Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I recently had a chance to visit the staff and students of Koinonia Christian School in Yellowknife and I invited them to visit our Legislature and I am pleased to see them with us today. In their honour, I would like to say a few words about this unique school.
Koinonia opened its doors in August 1996, only weeks after legislation allowing for its development became law. The founders of the school were seeking alternate Christian-based education for their children. From those small beginnings of six students to a high of 28 in 1998, the school has continued in Yellowknife. This year, the school has 12 full-time students in grades one to eight. The school's motto is excellence in education, excellence in living, excellence in service. Their goal is to educate children in a way that emphasizes the need to do their very best in what they pursue, in the adults they grow to be and in their service to the community and country.
Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that the staff and students at that school take that motto seriously judging from some of the activities the school has taken part in. In 1998, and again in 2002, students from the school have won the Heritage Day contest and they have represented their school in the NWT at Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa. Almost without exception since 1996, the students have won or placed at various levels of the Royal Canadian Legion Remembrance Day Contest. Most recently students were involved in the Queen's Jubilee Commemorative Book presented to Her Majesty in 2002.
Mr. Speaker, this unique school also attempts to stay on the cutting edge of education delivery. This year, it embarked upon a new pilot project in virtual education. Students in grade six and eight participated in some of the traditional classroom programs and received their major instruction online through North Start Academy Canada online programs, although supervised in-house, teachers based out of Alberta are available to students online at any time. Recently, North Star Academy Canada has signed an agreement for a pilot project with the Alberta Distance Learning Centre whereby that centre is contracting with the academy to deliver its Christian alternative program for grades 11 to 12. If this pilot project proves successful, the centre will contract the academy in the coming years to deliver grades 6 to 12 Christian alternative programs as well as other grades as they are developed. Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to continue?