Éco-lita Trilingue

In October 2004, I began searching for a school for my young children who were then 3 and 4 years old. I wanted my bilingual children to be educated in English while learning all about our French mother tongue…and its many rules. Understanding the growing need to communicate in our ever-shrinking world, offering a third language also seemed a necessity. As a language specialist with over 20 years of teaching experience at the elementary to advanced Cegep levels, the importance of being immersed in a language at the earliest possible age was not overlooked. In other words, the perfect school would have to include a pre-school. Besides, who has time for 5 pit-stops before actually getting to work in the morning? Most importantly, I absolutely needed to know that my children would be in a healthy, respectful, and stimulating environment filled with love. Ten months later, with a permit from the Ministry of Education in my pockets, a cute little school house, a trilingual program, 12 staff members, and a very supportive family, Écolita Trilingue was born! In September 2011, it’ll be 7 years since I have started this adventure. What better way to celebrate than to open up a Middle School* section? Écolita Trilingue will be a safe haven for the young teens in grades 7 and 8 who enjoy teamwork, outdoor education, projects, and languages. At a time when not much seems interesting to them, students will be encouraged to find and develop their true passions. Écolita will continue its tradition of small groups and few classes to give students the opportunity to create strong bonds with its middle school teachers. Whatever ideas students want to share, a caring adult will be there to listen actively.

Eco-lita's healthy, innovative, and trilingual environment strengthens students' passion for learning, teaches 21st century skills to succeed in our ever-changing world, and nurtures students' self-esteem to surpass themselves daily. What this means in everyday life at E‰co-lita: * We make sure our students™ primary needs and emotional needs are met before even starting to teach them anything. * New ideas are cherished and tried even if they do not always work, and we learn from them. * Our teachers never give up on a child. There is always a way to make a student understand. * We do our best no matter who we are, what we are doing, where we are, or how we are feeling. * Everybody helps everybody at Eco-lita. * Older students are in the habit of helping little ones tie their shoelaces or zip up their jackets. * Parents drive students to horse-backing riding and accompany us on fieldtrips. * There is always a student who volunteers to bring a friend in if he/she falls outside. * Staff members give and receive about 50 hugs or high-fives per day. The smiles are infinite. * Our students and teachers come from Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico, South Africa, Great Britain, France, Taiwan, China, Guyana, India, etc. and all play together. * We only accept win-win solutions. * All kids take turns cleaning up the lunchroom. * Weekly staff meetings at lunch to exchange information, discuss ideas, and share feelings. * For the innovative strategies taken from around the world, well, you have to be part of our family to get those little secrets!