In a year that has been anything but normal, the Christmas spirit is still alive and well at Ontario Catholic schools.

Unique circumstances are part and parcel of Indigenous learning at Catholic schools in Fort McMurray, Alta., in a year where education has already been anything but normal.

VANCOUVER -- After spending last year in a church basement, the young musicians in St. Mary’s Elementary School’s band class can now breathe easily in their very own fine arts annex.

Canadian Catholic school boards are about to embark upon a September unlike any other due to COVID-19.  

For 24 years Antonio Gambale’s classroom has been a place where all have been welcomed and accepted, and for that, the Niagara Region teacher has been recognized with the Rick Hansen Foundation’s Difference Maker Award.

MONTREAL -- When young Kevin Donovan left Montreal’s Loyola High School 67 summers ago, he could hardly foresee having a son who would one day lead the school to a landmark legal victory for religious freedom.

They’re schools educating young minds in different regions of Ontario, from the gritty working class streets of Scarborough to the picturesque shores of Georgian Bay in Collingwood.

Partners in Catholic education are in agreement with Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s decision to cancel in-class learning for the rest of this school year. 

A weekend fire suspected to have been deliberately set and an accompanying vandalism spree has caused about $8 million in damage to a Brampton Catholic school.

While physical distancing has left people feeling isolated, outreach initiatives by the Kenora Catholic District School Board are fostering hope by helping students and families realize they are not alone.

Thirty-five years ago, in July 1985, Catholic education in Ontario took a major step forward when Bill 30 was passed by the Ontario Legislature, granting full public funding to Catholic schools through Grade 13. The battle for equal funding with the public boards was a long one, finally won when Premier Bill Davis, who had rejected the idea in 1971, announced the change in policy in June 1984. Here’s The Catholic Register’s report from its June 23, 1984 edition:

This year’s theme for Catholic Education Week is “Igniting Hope,” apt at any time but especially now when hope is so much needed.

In a unanimous decision, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has upheld the right of separate schools in the province to receive government funding for the education of non-Catholic students.

The Rosary Apostolate that shares the mysteries reflected upon in the rosary with students may be Sr. Marilina Cinelli’s baby since its origins in 1997, but she takes no credit for all the good it has done for nearly a quarter century.

Ontario’s Catholic teachers will be holding a province-wide one-day strike Jan. 21.