Dear Parents / Guardians,

The Holy Spirit Catholic School Division is committed to providing safe learning environments for all students, staff, school visitors and community members. When a student behaves inappropriately, principals use progressive discipline to help a student take responsibility for their actions, change their behavior and learn from their mistakes.

When students’ behaviors pose a potential threat to safety or serious harm, the Southwest Alberta Regional Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) Protocol assists administrators in taking the necessary steps to protect the well-being of students and staff. This protocol ensures that schools can respond promptly to worrisome behaviors or threatening incidents, such as possession of a weapon or replica, bomb threats or plans, verbal, written, or electronic (internet, text) threats to harm oneself or others, as well as other acts of violence, including fire-setting.

The protocol requires trained division staff and community partners to work together as a team to complete an Assessment of Risk to Others (ARTO) whenever a student threatens to harm others. The ARTO process leverages the team’s knowledge, skills, and experience to assess the level of concern and identify appropriate interventions to protect individuals from harm and ensure a safe environment in both the school and the community. A multi-disciplinary approach is used to address these concerns. Please be advised that the school team will take positive and proactive measures to address all known threats or high-risk behaviors. If you are invited to a meeting to discuss safety concerns about your child, please be assured that our protocol is being followed and that our primary goal is ensuring safety.

The Southwest Alberta Regional VTRA Protocol outlines how a school should respond immediately to threatening behavior. Principals may first assemble a School Threat Assessment Team, ideally comprising the principal or associate principal, a school-based counselor or jurisdictional lead, and local police. If the situation is serious, the principal may also consult the Superintendent of Schools and involve members of the Community Threat Assessment Team. This team may include representatives from local police, children’s mental health organizations, or Child and Family Services, among other community agencies that collaborate with us to enhance school safety. Parents/guardians will be notified as soon as possible during the Stage I - VTRA Process. If parents/guardians cannot be reached, but a safety concern persists, the threat assessment may proceed. Personal information shared during this process will respect and balance each individual’s right to privacy with the need to ensure everyone’s safety.

This letter complies with procedure 2 of Administrative Procedure 322: Violence Threat / Risk Assessment (V-TRA) Protocol, which states that parents/guardians will be provided with “fair notice” that each threat will be taken seriously. Should you wish to further review this Administrative Procedure, please visit our website at www.holyspirit.ab.ca.

If you have any questions regarding the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division’s use of the Southwest Alberta Regional V-TRA Protocol, please contact the Director of Support Services at the St. Basil Catholic Education Centre. We appreciate your support in ensuring our schools are safe environments for our students, staff and community partners.

Sincerely,
Chantel Axani, Superintendent of Schools

Updated August 2026

Section 58.1 of the Education Act requires a school board to give notice to a parent or guardian when courses of study, education programs, institutional materials, instruction or exercises include subject matter that deals primarily and explicitly with religion. All of the schools in this division are Catholic Separate Schools, the essential purpose of which is to fully permeate Catholic theology, philosophy, practices and beliefs, the principles of the Gospel and teachings of the Catholic Church, in all aspects of school life, including in the curriculum of every subject taught, both in and outside of formal religion classes, celebrations and exercises. Every course of study and educational program, all institutional materials, instruction and exercises will at all times include subject matter that deals primarily and explicitly with religion.