Students, teachers, staff, trustees, and senior administration from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board joined honoured guests, and His Excellency, The Most Reverend, Bishop Jean-Louise Plouffe in the official celebration and blessing of the new site of the St. Albert Adult Learning Centre recently.
Formerly located on Eyre Street in Sudbury’s West End, the Centre has been the mainstay of Adult Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board for the past twelve years. With the move to the new site at 504 St. Raphael Street, (off Howey Drive) the Board renewed its commitment to adult students and their children by relocating the programs and daycare services offered on Eyre Street.
“With the new location comes a renewed vigor to help adults reach the goals they have set for themselves,” stated Rob Pappin, Master of Ceremonies for the event and Coordinator of the St. Albert Adult Learning Centre in his opening remarks to the assembly.
According to Pappin, the St. Albert Adult Learning Centre opened its doors in the fall of 1992. The approach to adult education was and continues to be twofold: To identify and meet the academic needs of adults returning to school, and to provide on-site and off-site community supports and services to cope with the challenges facing re-entry to learning.
An overview of the history of St. Albert reveals that numerous staff within the Sudbury Catholic District School Board have either started their teaching career at the school or retired from St. Albert after holding various teaching positions throughout the Board. Zandra Zubac, the present Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was a former principal of the St. Albert Adult Learning Centre.
Mrs. Zubac highlighted the distinctiveness of Catholic education in her address to the many students who were in attendance. “When you enrol in a Catholic School, you become part of a larger family,” stated Zubac. “In partnership with families, parishes and communities, Catholic schools encourage academic excellence within an environment that nurtures and recognizes the individual capabilities of all students.”
Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe, Bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie echoed Mrs. Zubac’s remarks in his blessing of the school. “It is never too late for a new beginning,” the Bishop told his audience. “Life is a journey that must be made in balance, and Jesus is the one who teaches us to walk this journey, carefully balancing the input from the spirit, the body, the heart, and the mind,” concluded His Excellency.
With reference to the accessibility of quality education, Pappin noted that; “Every individual, regardless of age or background, has the right to respect, and equity of access. Adults who attend the St. Albert Adult Learning Centre upgrade their academic needs and access supports such as daycare, food donations, clothing donations and counseling. Local service agencies, income support programs, health care providers and local businesses in the City of Greater Sudbury are community partners.”
The St. Albert Adult Learning Centre offers such programs as Office Skills, Entry Level Skills for office and clerical work, a Writer’s Guild for aspiring writers and poets, Pre-employment Training, Computer Literacy, and Entrepreneurship Preparation.
