About me:

ABOUT MARILYN

Marilyn Bergstra was born into a devout Catholic family. She grew up in Edmonton and St. Albert along with her six siblings. It was this family that instilled in her a lifelong commitment to her faith and laid for her a strong moral foundation from which she now operates.

After graduating from St. Albert Catholic High School, she obtained a Bachelor of Science at the University of Alberta and worked as a research assistant for several years at the University of Alberta, in the Department of Medicine. Marilyn then entered the Faculty of Education and received her Alberta Teacher's Certification. Her education experience includes several positions both in and outside of Canada including a position as chemistry instructor at NAIT where she was nominated for an Excellence in Teaching award.

Over the years Marilyn has participated in a range of volunteer activities such as tutoring, the Eucharistic Ministry at St. Thomas More Church, motivational speaking, and in government policy development.

Marilyn and Ray, along with their two teenaged sons reside in southwest Edmonton and attend St. Thomas More Church. The boys have attended various Catholic schools from elementary through high school, including St. Stanislaus, St. Mary, Archbishop Joseph MacNeil, St. Rose, and Archbishop MacDonald.

>Having lived in the community for over 10 years, and having knocked on thousands and thousands of doors over three election campaigns, Marilyn is well connected with the issues that concern the residents of Ward 76 and the supporters of Catholic Education.

Her current hobbies include running, swimming and biking. This includes participation in local community Triathlons and half marathons. Along these lines Marilyn will continue to push for policy advancement for the health and well being of our students.

MARILYN'S VIEWS

During the past three years as Trustee at Edmonton Catholic Schools, Marilyn has made her mark as a fiscal conservative, a strong supporter of innovating teaching and increased teacher autonomy, an active contributor towards issues of social justice, addressing special needs students, and for stronger integration of the Education system with local (city) government. Another primary interest of Marilyn's is the ongoing advancement of education systems in order to meet societal needs of the 21st century. Marilyn is proud of the quality of teaching and the achievements of the students of ECSD, and her vision to make ECSD a leading educational jurisdiction, where Catholic values of social justice, sanctity of human life, and strong families are integrated with leading and innovative academic practices and performance.

Marilyn strongly believes that an important role for a Catholic Trustee is to live according to a firm commitment to Catholic values and this is done best through action. It is the faith component and the accompanying qualities of character that must differentiate Edmonton Catholic Trustees from neighbouring school boards, and this standard of conduct can then permeate through the organization. The foundation of Catholic values and the messages of the Bible tell us that students, staff, and community have gifts to be valued and shared. Trustees must use their Catholic faith as a moral compass to guide decisions in dealing with the issues of today. The faith component must be reflected in policy particularly on issues such as respect for each other, bullying, health and wellness, and good stewardship of the earth and our environment.

Further to this, the primary fiduciary responsibility of Trustees is to the community. Trustees must build bridges between this community, teachers and administration to achieve the goal in creating a superior faith based education system. Everyone needs to feel respected, valued and seen as contributing members to molding the future vision for Edmonton Catholic Schools.

It is Marilyn's passion for students, her desire to see Albertans prepared for entry into a global marketplace, and a belief that community/business contribute in molding a strong and vibrant education system has lead Marilyn to pursue re-election to her current position as Trustee. It is in this role that Marilyn feels she can have the greatest impact on the quality of Catholic Education.