With many newly elected Members of Parliament serving federal ridings across the country, CCSTA took the opportunity to connect with and showcase Catholic education’s impact in Canada.

On Feb. 4, 2020, CCSTA Board of Directors and staff hosted individual meetings on Parliament Hill with MPs from across the country, many of whom are new to the position.

The day-long Lobby Day was an opportunity to connect with politicians at the federal level.

“The Lobby Day is a key area of focus for us, even though education is under provincial jurisdiction,” explains CCSTA Executive Director Julian Hanlon. “We feel it’s very important for federal politicians to be aware of the impact Catholic Education has across Canada, including the number of students attending Catholic Schools.”

Read more: “Very Positive”: CCSTA Connects with newly elected MPs on Parliament Hill

Because our head office is located in Ottawa, our news feed has been filled with stories outlining the ongoing teacher strike action taking place across all school boards in Ontario, including the Catholic School teachers.

As we pray for a result that brings quality education and opportunities to our schools, we thought we’d go beyond the mainstream headlines and showcase some of the amazing things currently happening within Catholic schools across Ontario.

Here are some good ones:

Read more: From Strike Talks to Good News: Here's a round-up of good news pieces coming from Ontario Schools

In April 2019, the Regina Catholic School Division was named the Grand Prize winner of the international Follett Challenge, earning them $60,000 in Follett products and services and making them the first ever Canadian winners.

Sherry Chase, Regina Catholic School District, ILS and Curriculum Coordinator, says that they knew they had something special in their Tinker Tubs, and the Follett Challenge provided the perfect opportunity to share the concept with the world.

“We were all all-in and super excited about the opportunity to highlight the work that was going on in our school division,” she says.

Read more: Regina Catholic School Division Wins International Follett Challenge