A project committed to rallying an entire school around a stimulating art project

For the past 10 years, virtually all the students at Saint-Anselme high school have shared a common passion for one project: a huge theatrical production. Over the years, a total of eight plays have called on the perseverance, commitment, creativity, rigour and determination of students and teachers alike. With plays ranging from the Jungle Book to Aladdin, and the Lion King to Shrek, this year the students will dazzle audiences with an adaptation of the animated film Ice Age. Actors, acrobats, dancers, singers, musicians and technicians will thus be given the chance to showcase their talents before the some 5,000 spectators expected to attend.

A student committed to successfully completing two years in one so as to make up for lost time

An adept of travel and humanitarian aid, outstanding organizer, tireless sportswoman – and even coach when the fancy takes her –, member of various committees and above all highly attuned to the needs of others, Andréanne Mecteau is the very portrait of a steadfastly committed top of the class student. However, this hasn’t always been the case for the Vanier high school student. A few years ago she became severely demotivated and her unacceptable behaviour caused her many a problem. But thanks to her motivation and perseverance, she got a grip on herself and is now proving all predictions wrong.

A student committed to organizing f

When Josika Leblond gets an idea into her head, nothing will sway her off the path to attaining her objective. Whether it’s re-establishing her school’s recycling centre, creating an international solidarity training course from scratch, actively participating in the Rendez-vous des générations event held in her area or competing in singing contests, the Secondary 5 student at Arc-en-Ciel high school in Trois-Pistoles does everything it takes to achieve her aim. “In order to grow, you have to have projects, be on the move and meet people. And this is how I intend to take my rightful place,” she says with conviction and spirit.

A teacher committed to making nature a tool for helping young people to surpass themselves

While textbooks can provide a certain amount of knowledge, nature can also most certainly be a sound pedagogical tool. But in order to use this tool, it is necessary to know how to listen to nature and interpret it, something Simon Faucher, an outdoors activities and physical education teacher at Mont-Saint-Sacrement high school, quickly learned to do. Today he is committed to sharing his love of nature with his students with the goal of enabling them to discover their true selves and their potential. Thanks to expeditions and volunteer work, young people are able to learn all about mutual aid, group dynamics, sharing, respect and how to be heedful of others.

A student committed to learning French so as to be quickly assimilated into our culture

It certainly takes audacity and courage to leave one’s homeland at the age of 14 and head to an unknown, snow-covered country where they speak a completely different language. However, this is what Fatoumata Barry did when she said farewell to her native Guinea to come live in Québec. A year and a half later, the Secondary 1 student at La Cité high school speaks fluent French (with a Québec accent to boot), has established a good circle of friends, is involved in her community and at school and hopes more than anything else to graduate from high school and become a nurse.

A project committed to modifying polluting habits at school

Over the past five years, the Comité Action Planète at De Rochebelle high school has carried out a large number of actions, which have helped change polluting habits inside and even outside the school. Among other things, the school and students installed multi-material recycling bins, set up a project for collecting used batteries, recuperated school supplies that were still serviceable, promoted environmentally-friendly lunch boxes, hosted collections for used bikes, made ecological shopping bags, planted trees and organized the “Wô les moteurs!” campaign, all with the goal of proving that it is possible to look after our planet.

A teacher committed to using music to enrich the personal development of her students

“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.

Une étudiante engagée à aider les autres, en élaborant un projet de tutorat individualisé

Jessica Langlais learned the meaning of the words sharing and solidarity at a very early age. With role models like her parents, who took in foster children, it didn’t take long for her to acquire a taste for helping others. Today she is in Secondary 5 at Collège Saint-Alphonse (CSA) and it’s now her turn to get involved. She gives of her time without counting the hours to such organizations as the Pairs Aidants committee, the Sainte-Anne hospital, the Relais pour la vie, the François-Plourde foundation, her high school parliament and the individualized tutoring project that she set up herself.

A student committed to winning her fight against cancer by continuing to put her heart into dancing

As teenagers, we all had the feeling at some point that we were invincible, that nothing terrible would ever happen to us. Stéphanie Bernard must have felt like this once too, that is until the day she was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer of the lymph nodes. She was 14 years old at the time and for her the news seemed almost surreal, like a bad dream. Now, a year and a half later, she sees life in a whole new light and wants to tell all the young people around her that there’s always a way out as long as you never give up. The Saint-Anselme high school student’s story is quite a lesson in life.

A project committed to promoting healthy eating thanks to the opening of a health food shop

Five years ago, six students at Vanier high school found a way of encouraging the entire student body to adopt healthy eating habits. Tired of not being able to buy nutritious food at their own school, they came up with the bold idea of opening a health food shop on school premises and it turned out to be an instant success. The Dep-explo Jeune COOP can now count on the collaboration of more than 50 students, has won many awards and is recognized throughout the province, in large part thanks to the creation of a start-up kit that is available to all educational institutions wishing to launch their own Dep-explo venture.

A professional committed to a football program to curb school drop out among male students

Denis Castonguay is one of those people who are always on the lookout for solutions to a problem. Concerned about school drop out, mainly among boys, the vice-principal of Secondary 5 and director of student life at Roger-Comptois high school came up with the ingenious idea of setting up a football program to tackle the problem. Five years later, it is obvious that the initiative has accomplished its purpose as statistics show that the program has improved the success rate of male students while providing the school with two provincial championships in 2009.

A student committed to helping young people who are victims of bullying through the TAX-I group

It’s a well-known fact that the more you get involved, the more you feel like getting involved, and this is precisely the case with David Bergeron, a Secondary 5 student at De la Seigneurie high school. Captain of the improvisation team, member of the theatre troupe, resource person for homework support, member of the student government, the TAX-I group and the Bleu and Pelure de Banane committees, drummer in the Stage Band and also a competitive swimmer, David simply wants to try his hand at everything and do well in everything. His overall grade average of nearly 95% bears witness to just how much he takes his success to heart… and of course the success of others as well.

A student committed to getting increasingly involved so as to fight prejudice and rejection

Learning to live with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder would be a daily challenge for anyone but it is even harder for a child and this is something Jérôme Bordeleau, a Secondary 5 student at the Polyvalente de L’Ancienne-Lorette, knows something about. Ever since elementary, he has always been a brilliant student but he long suffered from prejudice, prying stares and rejection. Then one day he decided he’d had enough and needed to face the music. He turned his involvement in various projects into a source of motivation to improve his interpersonal skills… and perseverance became his most valuable asset.

A teacher committed to setting up projects that enable his students to discover their true passions

“Harold Boivin is simply a sincere and good man, a man who spares no effort and, above all, for whom the success and happiness of his students are at the heart of his concerns.” It was in these very laudatory terms that Mireille Brousseau, counsellor in spiritual life and community involvement at Saint-Anselme high school, described her colleague. And when you look at all the various activities the French teacher is involved in, it comes as no surprise. Theatrical productions, the Gala Méritas, trips to New York, cultural outings, sports events, Harold Boivin is involved in everything and, if something doesn’t exist, he creates it.

A student committed to getting the school administration to accept the idea of fair-trade campaigns

“You just know when a young person gets involved because it’s part of their values, and believe me, Léonie is the epitome of self-sacrifice.” It was in these laudatory terms that Brigitte Trudel, acting principal at Jean-de-Brébeuf high school, spoke of Léonie Matteau’s involvement. With a heart of gold and a head brimming with ideas, the Secondary 5 student will have left a significant mark on her high school. The breakfast club, the health squad, the EVB (Établissement vert Brundtland) committee, a campaign for Haiti, fair-trade fund-raising campaigns, Léonie is on the front line of every battle and knows how to get her ideas across and get others involved.

A project committed to getting students to swim for the greater well being of sick children

Swimming and getting others to swim for a good cause is what Audrey Lortie and Julie Boucher, two Secondary 5 students at De Rochebelle high school, decided to do as part of their personal end-of-school project for the international studies program. The project took the shape of a huge swim-a-thon held on December 20 that brought together a hundred or so swimmers and succeeded in raising an amazing $1,765 for Opération Enfant Soleil.

A teacher committed to focusing on young people’s artistic talents to help them flourish

Born into a family of teachers, Marc-André Perron knew as early as elementary school that he’d keep the family tradition alive. Today, the 26-year-old teacher at Saint-Pierre and Des Sentiers high school in Québec City is already recognized for his dynamism, commitment and determination to push young people to continually strive to surpass themselves. He supervises the two theatre troupes at his school, is the founder of Les Pijorats theatre company and the co-organizer of an international cooperation project in Guatemala, and his goal is to help students understand that through effort and hard work, they can achieve anything.

A student committed to overcoming dyslexia in order to fulfil his goal of becoming a computer scient

Up until very recently, Benoît Sénéchal, a Secondary 4 student at Collège Saint-Alphonse in Saint-Tite-des-Caps, had no idea what academic success meant. Benoît suffers from dyslexia, dysorthographia and an attention deficit disorder, and also has to contend with being far away from his family, missing out on a lot of activities, spending his summers studying and devoting many hours to trying to catch up. Though he would have had all the best reasons for giving up, Benoît persevered and said to himself that he would one day make his dream of becoming a computer scientist a reality. And he’s on his way to doing just that!

A project committed to fighting school dropout thanks to an introductory course in theatre, voluntee

With the goal of offering special needs students a new formula that would favour their sense of personal achievement while renewing their interest in school, professionals at Jean-de-Brébeuf high school created, from A to Z, the Développement vie et société project. And it must be said that their initiative hit the bull’s-eye because, ever since it was set up, the project has prompted these students to embark on the path of social commitment. Volunteering at the soup kitchen, the school newspaper, a theatrical play, a show on the CKRL community radio station, short job training courses, a fresco and other projects are now all part of the everyday lives of these young people.

A professional committed to helping young people discover who they truly are thanks to weekend retre

A student committed to helping young people take their rightful place in the community

“Giving of one’s time is a passion!” With her energetic voice, passionate views and remarkable candidness, Léola Muntu-Caron, a Secondary 5 student at Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, talks with bursting enthusiasm about her projects, her involvement and the committees she’s on. The student government, the OAmbassadors program, a humanitarian aid project in the Dominican Republic, a tutor for students experiencing academic difficulties, a member of the Kamouraska region’s youth round table and an accomplished sportswoman, Léola is not afraid of taking on challenges and sees her commitment as an endless source of motivation.

Students committed to putting an end to absenteeism and boosting student motivation

Thanks to the creation of the Télévision Saint-Aubin (TVSA) project, the Centre éducatif Saint-Aubin in Baie-Saint-Paul has succeeded in kindling a sense of belonging among students, eradiating absenteeism and boosting the students’ self-esteem. Coordinated for the most part by a class of special needs students between the ages of 12 and 14, the project is a way of showcasing student accomplishments, be it in sports, the arts, the sciences or any other discipline. Using a giant screen set up in the school entrance hall, TVSA broadcasts all the latest news in the morning before class, at recess and during lunch hour.

A student committed to overcoming a visual disability in order to succeed at school and fulfil her dreams

Since birth, Katy Jalbert-Mercier, a student at Louis-Jacques-Casault high school in Montmagny, has had to learn to live with a major visual impairment that has led to just as significant learning disabilities. Without ever getting discouraged, she kept her head held high, remained optimistic and forged ahead in order to overcome the hurdles and attain her personal goals for success. Katy is now 16 years of age and is finally enrolled in the Secondary 1 level of a vocational training program in semi-specialized trades (FMSS), is a member of the Opération Enfant Soleil committee at her school and was even elected class president.

A student committed to pinpointing student concerns so as to improve her school environment

“Commitment is my driving force. Every morning, I feel like going to school because I know I can help make it a more enjoyable and stimulating place!” These refreshing words, spontaneously offered by Coppélia LaRoche-Francoeur, sum up the Secondary 5 student at De Rochebelle high school’s distinctive joie de vivre. Member of the student council, the Action planète committee, the sports committee, the school band and the basketball team (captain), she is involved in just about every student association. “When you get involved, it’s impossible not to be happy!”