MOOSE JAW — Catholic students and staff from the region raised thousands of dollars this year to support faith-based education in areas of Canada where pursuing such learning is financially difficult for some families.
Holy Trinity Catholic School Division raised the money during Catholic Education Week for the “
Saskatchewan won the overall national fundraising title — it collected $28,324 — as it raised the most per full-time equivalent student. The top three school divisions were Prince Albert with $6,441.99, Moose Jaw’s Holy Trinity with $5,207.25 and Weyburn with $4,100.
In Holy Trinity, the schools that raised the most were St. Michael with $1,724, Vanier/Phoenix with $780, All Saints in Swift Current with $692 and École St. Margaret with $585. However,
However, based on the amount raised per student, the top schools were St. Michael with $5.39 per student, St. Margaret with $2.72 per student and Christ the King (Shaunavon) with $1.93 per student.
Holy Trinity’s total of $5,207.25 amounted to $2.18 per student, good for second in the province, while Weyburn’s total amounted to $3.01 per student and Prince Albert’s total amounted to $2.14 per student.
Catholic trustees briefly discussed the initiative during their recent June board meeting.
Ward Strueby, director of education, said that St. Michael’s principal, Gail Cyrenne, joked with him that she wanted her name on the Toonies for Tuition Trophy before she retired. Meanwhile, he noted that the money raised per student was “crazy” and “heads and tails above” what the other schools did.
“It’s not about just winning the contest, but it’s nice,” he remarked.
Continuing, Strueby said he asked Cyrenne how her school raised what it did and learned that it sold ice cream sandwiches for $1. Many students enjoyed having “a cool treat” throughout the week, while it was a great way to support the cause.
“Overall, Holy Trinity did quite well,” he continued, pointing out that they could be on the receiving end of this financial support because of a provincial lawsuit in 2021 over whether Catholic schools should receive provincial funding for non-Catholic students.
“So, it’s nice to give back to this cause.”
With a laugh, Strueby added that it was fun to beat Prince Albert in the amount raised per student — the latter has raised the most nationally nine times since 2011 — while he good-naturedly teased its education director about that fact.
After the meeting, Strueby said that raising more than $5,000 for Catholic education across Canada was wonderful, while the school division was grateful that the province fully funded it, as other public school divisions were fully funded. It was also wonderful to have the “gift of Catholic education” and the ability to pass it on.
The education director commended St. Michael School for “having a really unique” fundraising idea to sell ice cream throughout the year, while he hoped that other schools in the division created similar activities to support the campaign.
The next Holy Trinity board meeting is Monday, Aug. 18.
