Clear Water Academy

A building in what was CFB Calgary, which is used by Clear Water Academy (March 24, 2007)

Clear Water Academy is a private university preparatory school located in Calgary, Alberta. It is one of the few private Catholic schools in Alberta, and is dedicated to its four pillars for Catholic formation: Intellectual Formation, Character Formation, Apostolic Formation, and Spiritual Formation. Clear Water runs from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade Twelve, with Grades 4 through 9 being gender separated for all classes. High school is gender separated for selected classes, such as religion and physical education.

History

Clear Water Academy opened its doors in 1995 with a mere 24 students and two teachers, located in a rented downtown office. From there, Clear Water Academy continued to grow steadily. At the present, Clear Water houses over 400 students and 42 staff in three buildings located in CFB Calgary.

Academics

Clear Water Academy offers all regular classes taught at most schools, from science, to English, to social studies. Options include art, drama, and choir, and, in grade 11-12, the option of either Physical Education 20 and 30, or Physics 20 and 30. Clear Water Academy was recently ranked number 1 in Alberta by the Fraser Institute in 2011, based on Provincial Achievement Test marks for students in grades 3 and 6. Click here for the 2011 Rankings.2011 Fraser Institute Rankings The school ranked 1st place in 2006 as well. ^{[1] [2]}

Athletics

Clear Water Academy competes with other private schools in the City of Calgary in most major sports, including volleyball, basketball, soccer, track and field, cross country running, golf, and badminton. Outdoor Education is a course offered at Clear Water from grades 7-10, which allows for students in these grades to participate weekly in various activities that are too time-consuming or difficult to cover in a normal physical education class.

Religion

The Catholic theme is very prevalent at Clear Water Academy, with a Prayer to the Bishop and decade of the rosary every morning, a prayer before every class, the Angelus before lunchtime, and weekly mass every Friday afternoon. There is a weekly apostolic course for most grades, which involves either some apostolic activity around the city (ex. raking leaves to benefit single, lower-income mothers), a discussion on the Virtue of the Month, or creating a presentation for a younger grade. Also offered is a religion course, where students learn about Catholic church history and teachings, and how to be better Catholics.

Apostolic Work

One of the pillars of Clear Water Academy is Apostolic formation. Clear Water Academy's apostolic program allows students to participate in various charitable activities such as serving the hungry, helping the homeless, and volunteering at the local bottle depot. Clear Water Academy has organized several mission trips on the island of Isla Mujeres in Mexico over the past three years. The students' goal on the trips was to paint either a chapel or a church. The students strengthen their relationships with their peers, teachers, and most importantly God. Furthermore, they gain a better understanding of the poverty that the people of a third world country endure and an appreciation for the country and culture which they live in.

The Four Pillars

Clear Water Academy bases the formation of its students on four basic pillars: Character, Spiritual, Intellectual, and Apostolic Formation.

Character Formation

This pillar focuses on the human development of its students as virtuous, contributing members of society. It helps the students to be the leaders of the next generation.

Intellectual Formation

This pillar helps increase the intelligence of the students. Students with greater intellectual formation are able to make informed decisions, and to share their knowledge with others.

Spiritual Formation

This pillar focuses on the study of the Catholic faith and its various traditions, according to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

Apostolic Formation

This pillar teaches the students to use their gifts and talents for the benefit of society

Uniforms

Clear Water Academy requires that all their students wear their specified uniforms. From Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 3, the girls must wear a plaid skirt, a plaid bow-tie, a white blouse, a red vest, and navy blue socks. The boys, on the other hand, are obligated to wear their grey dress pants, navy blue and red tie, as well as their red vest. The children must have black dress shoes for indoor-wear. In grades 4 to 6, the uniforms are much the same; with the exception of the navy blue, green, and white-striped tie that the girls are compelled to wear. In Junior High, the students have navy blue blazers that bestows their school crest. Finally, the High School girls transition from their previous uniform to a navy blue vest, a navy blue and green-striped tie, and a plaid skirt with a navy-blue base. The boys have the option of not wearing their vests, as well as choosing between tan and grey dress pants.In addition, during the hotter months, which usually runs from May to June; the students wear their summer uniforms. This consists of exchanging their tie, vests, and blazers for green or white polo shirts. High School students are permitted to wear navy blue polo shirts as well. For athletic wear, the students can wear any sort of Clear Water attire. However, gym strips are usually worn and the athletic program provides its own jerseys. For the most part, students who attend Clear Water Academy must be conscious of their overall modesty in regards to their clothing length.

References

1. ^ Morton, Graeme (March 05, 2006). "Head of the class: Clear Water gets top marks in Alberta school report". Calgary Herald. http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=fb63c2b5-ee9c-4a4f-aaf5-d9d093435c13. 
2. ^ "The top-ranked elementary schools – Alberta 2008". Fraser Institute. http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/product_files/022408ABElemSchoolchart.pdf. 

External links

• Clear Water Academy Homepage

Coordinates: 51°01′11″N 114°07′08″W / 51.0196°N 114.119°W / 51.0196; -114.119