Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools has reached a milestone few organizations in Alberta can boast. The division is celebrating 150 years of Catholic education in St. Albert and area.
At the press conference breakfast Friday morning, excitement was palpable as trustees, staff and volunteers described the year-long events the division will celebrate with the theme "Faith in our Students for 150 Years." It all culminates next June 13th on Mission Hill when the district holds its gala 150th anniversary celebration.
Looking back is always the easy part, but the future was never so certain for the Grey Nuns. They taught for decades in this area including at the Little White Schoolhouse built by provincial government design in 1948.
During the press conference Friday, superintendent David Keohane leapt ahead to today and spoke about the unbelievable advances in technology now used in schools – smartboards that allow students across the province to learn together and progressive new teaching programs that encourage students to learn through their own best skills and talents.
Perhaps the most profound comments Friday morning came from division historian Ray Pinco who described our Catholic schools as a community of values and an integral part of St. Albert's history.
The division is to be commended for its 150 years of commitment to Catholic education in St. Albert. We look forward to the many activities planned this year.
High technology
The promise of high technology could finally become a reality for the more practical minded, after this week's Smart City Symposium showed how advanced technology could make the city more efficient, thereby saving tax dollars.
Robot cars on St. Albert's streets? Capital region traffic is bad enough, thank you. But jokes aside, municipalities do have plausible ways of employing technology to make life easier.
Smart meter technology, for example, could allow for residents to better monitor their own consumption, thereby conserving a valuable resource.
St. Albert has already made some strides to becoming a smart city. The city's NextBus app will tell riders where their bus is, and how long they have to wait for the bus – in real time.
Real time traffic control may seem like a dream for many drivers, but it will become a reality. All of the cameras perched atop the traffic light standards have more use than simply counting cars. They will eventually be able to consider traffic volume and adjust the traffic lights immediately. Sounds too good to be true – could the unsmart, five-second left-hand turning light actually be adjusted to consider rush hour?
Smart technology will evolve at an alarming rate as new technologies make what was once the impossible possible. The way of the future is at our doorstep.
