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

The Ontario Catholic Trustees’ Association has launched a new campaign that’s generating conversation and better awareness about Catholic schools in Ontario.

Last November, OCSTA launched the Together in Faith campaign. Led by OCSTA Director of Communications Sharon McMillan, the campaign set out to help diffuse opposition and to promote good news stories.

All three major parties have stated their support publicly, but we never like to become complacent,” says McMillan. “We wanted to take an opportunity to refresh our awareness campaign, and we looked at the current environment and opposition to Catholic education, and we wanted to raise the profile of the truly tremendous achievements happening in Catholic schools.”

The Together in Faith website has published stories showcasing good news and success stories featuring the people within the Catholic school hallways.

“There are great stories about teachers, students, communities and graduates – really fantastic things – that are happening in Catholic schools boards that people really need to know about,” explains McMillan. “We have Catholic school ratepayers who want to know what’s happening in Catholic schools. They need to know what’s going on.”

Read more: OCSTA’s Awareness Campaign Getting Widespread Attention