Sonia Savignac
École secondaire Jean-du-Nord

“It’s as if I were a race car and young people were my fuel!” This is the metaphor Sonia Savignac, the energetic and colourful music teacher at Jean-du-Nord high school in Sept-Îles, uses to describe the motivation behind her work in education. And to make optimal use of this fuel, she passes on her passion for music through projects that are each as stimulating as the next for young people. School bands, a music peer support group, competitions at Disney, New York, Toronto, Montréal, nothing is too great a challenge when it comes to helping students to surpass themselves and discover who they truly are.

The teacher has a university diploma in music with a concentration in piano but one day, prompted by a calling to teach, Sonia Savignac decided to go back to school. “After working in the field of music, I felt like passing on my knowledge and love of music to young people. I therefore undertook studies to become a teacher and started working in my region, developing music concentration programs,” she recounts.

Twenty-three years later, after teaching the Innu on reserves as part of a private education system that has since become public, Sonia Savignac still gets up every morning with the same burning desire to teach. “All educational milieus have one common denominator: students. Each and every day, I can’t wait to be with them. I strive to offer well-prepared courses and give them the attention they deserve. It’s not always easy being a teenager and I try to brighten up their lives. And music is the perfect tool.”

It is through her manifold projects that the teacher succeeds in stimulating her students and adding a bit of sunshine to their daily lives. The Jean-du-Nord school bands in fact are the starting point for several projects. Going far beyond the boundaries of the academic program, members of the school bands have to be steadfastly committed. The teacher schedules rehearsals in the morning before classes, at lunchtime and even on pedagogical days and thus encourages her students to take the path of excellence, personal discipline and accomplishment. However, they are always rewarded for their efforts as they offer numerous performances at public venues and elementary schools in Sept-Îles, and have the chance to participate in various competitions.

“For me, it’s important to be able to pass on a concern for detail and a job well done to the students I teach. And because I enjoy setting up projects so much and have good organizational skills, I take full advantage of the school bands to boost team spirit, their feeling of belonging to the school and their sense of responsibility,” points out the teacher who set up a music peer support group in which Secondary 1 students are paired with students in Secondary 3 to help them learn to play an instrument.

The peer support project is valued by all and, the minute it was established, it immediately started having an effect on the abilities of the Secondary 1 musicians. Promoting such values as mutual aid and tolerance, the project also has a tangible impact on the student teachers who gain self-confidence and self-esteem.

Sonia Savignac admits to being demanding, determined and a perfectionist who strives for success, but she is above all generous with her time. She is convinced that the personal development acquired by the student members of the school bands, as well as those in the Jazz du Nord, a parallel group of about twenty students for whom she also provides guidance, is a valuable asset to their education. In addition to the sense of achievement they gain through music, they also get to participate in unique experiences when they travel to competitions and when organizing the fund-raisers that enable them to do so.

“When we get back from a competition, regardless of where it was held, and I see their faces brimming with happiness, pride and contentment, I say to myself: mission accomplished! The magical moments we experience together when we are away for periods of over a week, far from parents and the everyday routine, are always an inspiration for the following year and encourage me to keep on getting involved,” she says with pride, adding that the school bands won three awards at the last Musicfest Québec competition held in Montréal.

Sonia Savignac
École secondaire Jean-du-Nord