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| Lifestyle Kit Index > Education | ||||
 
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This section details how to enroll everyone in the family in classes on or near the West Island, from kindergarten and preschool to adult education... and how to tailor your children's schooling to their needs and interests. For your children, choose from 3 public school systems, or flourishing and affordable private schools, and even recognized programs for home education. Best of all, you'll find the people you meet in the school systems are helpful and efficient. Unlike many European systems, Québec's educators encourage parents to participate.West Island schools consistently rank among Québec's top 10. Two school boards offer classes from kindergarten through to high school. Marguerite Bourgeois School Board runs the French schools; while the Lester B. Pearson School Board administrates all English schools. Teaching experts from other countries have lauded -and adopted - their methods of teaching French and English as second languages. French immersion is the standard curriculum in all English schools, although some schools offer the traditional English programme for those who request it. Others prefer to send their children to French schools, where newcomers attend special Welcoming Classes. Staffed by specialists, these classes ease children into the system while learning Québec's official language and making new friends, without attending a class full of strangers they can't understand. Average students integrate to regular classes in French in about six months. 
School boards publish newsletters each August and distribute them
throughout the area. They list school addresses, attendance areas,
opening dates, calendars and bus schedules. Write to the admissions
offices for information for newcomers. |
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 WHO
IS ELIGIBLE FOR ENGLISH ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL? |
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French is Québec's official language, but children of Canadian citizens and of parents holding temporary work permits may attend English elementary or high schools under certain criteria. For children of Canadian citizens one of the following conditions must apply:
If your child needs an English school, phone the school boards
for the latest enrollment updates before you come to Québec.To enroll in the English sector, students must obtain a "Certificate of Eligibility" from the Québec Ministry of Education. This application must be made through the Lester B. Pearson board; call: Lester B. Pearson 514-422-3000 www.lbpsb.qc.ca
You'll need to take work or study permits, report cards, birth
certificates, etc., to the school board or private school. So
phone ahead to get things moving and check which documents they
require. Allow a month for processing. Your child will attend
a Welcoming Class while awaiting the certificate.
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| THE
SCHOOL YEAR |
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Québec elementary and high school classes run from late August to mid-June. School year holidays are two weeks at Christmas, a week in February or March and a few days at Easter. Québec also offers excellent programs at junior colleges called CEGEP's - "SeeJeps". These ''Colléges d'enseignement général et professionnel'' offer two year general and three year professional programs, in your choice of French or English. Québec universities offer a three year Bachelor’s degree program. University fees in Québec are among the lowest in North America, yet standards are high. All universities and CEGEPs are open to qualified applicants without language restrictions. See further details. 
REGISTRATIONStudents can be registered in elementary and high schools any time through the school year directly at the school office. You will require:
Most private schools hold entrance exams, usually in November
and February.Admission applications for CEGEP'S are due March 1 and November 1 for fall and winter. Students register for fall term around August 19 and start classes the following week. They re-register for winter in mid-January. The year ends mid-May.
CEGEPs reserve some places for out-of-town students. Call the
college's admissions office immediately when you decide to move
here.
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| PUBLIC
SCHOOLS |
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Public schools in Québec are administered by local school boards run by locally elected school commissioners. While most of the funding comes from the Québec government, local school taxes also contribute some revenues. The major school boards on the West Island are: |
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Each school board classifies its schools as "French" or "English" depending on the official language of the curriculum. |
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While all schools offer the common courses, a variety
of options distinguishes different schools in areas like arts, music,
drama, science, computers, sports, etc. School boards will help you
choose the best school for your child and arrange visits. |
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The following is a summary of the education system, followed by an outline of the programs available, at each stage of a person's education. |
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KINDERGARTEN - LA MATERNELLE For children age 5 before October 1st. Not compulsory. The official schedule is a full day. Classes are offered in both public and private elementary schools. All children who turn 5 before October 1st may attend. Children born after October 1 may be granted early entry after special testing. Check with the school board. Parents pay for exercise books and other school supplies at the beginning of each year. School buses are provided for children who live a certain distance from school: 3/4 mile for regular kindergarten, door to door for Welcoming classes in Kindergarten, 1 mile for grades 1 to 12. |
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRADES 1 TO 6 For children ages 6 to 11. Students normally attend from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., with about 90 minutes for lunch. Schooling is free. Parents pay for school supplies and are charged for consumables. In the morning and late afternoon, free buses transport students living beyond specific distances from school. There is a fee for students returning home for lunch. Supervised lunch programs are available for a fee. Schools encourage parents to participate through the School Committees and Home and School Association. School committees give valuable input to the curriculum and administrative matters. They help parents meet others who are also wanting the best education for their children.
Some schools offer after school day care and extra-curricular activities.
If this is important, check with the school board to find out which
do.
Public education is free for kindergarten, elementary, secondary and
CEGEP. University tuition fees are among the lowest in North America. |
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SECONDARY SCHOOL SECONDARY I TO V. Grades 7 to 11. Ages 12 to 16. Classes run roughly from 8:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., with one hour for lunch. Parents pay only for supplies, exercise books, a fee for consumables and activities. For students living over a mile from school, free transportation is provided by school bus or, for students on a MUCTC bus line, a reimbursement is given to parents for bus passes. The secondary school study programs require students to take English, French, mathematics, science and many optional subjects. Students get a thorough grounding in core subjects while opening doors to new fields of knowledge. Accelerated and intensive courses in English, mathematics and science are also offered. School boards offer second-language immersion programs in high schools. Suitably prepared students can write their second-language finals whenever ready. They will then follow special advanced language arts courses if they wish. |
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INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE Students can enroll for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program which is a prelude to the prestigious International Baccalaureate. It offers the opportunity to learn a third language (Spanish), Technology, Social Sciences, stressing international awareness and understanding and study methods to develop study skills and critical thinking. Entrance examinations are compulsory and admission is based on merit. It is offered by most schools of the Marguerite Bourgeois School Board as well as a two schools of the Lester B.Pearson School Board (in Lachine and Pointe-Claire). Guidance counselors help tailor programs to the needs of young people so that students enrolling in Secondary IV and V - Grades 10 and 11 - move smoothly into the system and graduate on time.
Out of province high school students needing to upgrade their French
may attend special half day programs in July. |
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FRENCH IMMERSION PROGRAMME In recognition of Québec’s distinctive French character, the standard curriculum in the English system is "French Immersion". This curriculum has been developed over the last 25 years and is acclaimed as the most efficient way to acquire familiarity in a second language. This programme features increased exposure and use of French in the normal course of instruction. The level of use of French in instruction varies with the school and the grade level. In most classes at the grade school level, half of the instruction is given in English and half in French. Some schools offer also more intensive immersion at the early years, with 85% to 100% of instruction from Kindergarten to grade 3 ad 50% from grade 4 to grade 6. Immercion in high school means that courses such as history, geography and optional courses are taught in French. Most young students moving to Québec can easily integrate into immersion class after a short period of adaptation. For those who do not wish to send their children to immersion classes, a standard French second language course programme is available in some schools (Check with Lester B. Pearson School Board 514-422-3000). For those who really wish to have their children learn French, they can and should send them to French schools. For non-French speakers, Marguerite Bourgeois offers special welcoming and integration classes that gives more instruction for the first year in French (65%) and mathematics (25%). Call 514-855-4564. |
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| CEGEP
PRE-UNIVERSITY |
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| Equivalent to grades 12 and 13. Ages 17-18-19. CEGEPs provide general pre-university and professional technical education. CEGEPs bridge the studies between high school and university, corresponding roughly to Grades 12 and 13 in other educational systems. Classes are held in a lecture format. General studies for 2 years lead to the college diploma required for university entrance. The 3-year technical program leads to a professional education diploma allowing access to a related work field or university admission if certain courses are completed. At CEGEPs, students pay for their books, transportation, school materials and a fee for registration and extracurricular activities. Students apply for CEGEP entrance through the centralized "Service régional d'admission", call 271-4143, for all French CEGEPs and West Island's John Abbott College. Apply directly to other English CEGEPs. As mentioned earlier, application deadlines are March 1 and November 1 for fall and winter terms, so call early. Some places are reserved for out-of-town students, particularly young people with good academic records, who arrive later. |
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ENGLISH COLLEGES |
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FRENCH COLLEGE GERALD GODIN 626-2666 15615 Gouin Blvd. West Ste-Geneviève (Qc) H9H 5K8 Fax: 626-6866 www.college-gerald-godin.qc.ca |
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UNIVERSITIES Three or four years are needed to obtain a Bachelor's Degree. The time needed for Masters and PhD degrees varies with the field chosen. Write to the admissions offices for complete information on 3 and 4-year programs. |
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| ADULT
EDUCATION |
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Adults may return to school at any level of education by contacting the local continuing education departments of the Lester B. Pearson or Marguerite Bourgeois school boards. JOHN ABBOTT COLLEGE CENTRE FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION 457-3063 21275 Lakeshore Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Qc H9X 3L9 www.johnabbott.qc.ca/~conted |
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French classes are readily available. The recreational departments of the various cities offer courses. Specialized intensive French instruction for rapid immersion is offered by private institutions such as: COMMUNICATIONS ANIMA LTD. 694-7178 www.pjca.com/communicationsanima/ 161 Place Frontenac Pointe-Claire, Qc H9R 4Z7 |
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SPECIAL NEEDS |
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| The school boards develop the most appropriate
educational plan for each student with special needs. They provide
the necessary physical and human resources as well as support services.
Pupils with disabilities can be totally or partially integrated into
the school system. For further information, call the school boards. LEARNING DISABILITIES ASSOCIATION OF QUÉBEC 694-4653 (support group for parents and children) INTERSECTION — YMCA 694-9622 www.westislandymca.qc.ca Fax: 694-9627 94 Douglas Shand Pointe-Claire, Qc H9R 2A8 (non academic support program for youth having difficulty with school or who have dropped out of school) |
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If you have a child with special needs, you should
contact the West Island Community Resource Centre at 694-6404
(fax: 630-1225) or the
YMCA at 694-9622, for
detailed information on services available.
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| WEST
ISLAND PRIVATE SCHOOLS |
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http://www.meq.gouv.qc.ca |
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