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 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.

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