March 23, 2022
On March 17, the Association franco-ontarienne des conseils scolaires catholiques (Franco-Ontarian Association of Catholic School Boards) (AFOCSC) honoured Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon (CSC Nouvelon) school board trustee for District 5 (Greater Sudbury wards 7–12) André Bidal with the Catholic Education Award of Excellence (Prix d’excellence en éducation catholique). This award recognizes Mr. Bidal’s important contributions to French-language Catholic education in Northern Ontario.
André Bidal has served with distinction as school board trustee since 2000. In the course of this period, he was first elected as Vice-President for five terms, from 2004 to 2006 and 2010-2013. He was then elected to serve as President for nine mandates in 2007, 2008 and from 2013 to 2021. Mr. Bidal also sat on the Board of Directors of the AFOCSC numerous times. In 2018, as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of Francophone Catholic schools, he was presented a provincial appreciation award recognizing his contributions to Catholic education.
For almost 45 years, Mr. Bidal has tirelessly defended the interests of Franco-Ontarian parents. At the local level, he was chair of the Collège Notre-Dame (Sudbury) Catholic School Council and member of the Catholic parent-teacher association for 15 years. On a provincial level, Mr. Bidal represented the CSC Nouvelon on Ontario’s Parents partenaires en education and served on the Board of Directors of the AFOCSC.
“André Bidal contributed to the development and expansion of French-language Catholic education across the province,” declared CSC Nouvelon President Ms. Suzanne Salituri. “His open-mindedness and continued commitment to encouraging his peers in their roles and contributions as school board trustees enables him to stand out. He always seeks to foster their capabilities to become leaders in their own right.”
“André is proud to be an accessible Francophone Catholic role model. His leadership, his passion and his dedication to French-language Catholic education have made him an exceptional leader. The CSC Nouvelon is fortunate to have been able to count on this great leader as its President for many years and as a school board trustee for more than 20 years,” added Mr. Paul Henry, Director of Education and Secretary Treasurer at the CSC Nouvelon.
The Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon offers a French-language Catholic Educational Program that is widely recognized for its excellence. The CSC Nouvelon provides a quality learning environment and academic program that runs from early childhood to adult education, with some 6,100 students enrolled in 27 elementary, 1 virtual school and 10 secondary schools.
Source:
Paul de la Riva
Director of Communications and External Relations
Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon
705-673-5626, ext. 294
705-677-8195 (cell)