Seven students from an Ottawa Catholic high school have garnered national attention after launching their own clothing line.

That’s because the seven students have incorporated an inspiring message of diversity and equality into their brand.

Calling the clothing line, Oscar Tango, which is military code for O and T, the St. Joseph High School students have prescribed a message that comes from their original roots from across the world. The students include: Jay Mills, Justin Park, Hassan Hamed, Kristian Toscano, Eric Batali, Melanie Ni-Lan and Kallel Coltess.

Jay said the idea to start their own clothing line started at a friend’s house.

“We’re all into fashion, but realized with the brands we’re wearing, there’s not a special meaning behind it,” he explains. “We wanted to have a clothing line with an inspiring message that represented each of us and show it from our roots and where we’re from.”

That’s when the Oscar Tango brand was born and they adopted the slogan, Diversity Through Design.

Read more: Ottawa Catholic School students promote diversity through clothing line launch

CCSTA is pleased to announce the Most Reverend Bishop Frederick Henry of Calgary as the 2017 Justice James Higgins Award Recipient.

When Bishop Henry announced his retirement in early January, the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association wanted to honour his hard work and dedication to Catholic education – and so they submitted the nomination form for the CCSTA award.

In memory of a distinguished Canadian jurist and Catholic School Trustee, the Honourable Justice James Higgins (1913-1974) of St. John's, Newfoundland, the Board of Directors of CCSTA annually presents an award to a person or group that has made an outstanding contribution to Catholic education in Canada. The Justice James Higgins Award is the highest honour provided by CCSTA. It reflects recognition of an exceptional contribution to Catholic education in this country.

Bishop Henry has been a champion for Catholic education in Alberta and Canada, and has contributed greatly to its cause, first in his service in Ontario as Liaison Bishop to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities of Canada, and as a Member of the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops (OCCB) Education Commission, and later as liaison Bishop with the ACSTA in Alberta.

Read more: Bishop Henry of Calgary Named 2017 Higgins Award Winner

The Alberta Catholic Schools Trustees’ Association recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and hosted an evening gala to honour the milestone anniversary.

The gala took place in November in conjunction with ACSTA’s AGM and Convention, and the guest list itself was remarkable as clergy, trustees, educators and children came together for the celebratory event.  “All the Catholic Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories were in attendance as was the Minster of Education, David Eggen, who addressed the Gala attendees with a positive note on the great work of Catholic schools in Alberta,” says ACSTA President Adriana LaGrange.

During the course of the evening, ACSTA honoured Trustees and friends of Catholic Education with ACSTA Awards for their dedication and commitment to Catholic education.

Read more: ACSTA Celebrates 50 Years; raises thousands for Toonies for Tuition