Rochelle McDonald will be taking over as interim principal at St Mary's Catholic School in Sexsmith (Photo supplied by GPCSD)

By Shaun Penner

Rochelle McDonald

GPCSD names interim principal for St. Mary’s Catholic School

Apr 16, 2021 | 11:01 AM

The Grande Prairie and District Catholic Schools has named the interim principal at St. Mary’s Catholic School.

Rochelle McDonald will be temporarily stepping in for principal Mandy Jensen, who is stepping away on maternity leave.

Board office administration refers to McDonald as a strong leader, who for the past six years has been a member of our School Development team, currently working as the Division Numeracy Lead to develop and implement the division’s mathematics framework alongside teachers and students.

Prior to that, McDonald worked for four years as one of our Instructional Coaches for 270 teachers, helping to build foundations in both literacy and numeracy.

The division adds that leadership experience motivated her to recently take on a temporary administrative at St. Catherine Catholic School.

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“While it was a short time, I enjoyed working with staff and students daily,” said McDonald. “Helping to grow and foster a positive environment for learning, faith and individual wellbeing was an exciting challenge.

“I look forward to learning and growing with our St. Mary’s community!”

Superintendent Karl Germann says he is very confident in appointing McDonald to the role.

“(McDonald) has a ton of experience and is a leader within our School Division. We heard lots of positive comments from the St. Catherine Staff,” said Germann.

“As a principal she will be an active advocate for Catholic Education and for the well-being of all our school families.”