Thousands of St. Albert-area youths are getting ready to head back to school next week — a place that in some ways will be a bit different this year compared to last.
Students return to St. Albert and Sturgeon County schools for the start of the 2024-2025 school year next week. Conseil scholaire Centre-Nord students will be the first to arrive, starting classes on Aug. 27. St. Albert Public and Greater St. Albert Catholic students head back on Aug. 28-30, while Sturgeon Public youths return on Aug. 29-30. Many schools are doing staggered starts where some grades start earlier than others.
In an email, St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Morgan Kyle reminded drivers to slow down and obey speed limits in school zones, which officers will once again enforce as of the first day of school (Aug. 27 or 28 in most cases). Drivers should also stay alert for pedestrians and cyclists at crosswalks, intersections, and on sidewalks close to roads.
Changes abound
St. Albert students can expect a bevy of changes upon their return to class next week. For one, they won’t be able to use their smartphones in class under most circumstances as of Sept. 1, as per a June 17 directive from Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides. The Gazette will have more on how this directive is rolling out in the coming weeks.
St. Albert Public Grade K-to-9 students are also no longer getting early dismissal on the first Wednesday of every month for staff meetings. Instead, those staff meetings have been combined with professional development days to create a full day off each month.
St. Albert Public spokesperson Paula Power said the board made this change after consulting with staff and parents.
“It’s easier for staff and students to have a full day off,” Power said, and less disruptive to learning.
Power said the district hopes this change will reduce absenteeism by making it easier for families to plan vacations and child care (both of which can be tricky to manage with half-days). The change could also give staff more concentrated training time and cut busing costs. The change will not affect the amount of instruction time students get each year.
St. Gabriel Education Centre students will be attending classes in their new, hopefully permanent home at the back of Holy Family Catholic School. The centre runs GSACRD’s distance learning programs and was based in the old École Father Jan building from October 2023 to June 2024. It was in the basement of the GSACRD district office on St. Vital Ave. from 2020 to October 2023 and in a second-floor storefront on St. Albert Trail prior to 2020.
St. Gabriel principal Renee Trottier said the centre had outgrown the district office basement and had to leave anyway as the building was undergoing renovations. Holy Family Catholic had space to spare, so they moved in.
“This is our forever home,” she said of Holy Family Catholic.
Bellerose Composite students, meanwhile, are returning to a construction zone — crews started work on the school’s $46.3 million modernization earlier this August. The renovations aim to replace portables at the back of the school with a two-storey addition containing a new Foods lab, library, and other classrooms.
St. Albert Public secretary-treasurer Michael Brenneis said Bellerose students will notice that the school library has moved, with its former room undergoing demolition so it can be transformed into four classrooms. Two bathrooms are also getting renovated. Later this fall, students will get to see the old portables removed before ground preparation for the new addition begins.
“There will be inconveniences,” he said, but crews will be doing this work with student and staff safety in mind.
Brenneis has previously said that work on this modernization should be complete by fall 2026.
Families with questions on the start of school should contact their local school principal.
