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More than 500 city and county students are in Calgary today to learn how their efforts can change the world.

More than 500 city and county students are in Calgary today to learn how their efforts can change the world.

About 18,000 students and teachers will fill the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary today to take part in the first ever We Day celebration in Alberta. Organized by the charity Free the Children, the free event brings thousands of youths together to encourage them to perform charitable acts and become active global citizens.

About 500 of those students will be from the St. Albert Public and Catholic school districts, according to division spokespersons. They’ll take in free performances by bands like Hedley and hear inspirational talks from Rick Hansen and former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev.

Students who attend We Day must commit to doing at least one local and one international charitable project, said Louis Kloster, religious education consultant for Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools. “Kids leave empowered to do something about injustices and to do something about the needs of others.”

We Day participants collectively raised $6 million for charity last school year, said Craig Kielburger, founder of Free the Children, in a press release. “We are thrilled to bring We Day to Alberta and provide local students with a platform to become active global citizens.”

Previous We Day events were tough to reach since they were out of province, according to Kloster, which limited participation. Since Calgary is relatively close, they’re sending 232 students and teachers this year.

One of those students is Daniella Marchand, a member of St. Albert Catholic High School’s student council.

The school organizes a different fundraiser every month, Marchand said, and last year raised about $7,500 for the Roots of Change Foundation through a hockey marathon. “It gives me satisfaction that somebody else out there lives easier because of what I’ve done. If I can live all my days like that, I think at the end of my life I’ll have done a good job.”

Marchand said she planned to go to Kenya next year to build a school through the We Day program and was looking forward to hearing Kielburger speak. “I’m excited that I get to be part of something that’s inspiring so many people to do good.”

Visit weday.com for further details.

The Sturgeon School Division is shaking up its boundaries this fall in the wake of last summer’s secular school decision in Morinville.

It announced Monday it would redraw its electoral boundaries next year to accommodate the addition of the Legal and Morinville region school districts. Sturgeon became the public board in those regions in the wake of this year’s decision on secular schooling in Morinville.

The change added about 7,000 people to the division’s service area, said Terry Jewell, chair of the Sturgeon School Division, which “kicks every riding out of whack.” Unlike St. Albert, Sturgeon uses a riding system for trustee elections. The board is now looking to redraw its electoral map as a result.

This change will not affect the attendance areas of the division’s schools, Jewell emphasized — just the voting areas for trustee elections. “Wherever your kids go today, that’s where they’re going to go tomorrow.”

It would, however, shift about a third of the county into a new voting district and increase the size of each district by 500 to 800 people.

The board will present a proposed boundary map at four open houses in November for comment, Jewell said. The board will settle on a map by January and have the map approved by the province in time for next year’s elections.

Open houses will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at Camilla School, Namao School, Gibbons School and Morinville Public Elementary on Nov. 6, 7, 8 and 15, respectively. Call 780-939-4341 for details.

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