This text is part of the special public school notebook
In Saint-Jérôme, the Flambeau secondary school will welcome its first cohort of students in January 2024. A place of life that intends to better meet the needs of today’s students, through its “new generation” buildings, but above all through an adapted and collaborative educational project. Meeting with the director of the establishment, Sophie Proulx.
The new building stands along Boulevard Lajeunesse Ouest, a few minutes from Highway 15. A contemporary structure with largely glass facades, the Flambeau secondary school is the first of the “new generation” to see the light of day in the area. of the Rivière-du-Nord School Service Center (CSSDRN). This model, promoted by the Ministry of Education since 2020, is inspired in particular by the work of the LAB-École and focuses on an architecture that “promotes the comfort of students and their educational success”.
Abundance of natural materials and light, diversification of work and socializing spaces, “it is a vast, airy, open school and inhabited everywhere”, describes Sophie Proulx, director of the school.
It is not the building that makes the school, but what we do there, she warns, however. “Our students in 2023-2024 are not the same children as in 1970 or 1990. We must be able to meet their needs,” she says, pointing to their relationship with digital technology and the after-effects left by confinement. “They are keen students, very aware of what is going on. But they also have difficulty functioning in society. They no longer know the notion of each other’s limits. »
Interdisciplinary and targeted learning
This observation, to which are added challenges linked to attention and perseverance, inspired Sophie Proulx to implement practices adapted to the needs of her audience.
The school’s teachers are therefore mandated to carry out a certain number of interdisciplinary projects per year. “It may involve, for example, working on reading strategies – which come under the teaching of French – but through texts approached in a social environment. » An approach that keeps students attentive by playing to their strengths, believes the director.
Another specificity of the timetable is that classes are “opened up” from time to time to allow students to do reinforcement activities that meet their individual needs, for half a day per 20-day cycle. The subgroups thus formed work on concepts related to the main subjects as well as on anxiety management. “We work on academics, but also on what will support the student in their success. »
If expectations are high for young people, they also want to be fair and clear, insists Sophie Proulx. The teaching team thus tends to “model” the explanations relating to the understanding of concepts and rules of life by making them as concrete as possible. An exercise which has the advantage of sharpening students’ critical thinking. “They don’t always agree with what we explain to them. This is an opportunity to teach them how to defend their point of view other than through an Instagram post. »
Anchor students in their community
The school program follows the line of the ministry. “We respect the legal frameworks and the number of minutes granted per subject,” underlines Sophie Proulx, who nevertheless adds that she has received great confidence from the CSSDRN on how to bring them to life. All students at the school have access to a profile – currently a choice between Spanish, plastic arts, physical education, outdoors as well as science and discovery. An offer that will expand for the 2024-2025 school year. “Dance and music will be added, particularly electronic music,” says the director.
The program is also intended to be collaborative. Parents and staff members are therefore invited to take part, or even take charge, of certain activities. “They say it takes a village to raise a child. […] Here, it takes a community to support the success of a child within a school,” says Sophie Proulx. The manager also intends to further integrate external stakeholders into school life – already present to carry out preventive actions on subjects such as cyberbullying or drug addiction.
A community orientation which is also reflected in the architectural signature desired by Quebec for its “new generation” schools: an “inviting” public square, suitable for hosting public events, borders the establishment.
Equipping the citizens of tomorrow
Sophie Proulx is convinced of this: it is a set of solutions which will allow students to prepare for their future life. “It is through small everyday actions that a child develops into an adolescent, then into a responsible adult. […] We work on it by seeking to have articulate, invested children who enjoy being at school. »
Currently housed in the Marchand building, secondary one and two students will inaugurate the new building in January 2024. Secondary three, four and five students will enter in August of the same year. Ultimately, Flambeau secondary school will meet the needs of 1,250 students.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.