Official Ribbon Cutting of Louis Riel Catholic School by Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange

By Erika Rolling

Schools

Louis Riel Catholic School now blessed and officially open

Sep 23, 2022 | 4:15 PM

The newest school in Grande Prairie is now officially open.

The Louis Riel Catholic School hosts French Immersion students from Pre-K to Grade 8 and will be starting up to Grade 9 in the next academic year.

The new school is located in the southwest part of Grande Prairie in the O’Brien Lake West subdivision.

Government officials; Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange and MP for Grande Prairie-Mackenzie Chris Warkentin attended the official grand opening and blessing of the Louis Riel Catholic School on Friday.

Also, many delegates from the County of Grande Prairie, neighbouring school divisions and special guests attended the ceremony with prayers and a blessing from Archbishop Gerard Pettipas.

LaGrange says “the project development has been a long process and is exciting to see the final results.”

She noted her past experience of being a Catholic School Board Trustee, and thanked current ones in the Grande Prairie and District Catholic Schools saying: “Thank you for not only nurturing the body and the mind but also the souls of our children.”

Warkentin says Louis Riel has a remarkable part of history in Canada and is now at a point in time where schools are being named after a “rebel”.

Talking to the students in the new school, Warkentin says about Louis Riel; “You will find out that we have a history of imperfections, but is it those people that will stand up, and stand up for what is right that truly are the heroes of our nation… when they go against the grain.”

The logo of the school shows the pillars of its identity with: the wildrose, Fleur-de-lis, seeds of knowledge generations, infinity sign for Metis culture, cross, and the sacred hoop/medicine wheel.

Louis Riel Catholic School Logo descriptions, photo courtesy GPDCS