The Light of Christ Catholic School in Lac La Biche hosted an open house last Monday in an attempt to promote the school to parents of young children. Light of Christ Principal Aurele Malo said that roughly 50 came through the building that day.
The Light of Christ Catholic School in Lac La Biche hosted an open house last Monday in an attempt to promote the school to parents of young children.
Light of Christ Principal Aurele Malo said that roughly 50 came through the building that day. Included in the visitors were Lakeland Catholic School Board trustee Collette Zahar, Light of Christ communications director Amanda Wildman and Lac La Biche Mayor Omer Moghrabi.
School officials provided information, tours and hot dogs. Kids in the school were also served ice cream by two peace officers and each visiting child was given a school T-shirt.
“A large number of kids were actually wearing the shirts,” said Malo.
The school’ s Parent Advisory Council was largely responsible for organizing the event.
Light of Christ School is in its first year of operation in Lac La Biche. The school has 122 student enrolled this year.
Malo - who spent 25 years in the public school system - had plenty of good things to say about other schools and takes pride in the fact that Light of Christ works with schools outside the Catholic system.
“Each school brings something different,” he said. “I insist to people that they visit all three schools (Catholic, public and Francophone).”
His pitch for Light of Christ is that it offers a different, rather than a better, education.
“We have a faith-based program,” he said. “In discipline for example, if a kid comes to my office, I asked them, ‘how are we supposed to be acting in a school like this?’ ”
Wildman and Malo also emphasized the school’ s morning assembly as another example, where Malo gathers the students in one place every morning for prayer and song.
Wildman and Malo also emphasized the school’ s morning assembly as another example, where Malo gathers the students in one place every morning for prayer and song.
Malo also said that school’ s smaller size is an attraction.
“Smaller numbers make the school more welcoming,” he said. “Vera and Aurora have 400 students each roughly, so we do have that advantage.”
Malo said that the school is likely to add 20 more students in the school’ s second year if nothing changes from now to September. That would increase the population of the school from 122 to 142, though he also said there is room for even faster growth.
“It could go as high as 200, as low as 140. I’ ll take what I can get,” he said.
Part of the expansion is accounted for by the fact that the school will expand from a K-to-7 to a K-to-8 school next year. But Malo said most of the expansion would come from increased numbers in kindergarten, and particularly emphasized the school’ s pre-kindergarten program.
“We take them when they come,” he said. “We prefer them to come in September so they can get used to the school for a whole year before starting kindergarten, but they can come at any time.”
Malo said the school would continue to accept people who are interested in seeing the school and finding out what they’ re about until the end of the school year.
“We will welcome anyone over the next two months,” said Malo.
Ecole Beausejour in Plamondon had its open house on April 19. Amisk Community School in Beaver Lake is also having an open house on May 18.
