Portes-ouvertes à Paul Desmarais!

Joelle Logue
Students gather in front of Ecole Paul-D on a tour last week. Photo courtesy of the school.

ABOVE: Students gather in front of Ecole Paul-D on a tour last week. Photo courtesy of the school.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We asked Joelle Logue to write about her impressions of Stittsville’s new French Catholic high school. She attended an open house on Thursday night along with her 12-year-old son Liam, who’s one of the new students.

 

February 4 marked the official opening of the new École Secondaire Catholique Paul-Desmarais at 5315 Abbott Street. In a word, this school is: extraordinaire!!

An official opening ceremony with dignitaries took place earlier in the day. My son must have reminded me four times this week that he had to dress nicely on Thursday because VIPs were coming to visit.

We arrived early for the presentation and were sent on a scavenger hunt to find classrooms, collect stamps and enter a draw. We toured the entire school: the gyms, the music room, the classroom, the library.

Most notable were the Carrefour de la créativité (MakerSpace) where robotics, laptops, 3D printers and eventually laser cutters will be integrated into every subject.

There was the kitchen where the “cours d’alimentation” will be offered. It won’t be your ordinary cooking class. Instead, students will learn how to market a meal or dish they create, integrating entrepreneurship, marketing, cooking, group work and math (costing/pricing) into the kitchen.

Then there was a room view a view: la Salle d’arts mouvement, located in an upstairs corner room with multi-coloured windows (that open) and give a Cirque du Soleil feel to the dance and drama room.

Sitting in the atrium, listening to the principal present all of the school’s opportunities, I felt like a kid again wanting to register myself for next year! We are truly fortunate to have this school in our community.

Allez les Patriotes!

***

“When i came into the school, all that I saw was colours, lots of colours. I said to my self: Wow, this is beautiful. The gym is big, with three main colours (lime, purple, blue). There are three gyms. The lockers are coloured (lime, blue, purple, turquoise). The main hall of the school is so big that the cafeteria is in the hall. You can also see some places where the lockers are going to be in like a couple years. (Next year, the school population will grow from 200 to 500). 
–Liam Mackenzie, Grade 7

Inside Paul Desmarais high school
One of the school’s colourful hallways. Photo courtesy of Joelle Logue.
Inside Paul Desmarais high school
Inside the cafeteria/auditorium space. Photo courtesy of Joelle Logue.
Inside Paul Desmarais high school
A student locker. Photo courtesy of Joelle Logue.

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