School, and St. Catherine School will each have two nursing students assigned. 'It's been very successful, so we're very grateful for the University of Saskatchewan Prince Albert and the nursing students that we receive,' Trumier said. Catholic School Division trustees receive year-end mental health report Prince Albert Catholic School Division trustees received an outline of mental health and well-being initiatives and supports in the division at their regular meeting on June 16. Superintendent Charity Dmytruk provided the update. Following the presentation, Director of Education Lorel Trumier reflected on how much work was done in this area in the past year. 'I'm very many years into my career and what I appreciate is how much intentionality there is to mental health and well-being,' she said. 'That's changed considerably over the last 30 years.' Trumier said they also appreciate the school division staff who support different work on mental health in the division. Another example is the Mental Health Capacity Building partnership with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) at St. John Community School. 'I think it is just speaking to that intentionality, whether it's the mental health capacity, building opportunity that we have at St. John, and we're going to endeavour to have that at St Francis next year,' Trumier said The MHCB initiative focuses on prevention, health promotion, early identification and intervention by helping youth better manage their feelings and find help if they become overwhelmed. The MHCB pilot started at St. John Community School in September, 2022. The initiative operates 12 months a year and focuses on community outreach in the summer. The division is also part of the working group on the Mental Health Priority, the new Provincial Education Plan. The Division also utilizes the Red Cross Beyond the Hurt Bully Prevention Program but has brought the faith-based perspective into it. 'We do a lot of work with that. That's really changed the dialogue for students in schools and we've made it our own. We've made it a Catholic focus. We know Jesus as a model, gospel values guide what we do, where we respect each person as a child of God, and that's the foundation of the work,' she explained. She explained that seeing all the work in the area made her reflect on how things have changed. 'I was reflecting on how beautiful it is that there is attention to these matters now, much more than in the beginning of my career. I think it's putting everyone in a much better place to support our students today,' Trumier said.
Hamilton Spectator
31-05-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Matheson humbled to receive Catholic Education Service Award
Catholic Education Week is from May 25 to June 1 and the Prince Albert Catholic School Division board celebrated the occasion by announcing the 2024-2025 Catholic Education Service Award winners. Current substitute teacher Collette Matheson was among two honourees selected. She was present at the Catholic School Division board of education meeting on Monday to receive the award from Chair Suzanne Stubbs. Matheson began her teaching career in Saskatoon. In 1987, she joined her husband Fred Matheson in Prince Albert and started her journey with the Prince Albert Catholic School Division. Over the years, she taught students from Grade 1 to Grade 12, with most of her career dedicated to Middle Years French Immersion at École Holy Cross School. Matheson was honoured to join the list of past inductees for the award. 'It is very humbling,' she said. 'It's been an honour to actually be recognised. I looked at the past recipients and they are such amazing people and so dedicated to Catholic education, so I feel very honoured to be in that group.' Matheson has been teaching for 41 years, 38 of which came with the Prince Albert Catholic School Division. She said the middle years students were great to teach. 'They're not quite sure who they are going to be, so it was great to be a witness to all of that and to have that faith background to get them through it (and) to be supportive,' Matheson said. 'I tried to be as compassionate as possible with them and you try to help as many as you can.' Initially Matheson worked as a high school teacher before teaching Grade 1 for a period. She left on maternity leave, and started teaching middle years when she came back. 'I stayed there and I just loved them,' she said. 'I love the energy of the group. I love that they were at a point in their life where they're really trying to figure things out.' She said the little things as a junior high French Immersion teacher warmed her heart. 'I was watching from up top at the school and one kid just looked around to see if anybody was watching,' she remembered. 'He was by himself and he just went into cartwheel, just to get that joy out. 'The energy was amazing, and yes, there were struggles and stuff, but I love the energy that they bring to it,' she added. 'They're so hard on themselves sometimes and they just turn out to be great adults. I've always been in awe of the students, I love the little moments.' Matheson said having a Catholic faith-based education was important because it allowed her to be her whole self. She began her career in the public system in Saskatoon. 'I ended up with the Catholic, and I didn't have to hide any part of my personality. or my spiritual self,' she said. 'Any of those parts could permeate into whatever it was teaching, and then I could always rely on that, too. 'When we went through some tough times with students, whether they be losses or divorce or whatever it may have been, it was nice to have that faith base. You have that prayer or you could offer them hope in that way. I like that faith foundation for that reason.' The students remain the most important part to Matheson. 'I love my students. I think that was the highlight of my career,' she said. Matheson retired seven years ago but kept getting contracts because she is a French Immersion Teacher and there was always a need. 'I've been back in the classroom for the last seven years and I'm finally just subbing this year, so it's kind of nice,' she said. 'I love the little moments with the students. I've had an amazing group of kids and I've had some wonderful staff beside me that were very focused on doing the best they could for the kids.' Matheson was one of two people to win Catholic Education Service Awards this year. The other was Vel Thompson is a 37 year employee of the school division who worked as an Administrative Assistant and is currently employed at the Education Centre. Thompson declined the chance to be interviewed about receiving the award. The Board of Education established the Catholic Education Service Award in 1998 to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to Catholic education in Prince Albert. Both recipients have been nominated due to their significant contributions to Catholic Education, and their faith community. The board of education congradulated both award winners. 'Our Board is truly grateful to this year's recipients of the Prince Albert Catholic Service Awards,' Stubbs said in a press release. 'We are proud that Colette and Val call our school division and Catholic education community home. Their involvement in our schools, parishes, and greater Catholic community is exemplary, and we are blessed to have these individuals working with our staff and students.' The Prince Albert Catholic Division invites everyone to join in celebrating World Catholic Education Week as they strive to provide a supportive atmosphere that makes Catholic schools nurturing environment for students to thrive academically, spiritually and socially. The Board of Education thanked everyone for the submissions received. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
