Complementing a rich, active and inspiring living environment in the heart of Saint-Augustin, the Maréchal secondary school was officially inaugurated on Monday, November 11 with the presence of the Minister of Education Mr. Bernard Drainville, the Member of Parliament for Mirabel Mrs. Sylvie D’Amours and the mayor of Mirabel Mr. Patrick Charbonneau.
Located a stone’s throw from the aquatic center, the arena and the baseball field, the school welcomes more than a thousand students from the four corners of the region. The mayor emphasized that the realization of this project was very dear to him since he saw the idea of this establishment born when he began his political life as a municipal councilor.
The school welcomes more than 1,000 young people from secondary 1 to 5 as well as five specialized classes. With an investment of 160 million, the Minister of Education Mr. Bernard Drainville was excited for the occasion. He asked the students present if they knew the average age of schools in Quebec. Many were surprised to learn the 57-year-old’s response. Indeed, the average year of construction is 1967 for schools in the province. “I am very happy to participate in the inauguration of the new Maréchal secondary school. Thanks to its modern and welcoming spaces, I am convinced that it will help to increase student motivation. »
Mirabel MP Sylvie D’Amours also expressed her enthusiasm for setting foot in the establishment. “It is an immense privilege for me to see the birth of this project which meets the needs of our families and our growing sector. Thanks to this school, our young people will benefit from quality spaces, exceptional supervision and resources to grow and flourish. »
Mr. Patrick Charbonneau, Mayor of Mirabel, Mr. Frédéric Greschner, Deputy Director General, Mr. Roch-André Malo, Director General, Mr. Bernard Drainville, Minister of Education, Ms. Sylvie D’Amours, Member of Parliament for Mirabel, Ms. Geneviève Lévesque, school director. Lucas Sauvé, vice-president and Charlotte Roy, president of the student committee.
The building with large open areas, large windows that let in light, is divided into several sections, whether the classic multifunctional gymnasiums and other cafeterias and libraries, but also gathering areas for teamwork or state-of-the-art laboratories. Everywhere we look, we see wood and aluminum, two materials of which Quebec can proclaim itself champion.
But it’s not just the building that makes this school inspiring. With 38 specific projects, which can bring together students from regular classes with those from special classes, and periods of educational breaks to encourage students to move or advance in their subjects at their own pace, it’s the entire ecosystem which is designed for the development of the adolescents and the staff who attend it.
The healthy lifestyle workshop is a classroom equipped with an industrial kitchen. The director of the school, Ms. Geneviève Lévesque, explains during the visit to the establishment that the teachers are working hard. “Every teacher wants to find an angle, a project to do with their students to bring them here, and the students love it! »
With lockers on the ground floor for outdoor clothing, students also benefit from lockers for their school belongings on the upper floors, close to their classrooms. This makes it possible to speed up the transition from one subject to another without having to drag winter boots throughout the school. It is the sum of these details that make the Maréchal secondary school a project from which future constructions will draw inspiration.
This is what the Minister of Education expected when he told the students and staff members present for the inauguration speeches: “You have the chance to live in this new model of school. You become people that we will observe, people who should inspire us.”
