Projects We're Funding

2024-2025: St. John Paul II Outreach School Take What You Need

This past year, JPII Outreach was honoured to receive a grant from the Education Foundation, which significantly impacted our ability to support students in need within our school community. The allocated funds were instrumental in addressing some of the most fundamental requirements for our students' well-being, particularly concerning hygiene and the essential life skills associated with self-care.

With the generous support of the grant, we established a "Take What You Need" corner within the school. This dedicated space allows students to independently select items that are crucial for their personal hygiene and overall development. The initiative not only fosters an environment of dignity and respect but also empowers students to make choices that positively influence their daily lives.

The items made available in this area include shampoo, conditioner, soap, body spray, body wash, deodorant, lotions, feminine hygiene products, socks, and clothing. Each of these items was carefully chosen to reflect the basic needs of our students, ensuring that they have access to essential products vital for their health and self-esteem.

The response from the student body has been overwhelmingly positive, as many have expressed gratitude for the availability of these resources. By prioritizing their basic needs, we are not only aiding in their immediate well-being but also equipping them with vital skills for the future. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Education Foundation for their invaluable support, which continues to make a difference in the lives of our students.

2024-2025: St. Martin de Porres School - Faith News

All 275+ students in St Martin de Porres School took the stage of Red Deer Polytechnic on November 27 and 28, 2024, to perform our annual production. This year’s production was “Faith News”, which featured a heavenly news broadcast that brought some of our favourite Bible Stories to life. It spotlights all the best in Heavenly headlines, builds faith through genuine, Bible-based news stories, inspires by sharing the encounters of real Bible heroes, and encourages us all to believe that anything is possible when we follow God’s plan. 

Our annual production involves all of our K - grade 5 students as cast and crew.  We performed the play three times - two evening shows and one matinee, which several schools could attend during the school day. 

Parents delight in seeing their children on stage! One grandparent was moved to tears and thanked us for sharing such an important message of God's Good News and empowering the students to share their gifts and talents in such an extraordinary manner. 

At St Martin de Porres School, our love for God and the Fine Arts is showcased in this production as our students share their gifts while conveying fantastic, faith-affirming truths that can only come from God’s Word. 

We truly appreciate the generous funding from the Catholic Education Foundation, which plays a vital role in supporting this important endeavour.

2024-2025: École Secondaire Notre Dame High School – Student Mentoring

Another successful round of mentoring in the books.   KE grade 9s met with our high school students for engagement, mentoring and fun..  We culminated in making tie dyed t-shirts and celebrating together in community.  St Thomas Grade 9s came into grade 10 feeling supported and connected this year.

Jennifer Smith

2024-2025: Holy Family School - Victoria Park Visits

Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, Holy Family School students and staff have had the opportunity to visit residents living at the Victoria Park Retirement Home. These monthly visits  are well received by the many residents who choose to read stories, play bingo, engage in games,  and do seasonal crafts with the students of Holy Family School. The laughter, joy, and love that is felt by students, staff, and residents during every visit is palpable and heartwarming.

Conversations flow naturally between the students and residents, with stories shared about their  lives, wisdom passed down through generations, and smiles exchanged while playing and learning  together. We are beyond thankful for the Catholic Education Foundation grant that allowed us to  finance the transportation for this rich community-building opportunity for our students, staff, and the residents of Victoria Park Retirement Home!

2024-2025: St. Teresa of Avila School - Board Game Evaluator & Community Builder Program

Hello,

On behalf of St. Teresa of Avila School, thank you for your generous grant for our "Board Game Evaluator & Community Builder Program"

We have thoroughly enjoyed offering this program to our school community and have had great feedback. Unfortunately, due to the nature of this program we felt it was not appropriate to take pictures of the students who are accessing the games to take home to their families. However, we did host a Family Board Game Night in December and have attached pictures from this night. As well, I have included photos of some of the game bags that go home and also the sticker that is on each bag to explain to families that the Red Deer Regional Catholic Education Foundation sponsored this program.

Here is a video from St. Teresa of Avila’s Facebook page:

If you have any questions or would like additional information please feel free to reach out. Thank you again for all of your support to offer these meaningful connection programs for our students and families. 

Cari Fleming
School Counsellor
St. Teresa of Avila School

2024-2025: St. Elizabeth Seton Serves

A testimony of St. Elizabeth Seton Serves projects for the 2024-2025 school year. 

Projects included:

• Socks and Mitts
• Seton Serves PD
• Showered in Love
• Chalice Canada Spirit Week Toonie Drive
• Ronald McDonald House Home for Dinner
• Flowers for Seniors
• MMMuffins

2023-2024: École Secondaire Notre Dame High School – Pop Up Pantry Fridge

The Red Deer Catholic Education Foundation generously provided funds to purchase a commercial refrigerator allowing us to expand the offerings of Notre Dame's pop up pantry. Our pop up pantry provides fresh, frozen, canned and shelf stable food as well as hygiene items and kitchen basics for students that live independently as well as families that need a hand. 

We are grateful to the Education Foundation for helping us to support our Notre Dame family. 

2023-2024: Holy Family School - Living the Faith 

We were truly blessed this year to welcome Ryan and Daniel from FaceToFace Ministries to Holy Family School.

They visited us on October 23, 2023 for a full day and brought our Catholic faith to life through music, keynote talks, activities, and prayer. The retreat consisted of a whole school praise and worship morning session, followed by separate grade sessions presented to individual grade cohorts in the gym scheduled throughout the day. The energy and enthusiasm this faith retreat brought to our school was palpable throughout the day! The excitement could be heard in the classrooms and hallways as the presenters sang and praised our Lord! Staff and students alike were visibly moved and inspired by the prayerful opportunities throughout the day. Tears of joy, moments of prayerful silence, and songs of celebratory praise filled Holy Family School on this beautiful day!

We are beyond thankful for the Catholic Education grant that allowed us to finance this rich Catholic learning opportunity for our students and staff!

St. Elizabeth Seton School - Grade-Level Retreats

St. Elizabeth Setong is "inspired by Christ on a journey to encounter, nurture, and serve." Our goal with the grant we received was to engage all students in a faith retreat at St. Mary's Parish.

In our retreats, our goal was to celebrate Mass together, reflect and expand on a theme, and to engage students in a tour of the church as a way of understanding the importance of coming to Mass to celebrate with our community.

Grade-level retreat themes included:

• Kindergarten: "I am part of God's flock!"
• Grade One: What gifts will I share with Jesus? (Epiphany)
• Grade Two: How do I build my relationship with God? (Reconciliation with Maryview)
• Grade Three: How do I shine Christ's light? (Advent)
• Grade Four: How will I receive and share the Good News? (Easter)
• Grade Five: How will the Rosary help to build my prayer life? (Mary)

We are so thankful to the Education Foundation for the opportunity to share and grow in our Catholic faith with our students and staff, the ability to celebrate Mass together as a school community, the gift of being able to provide faith leadership for our students in a fun and engaging way that strengthens our relationship with the Catholic Church. 

St. Francis of Assisi Middle School - Alpha/Wolves 4 Faith Program

The RDCRS Education Foundation helped two programs at St. Francis of Assisi.  The Alpha group is a group of grade 8 and 9 students who meet once per week and learn about our faith through an online Catholic program.  They sit together and break bread together, while learning about the great works of Jesus and relate his good works to what we do as a school community. We are grateful to the Education Foundation for supporting this important, student-centered program.

Here are a few student testimonials about Alpha:

Alpha means so much to me. It basically changed my life because now every week I have a place to come to learn about God. I really love this group because it feels like a big loving family.

Alpha means the world to me. It is the only time in school where I can get together with all my brothers and sisters in Christ and just learn about faith and worship the Lord. I can be myself without fear of being judged, and I learn so much that I otherwise would never have prior to this group.

This group is amazing. It helps me so much with my faith.

Alpha was a very big and wonderful project for me! They introduced a lot of useful and interesting information here. I enjoyed every second of it. I’ll have very warm memories about Alpha in the future!

It led me in the right direction.

Alpha has helped me grow closer to God and helped me learn how to better myself and also?[ teach others about God to help them have a better life. This group has also helped me get through hard times and learn to forgive.

Alpha was a good experience to come with friends and discuss some things we have in common.

The Alpha group helped me learn about my faith.

It’s a safe place to talk about our faith without getting made fun of.

This has helped me become a better person.

How can you follow the first commandment if you do not have time in your day to be together with God like at Alpha or Jesus club?

Alpha is a place where I can be myself with no worries of being judged, or made fun of. Also it has helped me learn about faith and helped me grow in it.

Alpha to me means getting to express my faith in a safe, loving, and supportive community while learning what the true Word of God is and what it means to be a follower.

Alpha was a great time where I got to connect with God and classmates. It was a great time.

Wolves4Faith program at St Francis is a program for grade 6 and 7 students.  Their main focus is to provide students opportunities to serve others, practice some of the Catholic Social Teaching Principles, and allow the students an opportunity to make our community aware of the good works of our students in our school.

A small portion of the grant was used for crafting materials to create faith based Christmas cards for our community and crafts that were completed with the residents of the Revera Senior Homes. 

St. Francis of Assisi Middle School - FacetoFace Retreats

Every student in St Francis had the pleasure of participating in Face to Face Ministry Retreats this year.  

Ryan and Daniel, from this organization, allowed the students to encounter the love of Jesus and they modeled how to ask for forgiveness in a way that engaged all of our students through songs, stories, games and in prayer.  

We appreciate the RDCRS Education Foundation for the donation of the money needed to bring Face to Face to our school.

St. Martin de Porres School - Danny and the Shacks 

All 250+ students in St Martin de Porres School took the stage of Red Deer Polytechnic on November 27 and 28, 2023 to perform Danny and the Shacks! The production tells the story of Danny and his friends: Israelites living in Babylon. Through many challenges and hardships, they learn to stay strong in their faith in God and follow His plan. 

Our annual production involves all of our students as cast and crew, and several schools were able to attend our matinee performance. Families and other community members attended our evening performances, meaning that this performance touched hundreds of people. 

Students grew in their faith not only through the message of the play, but in the experience of working together to pull off this performance. They learned to work in community, to help each other, and to trust in God. 

We are grateful for funding from the Catholic Education Foundation to help with the costs of our stage rental.

St. Teresa of Avila School - Kimoji Family Social Emotional Connection Program

We are very thankful for the Red Deer Catholic Education Foundation grant to support our early learning programming. Our Counselling team had the opportunity to host parent drop in sessions throughout the school year for our Pre-K & Kindergarten parents/guardians. The grant enabled us to purchase food, prizes and resources all of which encouraged families to attend. During this time we broke bread together while they shared some of the struggles they were having with parenting. The school proved to be a faith filled safe space that they could share, connect with other parents and receive education and resources to take home. Each session we provided a take home activity, resources with gentle reminders from our Social Emotional KImochi program and water bottle stickers to remind them of their strength and faith. We are certain that this program helped to increase awareness of Counselling supports at school and resources to support them in their journey. We shared with all parents that the opportunity for this program was because of the Red Deer Catholic Education Foundation. 

We plan to host an outdoor drop in session to finish off the school year where we will have snacks & prizes while being available to answer questions. At this time we will also provide them with a take home summer activity with a note thanking the Red Deer Catholic Education Foundation for this program.

Constable Bond during one of our lunches.

St. Teresa of Avila School - RCMP Member & Student Connection Lunches

St. Teresa of Avila School was very fortunate to receive this grant to help build community connections with our local RCMP team members. Several times throughout the year RCMP were invited to join students for a pizza lunch. RCMP members took time to listen, share stories and to have fun with the students which helped to shape a positive experience and relationship with them. We plan to finish off the year with a ‘Popsicle in the Park’ event with the RCMP members and encourage all families to attend. We will be sure to take pictures of this event and will post them on our social media.

Thank you for your generous donation to make this possible for our school and community. 

St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School - FaceToFace Retreat

Our grade 7 and 9 students participated in retreats provided by Face To Face Retreats. Here they encountered Christ in the Sacraments, moments of prayer, truth proclaimed in talks, event leaders, and other participants. With a new sense of life and purpose, they were sent home to continue living this incredible life in Christ.

By fostering encounters with Jesus Christ and inspiring the response to become saints, we build a faith community that supports and encourages each other.  Knowing Christ aligns with our school's Circle of Courage model which encourages all students to nurture and serve others.

We would like to thank the Education Foundation for generously providing the funds in this experience for our students. We are confident that this will allow our students to continue to encounter, nurture, and serve Christ.

Go Girls

Go Girls is a one-day event that promotes health and wellness to all Grade 5 girls in Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools and Red Deer Public Schools. This event focuses on physical activity, healthy eating and mental wellness. Students benefit by gaining new skills and knowledge, while building new friendships. This initiative has been given $2,000

Grow Boys

Grow Boys is a full day leadership conference for Grade 5 boys in Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools and Red Deer Public Schools. This event includes sessions on physical activity, mental health/wellness, trades and technology. Students benefit from learning new skills and are exposed to positive role models throughout the day. This initiative has been allocated $2,000.

St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School – Healthy Start

St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School will be launching a breakfast program that will provide nutritional foods that will be available to students before morning classes. This initiative will receive $4,000 in funding.

St. Teresa of Avila School – Mindful Kids Club

The Mindful Kids Club encourages students to be leaders by selecting meaningful projects that promote mindfulness and kindness in the school community. The club embodies an appreciation of all students and their God given dignity where they see in the light of others and focus on kind acts. This initiative was allocated $1,500.

St. Teresa of Avila School – St. Teresa News

Students prepare and deliver a weekly Newscast on YouTube. Each student who presents on the show has the opportunity to share their knowledge or gifts with their peers. The $1500 in funding will go towards new equipment, such as an iPad, microphone and new Chromebooks for editing.

St. Patrick’s Community School – Prayer and Praise

The Prayer and Praise program provides a unique and powerful way for students and staff members to connect with their faith through music. The school will receive $5,000 in funding to restock and replenish decades old musical instruments, such as rhythm sticks, maracas, hand drums, finger cymbals, shaker eggs, triangles, tambourines, wood blocks, etc.

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School – Community Garden

Students and staff will set up a community garden on school land to grow fruit, vegetables and flowers, such as lilies and daisies. Liles are the flower symbol of Mary and daisies will represent the school’s name: Marguerite. This project has been allocated $2,300.

St. Martin de Porres School – School Musical Production

All staff and students at St. Martin de Porres School will join together to practice and present a musical production that celebrates the Catholic faith. Students will grow in the Catholic characteristic of tradition through acting, singing, moving set pieces, and ushering people at the door. This production will receive $3,500 in funding.

St. Francis of Assisi Middle School – Nature Oasis

The Blended and Foundations program will create a welcoming entrance to the school that will be a functional and outdoor learning space for all students. This will include the planting of trees and having a mulch bed created, with the addition of planter boxes and picnic tables. This project was allocated $3,000.

St. Elizabeth Seton School – Spring Musical Production

All students in the school will be involved in the Spring Musical production. Each class will learn a song and dance which relates to the Division’s faith theme. This will be performed to the community in April or May 2022 at the Memorial Centre. This project has been allocated $2,500.

St. Elizabeth Seton School – Face to Face Ministries

Face to Face Ministries seeks to challenge youth to holiness by living and proclaiming the fullness of the Catholic faith. These retreats will connect students to the characteristics of hospitality and justice, which is the Division’s focus next school year. This project will receive $1,600.

Maryview School – Face to Face Ministries

This program gives our students the chance to see the retreat coordinators and witness their faith. This is an excellent way for students to see alternate paths of how God has worked in their lives. This project has been allocated $1,500.

Holy Trinity Catholic School – Saint and Faith

The school would like to purchase various faith-based picture books of saints, living our faith, and the Eucharist. This will help staff permeate faith in their classrooms and teach about the lives of the saints. This project has been allocated $1,000.

Holy Family School – Face to Face Ministries

The Face to Face Ministries is a day retreat to allow students to learn and grow in their Catholic faith. These retreats challenge students to find their God-given purpose in their lives and go forth to share what they have learned with others. This project will receive $2,100.

École Secondaire Notre Dame High School – KEY – Unlocking Your Potential

This mentorship program is a partnership between our middle schools and École Secondaire Notre Dame High School. The KEY – Unlocking Your Potential will allow middle school students to partner with a high school mentor over a period of eight months. This will alleviate anxiety, foster self confidence and lead to a smooth transition and future success for those Grade 9 students transitioning into a high school setting. This project will receive $1,500.

École Our Lady of the Rosary School – Bridging the Gap

The Bridging the Gap is between students and seniors in the community’s extended care home. The goal of this project is to help improve mental well-being for all of those involved by showing that regardless of age, everyone can make a difference in the life of another person. This initiative will receive $1,420.

École Mother Teresa School – Cultivating Resilience Through Kindness

The program will connect the school by creating a culture of kindness that will focus on six core concepts: respect, caring, inclusiveness, integrity, responsibility and courage. With the guidance of counsellors, classes will form ways that kindness and faith could be spread throughout the school. This project will be allocated $1,975.

École Camille J. Lerouge School – Face to Face Ministries

Face to Face Ministries retreats will inspire students to be encouraged and motivated to seek God in their own lives. The $3,500 in funds will be used for three full retreats for students in Grade 4-9.

2019-2020 Projects We Funded

The Red Deer Regional Catholic Education Foundation funded 16 school-based projects ($42,000), three division-wide projects ($7,500) and one alumni scholarship ($500) for a total of $50,000. In addition to funding these projects, the Foundation awarded $2500 in scholarships to five students during the fall of 2019.

• Alumni Scholarship - Emily Downey
• Grow Boys 2020
• Go Girls 2020
• Middle School Faith Week
• École Secondaire Notre Dame High School – Sea-can Conservation Project
• St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School - Faith Retreats
• St. Teresa of Avila School - Outdoor Adventure Club (pictured)
• St. Teresa of Avila School - Kind Kids Club
• St. Teresa of Avila School - Health Champion Retreat & School-wide Activities
• St. Patrick's Community School - Faith Retreats
• St. Margeurite Bourgeoys Catholic School - Mass Kit
• St. Margeurite Bourgeoys Catholic School - Faith Retreats
• St. Gregory the Great Catholic School - Pure Witness Ministries
• St. Francis of Assisi Middle School - Way of the Wolf
• St. Francis of Assisi Middle School - Faith Formation
• St. Elizabeth Seton School - School Faith Retreat
• Maryview School - Feeling the Faith
• Maryview School - Faith-based Presentations and Retreats
• Holy Trinity Catholic School - Religion Resources
• Holy Family School - Face to Face Ministries

2018-2019 Projects We Funded

In June 2018, the Red Deer Regional Catholic Education Foundation announced funding for 18 school-based projects ($39,000) and four Division projects ($11,000) for a total of $50,000. In addition to funding these projects, the Foundation will award $2,500 in scholarships to five students during the fall of 2018.

• St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School - Grade Specific Retreats
• St. Teresa of Avila School - Kind Kids Club
• Maryview School - Faith Retreat for Grade 1-2 Students
• Grow Boys 2019
• St. Teresa of Avila School - Breakfast Program
• St. Francis of Assisi School - Face to Face Ministries
• Go Girls 2019
• St. Elizabeth Seton School - A Rosary for Every Student
• St. Francis of Assisi School - Health and Wellness Project
• RDCRS READS - 2018 Summer Reading Program
• École Our Lady of the Rosary School - Bridging the Gap
• Faith Leadership Team and Youth Ministry
• Holy Family School - Living the Faith Retreats
• Father Henri Voisin School - Servant Leadership
• Maryview School - Faith Retreat for Grade 3-5 Students
• Maryview School - Passionate Leaders
• Holy Trinity Catholic School - Pre-Kindergarten & Kindergarten Faith Resources
• St. Francis of Assisi Middle School - NET Ministries Retreats
• St. Patrick’s Community School - Faith Retreats
• St. Teresa of Avila School - Bucket Filling for Jesus Brigade Retreat
• Father Henri Voisin School – Packing up for Literacy
• École Camille J. Lerouge School – Pure Witness Ministry Team (pictured)

2017-2018 Projects We Funded

In June 2018, the Red Deer Regional Catholic Education Foundation announced funding for 18 school based projects ($39,000) and four Division projects ($11,000) for a total of $50,000. In addition to funding these projects, the Foundation awarded $2,500 in scholarships to five students during the fall of 2018.

• Middle School Faith Day
• RDCRS READS 2017 Summer Reading Program
• École Camille J. Lerouge School – Ambassadors Group
• École Camille J. Lerouge School – Making a Prayer Table at Home Project
• École Mother Teresa Catholic School - Hands of Mother Teresa
• École Our Lady of the Rosary School – Bridging the Gap
• Father Henri Voisin School – Packing up for Literacy
• Father Henri Voisin School – Servant Leadership
• Holy Family School – Living the Faith Retreats
• Holy Trinity Catholic School – Positive Mental Health Resources
• Maryview School – Our Lady of Victory Camp Retreat
• Maryview School – Passionate Leaders
• St. Elizabeth Seton School – Kind Kids Club
• St. Francis of Assisi Middle School – Living the Faith Retreats (pictured)
• St. Francis of Assisi Middle School – Health & Wellness Project
• St. Joseph High School – Chapel Supplies
• St. Teresa of Avila School – Bucket Filling for Jesus Retreat
• St. Teresa of Avila School – Kind Kids Club
• St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School – Faith Retreats

2016-2017 Projects We Funded

In June 2016, the Red Deer Regional Catholic Education Foundation announced funding for 15 school based projects ($29,810) and six Division projects ($20,190) for a total of $50,000. In addition to funding these projects, the Foundation will award $2,500 in scholarships to five students during the fall of 2016.

• Wild West Youth Conference
• Self-Regulation Tool Kits
• Go Girls 2017
• Grow Boys 2017
• RDCRS READS 2016 Summer Reading Program
• Middle School Second Annual District Band Event
• St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School - Faith Retreats
• St. Teresa of Avila School - Bucket Fillers for Jesus
• St. Teresa of Avila School - Breakfast Program
• St. Patrick’s Community School - Breakfast Program
• St. Martin de Porres School - Little Free Libraries
• St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School - Breakfast/Lunch Program
• St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School - Dual Language Books
• St. Francis of Assisi Middle School - Our Lady of Victory Camp Retreats
• St. Francis of Assisi Middle School - Mental Health Project
• Holy Family School - Faith Retreats
• Father Henri Voisin School - Packing Up for Literacy
• Father Henri Voisin School - Servant Leadership
• École Secondaire Notre Dame High School - Bridges (pictured)
• École Our Lady of the Rosary School - Christian Character Centre Expansion
• École Camille J. Lerouge School - Pure Witness Youth Retreats