Académie Ste-Cécile International School School Leadership
What is the leadership style at Académie Ste-Cécile International School? How do the school leaders shape the culture, priorities, and daily life of the community? How does this leadership style compare to that of other private and independent schools, and how might it influence your choice of school?
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Facts and analysis
MESSAGE FROM THE LEADERSHIP
We invited Therese H. Gadoury, Founding Directrice at Académie Ste-Cécile International School, to share a message.
The overview highlights the vision, values, and guiding principles that shape leadership and the student experience at Académie Ste-Cécile International School.
Therese H. Gadoury, Founding Directrice
Throughout more than 35 years, Académie Ste-Cécile has been promoting excellence in academics, music, dance, art and athletics.
As a private, co-educational day and resident, elementary and secondary school committed to excellence, ASCIS offers a challenging and comprehensive education to our students while encouraging them to be responsible, productive and ethical citizens. We encourage our students to think creatively, reason critically, communicate effectively and respect people of all cultures and diversities.
The ASCIS staff assists in the development of the “total child”, the “whole person” guiding our students to maturity, to develop their talents and skills to the fullest, to promote their dignity, self-respect and self-esteem and to foster in them an attitude of courtesy and respect for others.
We assist our students who are the future leaders of the world to become organized and focused individuals in the pursuit of academic excellence. Together, ASCIS staff and students strive to “seek truth and justice, love and peace.”
INTERVIEW WITH THE LEADERSHIP
We interviewed Samantha Morin, Senior School Principal at Académie Ste-Cécile International School.
In conversation with school leadership, the discussion centred on the school’s mission, educational approach, and the vision shaping key decisions.
Samantha Morin, Head of Académie Ste-Cécile, talks about the school's nurturing environment, small class sizes, dedicated staff, and a focus on holistic student development through various programs and extracurricular activities. She emphasizes community engagement and the importance of aligning with each student's unique needs.
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Highlights from the interview
Our community is very close-knit, so every student is known very personally by their teachers, by the staff. We have small class sizes, which enables a connection between the students and the teachers, where they're really engaged in the learning process. And with our leadership trips, we really bring that sense of community to life.
At Académie Ste-Cécile, we have an excellent team of educators who are all dedicated to the success of the school and the students. Some of the staff and teachers have been here since the school was founded in 1993. Aside from the usual duties of supporting teachers, and organizing events, I’m also in the classroom for one course during the year–Computer Science.
Throughout their time here at Académie Ste-Cécile, the students will have growth intellectually, socially, and personally. They're challenged through our OSSD program, but also our IB and AP options. They'll experience growth socially and personally through our many clubs, sports, and other leadership opportunities.
At Académie Ste-Cécile, our alumni are so closely connected to the school that they often come back, even just to say hello, to do give guest lectures, to talk to the students about opportunities in university, and to really explain to them that their hard work now is going to pay off in the future.
We attract students who are hardworking and in pursuit of academic excellence. These students are also looking for growth in other areas like extracurricular, art, sport, and dance. Well, we do strive to create a learning environment that supports all students. If we're not able to support some specialized programs, then we usually recommend our sister school, Holy Family Achievement School.
At Académie Ste-Cécile, there's really a strong partnership between our parents, our students, and our staff members. The parents will get involved in different activities amongst the school, come to barbecues, and use more traditional platforms like our digital sharing of information, as well as our parent-teacher interview conferences.
Our relationship at Académie Ste-Cécile with the local community is one of partnership and dedication. Some examples are our cleanup at Ganatchio Trail, where we spend the day cleaning up garbage along the trail, as well as our regular visits to the downtown mission to support our local homeless. We often do fundraisers at the school, and a large portion of our proceeds goes to local charities to help support their needs.
My advice to parents who are making a decision on their school for their child is to really consider the philosophy of the school, the academic programming, class sizes, and also the extracurriculars, which are very important. In the end, each child is unique, and finding a school involves considering their individual needs. For myself and my own children, I knew that when I brought them to the Academy, I was providing the best possible future I could for them, and that was what was most important for me.
