Holy Trinity Catholic School Division wants its schools to build and grow relationships with their nearby parishes, so it is providing them with funding to support their transportation needs.
For the 2022-23 year, the division is providing $20 per student to all Moose Jaw elementary schools that can walk to a parish, $25 per student for Moose Jaw elementary schools that cannot walk to a parish, and $10 per student for Vanier Collegiate and Phoenix Academy.
Furthermore, Shaunavon and Swift Current schools will receive $25 per student for those who can walk to the parish and $30 per student for those unable to walk to the church.
The three Moose Jaw schools that receive the $25 per student allocation because they are not near a Catholic church include Sacred Heart, École St. Margaret and St. Michael. Based on their respective enrolments as of Sept. 30, the division provided a total of $3,720 for them to split.
With an average cost of $75 per charter bus, the three schools require about 50 charters for parish-related activities, according to a board report.
Meanwhile, All Saints Catholic in Swift Current will receive $2,841 this year for transportation so its students can visit the nearby church, based on its Sept. 30 enrolment. Based on an average cost of $125 per charter bus, the school needs about 23 charters for parish-related activities.
Division administration presented an update about funding for parish trips during the recent December meeting.
Trustee Derek Hassen pointed out that the extra $5 for the three Moose Jaw schools translates into roughly three additional trips to a parish. He didn’t think that funding was too little but wondered if it was enough to meet their needs.
Furthermore, there are sometimes other reasons why schools — or individual classrooms — visit parishes, such as learning about the sacraments, he continued. While some schools might be comfortable with this amount of funding, it would bother him if schools weren’t going to parishes because of costs.
Hassen hoped some schools adjacent to Catholic churches — for example, St. Agnes School in Moose Jaw or Christ the King in Shaunavon — took full advantage of visiting those places.
“… as a Catholic school, I think that’s got to be at the heart of what we do. And money cannot be a hindrance to getting kids into our parishes as part of our school community,” he said, while also wondering if schools lead masses on the weekend.
The division’s guidance to schools is each classroom must visit a parish a minimum of twice a year, although priests do visit the schools to hold mass regularly, said Ward Strueby, director of education. Schools rarely take all their students to the parish and may take groups of students because the priests modify masses for the various age levels.
He added that the administration will consult with an in-house faith committee and ask if the number of visits is adequate.
As for schools leading weekend masses at churches, student choirs are encouraged to assist, while there are special masses to honour the school’s named patron saint, trustees were told. However, the school does not lead the entire service.
The division’s religious consultant is working to hold a Holy Trinity-led mass with staff and students involved and in leadership roles, said Strueby. Meanwhile, the division is lucky because its priests regularly visit, whereas some Regina Catholic schools rarely see their priests throughout the year.
The next Holy Trinity board meeting is Monday, Jan. 16.
