I am pleased to share a brief report of my activities as Director General for the month of April. It has been a month filled with many special events taking place throughout our network of schools and centres. Just as we see the trees beginning to bud and flowers starting to bloom, so too do we witness the growth of our students.

April is known around the world as Autism Appreciation month, an opportunity to raise awareness, promote neurodiversity, and foster acceptance for those with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our Student Services Department and Centre of Excellence for ASD have shared many resources with our schools and the community at large. These include pedagogical materials as well as examples of the creative and artistic talents of our students. I invite people to visit the ASD Centre of Excellence website (https://coeasd.lbpsb.qc.ca/) to view these beautiful displays of student work.

While visiting our website, please take a moment to also click on our Equity, Diversity, Dignity and Inclusion page (https://www.lbpsb.qc.ca/equity-diversity-dignity-and-inclusion/). There you will find our video capsules summarizing the activities and accomplishments realized during the 2023-2024 school year. This serves as our annual reporting to our community, evidence that we continue to move forward on our EDDI commitments by promoting diversity and inclusion while seeking to address and remove barriers that marginalize students and staff. Please take a moment to view and offer us your feedback. We are always seeking ways to improve what we do to create welcoming, inclusive and safe spaces for learning and growth.

Reading and literacy take on extra emphasis during April, as this is when many schools hold “I love to read” themed weeks and public speaking competitions. This year, I was fortunate to visit a few classrooms to act as their mystery reader of the day – a surprise guest who comes to a school to read aloud to students. Thank you to the preschool classrooms at Maple Grove and the grade one and grade six classes at Dorval Elementary for their warm welcome. This month also featured the Ultimate Battle of the Books competition for secondary students and the finals for Qui Lira Vaincra, a literary contest involving Lester B. elementary schools. Reading is so vital to educational success, and I thank our staff who help to impart a love of reading to our students.

April is also a time to recognize the efforts of our adult learners. April 21-25 was Adult Learners’ Week and featured a celebration at our Head Office on April 23rd. We welcomed delegations of 10 students from each of our adult and career centres and heard many moving testimonials from students who bravely shared their unique educational journey with us. Guest speaker, Canadian citizenship judge Veronica Johnson and former Lester B. Pearson administrator, also delivered a powerful speech on the importance of following your dreams with autonomy, passion and confidence. This very special afternoon served as a powerful reminder of the transformative power of education. It was wonderful to have this event return as an in-person celebration and get to meet some of the students and teachers who make our continuing education sector so vibrant and successful.

While on the topic of continuing education, I am pleased to announce that a student at Verdun Adult and Career Centre is a finalist in this year’s edition of the Chapeau les Filles competition – an initiative that recognizes women who pursue career paths traditionally held by men. Fadia Musa, a computing support student at VACC, is in the running for this year’s award. Winners will be announced at a gala event to be held this June in Quebec City. Best of luck to Fadia!

I also offer my best wishes to three of our teams who have placed as regional winners in the annual Quebec entrepreneurship competition. Despite the cuts in ministry funding for entrepreneurship grants this year, many of our schools and centres still managed to create projects for the provincial competition. I wish to congratulate all students and teachers for their efforts and will take a moment to highlight three projects that won at the regional level. Going on to the next level of competition is Verdun Elementary for their creation of a Zen Zone in preschool classrooms, led by teacher Raine Donnelly. Also moving on is Beaconsfield High School, led by teacher Rosemary Hill for their Feminine Forward project which involved fundraising to provide free feminine hygiene products to students. And finally, Place Cartier students under the direction of teacher Julian Verboomen, created a video production as a way for adults with special needs to tell their stories and share their experiences of being differently abled. The provincial winners at each level will be announced in June, and I wish our three competing entries the very best of luck!

Our students and staff are busy doing, learning, and growing. May the remaining months of spring continue to bring continued progress and success!