More than 1,000 Edmonton students return to class Monday

Students at three Edmonton Catholic Schools returned to class on Monday. Evan Kenny has more on why some families opt for "year round" school.

Class is back in session for about 1,300 Edmonton students.

Students at St. Alphonsus Catholic Elementary/Junior High School, St. Catherine Catholic Elementary/Junior High School and St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Elementary School started three weeks earlier than all other schools in the city.

These three schools offer the same number of instructional hours because their students get more time off during their fall and spring breaks.

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“We just get more breaks throughout the year. We have more opportunity to come back rested and refreshed, and everybody just is happier when you have more breaks,” Joan Woodlock, St. Alphonsus’ principal, told CTV News Monday morning.

“It works for so many different families in different ways, and it’s good that we have this option. For some families the traditional calendar is the best way to go, and that’s why we have so many choices with Edmonton Catholic.”

The district’s year-round program began in 2010.

All other Edmonton Catholic Schools and Edmonton Public Schools start the 2025-26 school year on Tuesday, Sept. 2.