Throughout her 39 years as a Catholic educator, Theresa Antonakis has never felt daunted by the idea of embracing change.

Antonakis sought new experiences, implemented new teaching practices and technologies and worked to build meaningful relationships with multiple generations of students. She accomplished these feats since 1985 — she began in the Sherwood Park Catholic system — first as a classroom teacher and later as a school principal, most recently at Archbishop MacDonald Catholic High School in Edmonton before her retirement at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

She also guided central technology services departments, specialized teaching programs and shepherded inclusive education initiatives.

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The Edmontonian’s efforts on behalf of her students and colleagues caught the attention of primary school leaders from across the country as the Canadian Association of Principals feted her as the Distinguished Principal of the Year.

“I am incredibly excited by it,” said Antonakis of the award. “There are fantastic principals all across the country, so it is an honour to be recognized.”

Antonakis’ philosophy throughout was to “put the students first” and to ensure “everyone belongs and everyone succeeds.” She said she also sought to live and express her Catholic faith each day she went to work.

“Just being able to live your faith at your school and being able to speak freely about it with your teachers, your colleagues, students, embracing our Catholic faith in everything that we do, permeating it through the day, really makes teaching and learning so valuable,” said Antonakis.

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Though fully aware that the teaching profession and student bodies have transformed in many ways during her four-decade career, Antonakis said “a Catholic school is still a Catholic school,” and the commitment to sharing the Gospel and the Church’s social teachings is unchanged.

The final chapter of Antonakis’ career called on her to ensure the over 1,000 students at Archbishop MacDonald, an English and French immersion high school, still received an enriching education and developed life skills amid the society-disrupting COVID-19 pandemic.

She marshalled her teaching and support staff and encouraged them to embrace the online technologies necessary to minimize the potential learning gaps that could — and did, in many cases — emerge from a prolonged absence of in-person instruction. Later, she guided the transition out of the pandemic wilderness.

“We invested a lot in supports for our students,” said Antonakis. “We also provided different clubs that the students could become involved in. The teachers worked hard to welcome all those students and to teach them the social skills that they needed to work in a school.

“I think just this past year, looking at the changes in the students, they're back to where they were before COVID, maybe even stronger because of the teachers' investment,” continued Antonakis. “And academically, at the end of the day, they're still as strong as they were, let's say, graduating class from before. I'm really proud of the teachers, all the work they put into the students, and just the students themselves wanting to learn.”

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Wishing Canadian Catholic educators a successful year ahead, Antonakis said it is key for each member of this community to appreciate that “we have a really important job as teachers, and our faith helps us through it, and it builds community.”

“I want all our teachers to embrace that and use it to help them when school gets tough or things for our students are difficult. We are there to take them from where they are to where they can be. It is a gift.”