Though the first official graduating class of Living Spirit School didn’t get to spend much time at the school, they couldn’t deny the brand-new facility’s beauty.
The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) and other representatives have officially blessed the new Living Spirit School, ahead of the school’s first full school year next year. It opened in February of 2026.
During the celebration, the school was blessed by the Most Reverend William T. McGrattan, sprinkled with holy water, and students of the K-9 school performed songs and skits.
Living Spirit began this school year in what the district called a “school-within-a-school model,” with more than 400 elementary and junior high students hosted at St. Stephen and St. Catherine schools, according to a release. The $35.4 million project has a current capacity of 510 students, with space to increase to more than 900, according to the province’s major projects page.
“This temporary arrangement allowed Living Spirit students and staff to begin establishing their community and school culture while construction of their state-of-the-art facility was completed,” the release reads.
Dionne and Chrystel, two Grade 9 students who started taking classes at Living Spirit in mid-February, have both enjoyed their time on south-Calgary’s newest campus. The school is located in the Calgary community of Legacy.
“This building, honestly, it’s amazing, because a lot of the stuff here is updated and everything’s brand new, so we have access to a lot of things we never got to have access to. For example, in science, the stuff that we’re able to do is more advanced now, because we actually have the lab equipment to facilitate our learning,” Dionne said.
Aside from state-of-the-art devices and infrastructure, both students said that having their new school closer to home is a game-changer.
“I live maybe a 15-minute walk from the school, so it’s very nice, because before I had to take a 45-minute bus ride just to get to school, and if we missed the school bus, it would be like an hour train ride just to get to school,” Dionne said.
“We don’t have to wake up as early anymore.”
Similarly, Chrsytel said that she’s enjoyed being active instead of relying on vehicles.
“I don’t have to take the bus anymore, and even though I did like the bus rides, it’s nicer in the morning that I get to spend it walking with my friends and actually getting exercise,” she said.
Being members of Living Spirit’s inaugural graduating class is bittersweet. On one hand, their time at the school will only be around four-and-a-half months, the students said. Then again, they’re forever going to be remembered amongst the first students.
“It’s nice, because the younger kids, like, they get to look up at us for their future and be like ‘they were the first graduating class,’” Chrystel said.
Everyone buckled together to make the move possible: Principal
Tod Desautels, Living Spirit’s first principal, thanked the community, parents, teachers and students who helped make this odd school year and the move into the new school work as smoothly as possible.
“We had classes in music rooms, libraries, outdoor portables, we had more buses than bathrooms, and we took over every inch of free space and all the while you made the best of it, and rarely complained,” he said.
“Your efforts to make everything work did not go unnoticed.”
The school’s motto, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,’ a passage from Matthew 19:14, is very fitting, Desautels said.
“We answer that call by committing ourselves to creating a place where every child is welcomed, valued and nurtured in the light of Christ,” he said.
“This school stands as a sign of faith in action, a place where academic excellence is grounded in gospel values, where compassion is practiced daily and where each student is encouraged to discover their God-given gifts.”
