December 18, 2014

Coniston’s French Catholic elementary school, École Notre-Dame de la Merci, was recently rewarded for its efforts at improving its students’ academic performance. The Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario (CSCNO) school was among 27 schools in the province to be named as recipients of the prestigious Dr. Bette M. Stephenson Recognition of Achievement. A team of school representatives was on hand to receive the award at the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) recognition gala in Toronto.

This provincial award of merit which recognizes the teaching staff’s dedication to student performance and their efficient use of provincial test results to improve student learning, has been awarded by the EQAO since 2009. EQAO also acknowledges the leadership, initiative, proactive attitude and sincere efforts made by École Notre-Dame de la Merci to help every student succeed.

Thanks to its devoted staff, the school can closely monitor the performance of its students in regards to reading, writing and mathematics, as well as ensure the implementation of an improvement plan to help every child succeed. Through the schools professional learning community meetings, the teaching staff was able to determine what actions were required to enhance teaching strategies and implement an evaluation process to better support learning.

The learning strategies deployed have proven successful. Since 2012, grade 6 students from Notre-Dame de la Merci achieved results above 90% in mathematics, reading and writing. Results also indicate that grade 3 students steadily improved in all three disciplines during the last six years.

“Notre-Dame de la Merci’s staff commitment to student success has been outstanding,” declared Mrs. Lyse-Anne Papineau, Director of Education at the CSCNO. “This academic success is the result of a real team effort dedicated to support each student’s individual progression in the acquisition and development of lifelong abilities and skills.”

“We strongly believe that all students can succeed and we are ready to do what is required to support them. Our teachers are aware that they can bring positive changes in student learning and help them succeed in life. We take great pride in our capacity to work as a team to identity efficient teaching and learning strategies for all our students.” added École Notre-Dame de la Merci Principal, Mrs. Mélanie Bourget.

“We congratulate the entire Notre-Dame de la Merci school community for its success in increasing student achievement rates,” stated CSCNO President André Bidal. “The CSCNO is thrilled to see that the province acknowledges this strategy as a best practice that can serve as a model for other Ontario schools.”

The Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario offers a French Catholic Educational Program that is recognized for its excellence. With some 7,000 students in 27 elementary and 10 secondary schools, the CSCNO offers a positive learning environment from early childhood to adult education.

INFO :                  

Paul de la Riva
Coordonnateur des communications et du développement communautaire
Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario
(705) 673-5626, poste 294
(705) 677-8195 - cellulaire