St. Francis of Assisi School in Davisburg has named it's first principal in the school's history.

Diane Atkinson will be the one opening the doors at the new Christ The Redeemer school in the fall.

Atkinson has been the Vice Principal at Holy Trinity Academy in Okotoks for the past five years and says she's looking forward to the new opportunity.

"So exciting to be able to start something from the ground up and build new traditions," she says. "Of course while still respecting the foundation of school division which has awesome schools, it feels amazing I'm so excited to begin."

Atkinson at the same time says she will miss being at HTA as she's enjoyed her time there.

"It's kind of tough to say good bye to HTA because it's been my life for the last decade," she says. "I Think I'll be ok, I'm excited about balancing both until the end of the year and making sure that everything gets the attention it requires."

After being a Vice-Principal for the past five years, Atkinson was ready to make the jump to Principal.

"It's something when I talk about it, I tell people I feel like I've already accomplished more in my life than I ever dreamed for myself so to get this opportunity in this particular school division, its just a dream come true for me," she says. "I'm just so humbled that I was selected to be given that opportunity."

Atkinson emigrated to Canada with her family in 1991 from Romania.

Atkinson has a Bachelor of Education from the University of Calgary and a Masters of Education in School Administration from Gonzaga University.

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