News Advertiser Family & Community

Learning to Skate on a Snowy Day

Colette Strap from Lavoy was in Vegreville teaching her daughters MacKenzie and McKinley Strap to skate at the small skating and hockey rink at 53 Street and 48 Avenue in Vegreville.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

Colette Strap from Lavoy was in Vegreville teaching her daughters MacKenzie and McKinley Strap to skate at the small skating and hockey rink at 53 Street and 48 Avenue in Vegreville.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

Winter Nature Sprouts Program Gives Self-Care Tips

Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

Kalyna Family Resource NetworkVegreville and Area has partnered with Vegreville Centennial Library to offer the Winter Nature Sprouts program on Dec. 5.

Jen Lastiwka is the Family Programmer for KFRN and Valerie Lowes is the Library Programming Assistant.

Children with their caregivers learn how to do a craft.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

“We have this program to get preschool age children learning about different things before they go to school. With the Nature Sprouts, we offer a different theme each week. For this week, we focused on winter clothing where we taught kids the proper clothing to wear for winter and why it is important to wear this. Each week we learn songs, do a craft, and explain about the theme and learning stuff about it,” stated Lowes.

L-R: Alexas Perez and Nadia Weinans.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

St. Martin's Catholic School Welcomes New Teachers

Elk Island Catholic School - Submitted

St. Martin’s Catholic School welcomed McKenna O’Shea and Zoe Steinbach as new Grade 1 teachers for the 2022-‘23 school year.

“We are so blessed and grateful to have two excellent teachers join our team,” says Melanie Sorochan, assistant principal. “These teachers will bring their own vibrancy to our school and embrace our strong community.”

McKenna O’Shea is one of the new Grade 1 teachers at St. Martin’s Catholic School, but she is not new to Vegreville. Mrs. O’Shea graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic School and farms with her family near Ranfurly.

In 2018 Mrs. O’Shea graduated from the University of Calgary Social Work Program and in 2022 from the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education. Both degrees Mrs. O’Shea completed online so she could continue to farm, work and start a family.

Outside of school Mrs. O’Shea loves to ride horses, play hockey, hunt and take pictures. She recently created her own photography brand called “Little Bear Photography.” Mrs. O’Shea is excited to bring her passions into the classroom and looks forward to working with her amazing students.

McKenna O’Shea with her family.

(Elk Island Catholic Schools/Submitted Photo)

St. Martin’s Catholic School has another Grade 1 teacher, Mrs. Zoe Steinbach. She is excited about continuing her teaching career locally in Vegreville where she was born and raised on a farm.

She completed a diploma in Early Learning and Child Development before continuing on to her Bachelor of Education at the University of Alberta. She believes in creating a learning environment that supports each individual student’s strengths and needs to create a classroom that celebrates the uniqueness of each of us.

One of her favourite ways to teach, and passions within education, is taking learning outside in nature whenever possible to enrich children’s learning experiences.

Mrs. Steinbach is excited to bring a “Green Thumb Gardening Club” to the students of St. Martin’s. When she is not teaching, you can find her on an adventure with her two dogs and husband or finding a new plant to add to her collection.

St. Martin’s Catholic School provides programming from Kindergarten to Grade 6 for students in Vegreville and the surrounding area. Pre-Kindergarten programming for children who are fouryears-old and nature Kindergarten is offered at St. Martin’s.

Zoe Steinbach with her family.

(Elk Island Catholic Schools/Submitted Photo)