April is a terrific month to shine a spotlight on our schools and centres. There is so much going on throughout the Lester B. Pearson school board at this time of year! In this report, I will provide an overview of some of the school board events and celebratory moments.

April is World Autism Month, a time to raise awareness of ASD and promote acceptance of neurodiversity.  Our Student Services Department and Centre of Excellence for ASD have created a resource page to increase our understanding of autism. These include various pedagogical resources and general information about autism for students of all ages as well as adults. To promote autism acceptance, there are ideas for ways to celebrate neurodiversity as well as a virtual reality app created by the Université de Montréal called Put yourself in their shoes. To access all of these wonderful resources, please visit the Centre of Excellence website (https://coeasd.lbpsb.qc.ca/).

Pardon the pun when I say that every year at this time, our school board really springs into action, celebrating a love for reading in a variety of ways. On March 31, I was on hand to witness four of our high schools competing in the LBPSB Annual Battle of the Books (BoB). It was exciting to watch students from Beurling, LCCHS, PCHS, and Westwood participate in this fast-paced quiz-style activity. Congratulations to the wolfpack at LCCHS for their first-place finish, a victory that was especially sweet as it was the first time they captured the trophy and brought the BoB championship banner to their library. The week of April 13^th,  several of our elementary schools participated in the Qui Lira, Vaincra semi-finals. This is a similar type of event where elementary students demonstrate their knowledge of books that they read en français. Congratulations to the four schools that made it to the final round of competition: Dorval, Riverview, St. Edmund and Dorset. Félicitations à l’école Dorset qui a remporté le prix cette année! Both competitions conclude with students leaving with new books to read and savour. What is so wonderful about these evenings is that they reinforce a love of literature and promote strong reading habits, skills that are so critical to student success.

Head Office has not only been abuzz with reading contests, we have also hosted an elementary robotics competition, the first ever school green fair, and the Central Students Committee Teen Summit. Thank you to our teachers, professionals, and administrators in the schools and here at Head Office. There are too many of you to thank individually by name, but we are ever grateful to those who dedicate countless hours organizing these activities and encouraging our students to shine.

I would be remiss if I did not mention another important celebratory event that was held in the boardroom just a few weeks ago. Adult Learners’ Week took place April 6-10^th, and a special ceremony was held on the afternoon of April 9^th. We welcomed close to 100 students currently studying in one of our adult and career centres who were being recognized for their perseverance and dedication to their studies. Our guest speaker this year was music educator Fatima Wilson. Ms. Wilson shared an inspirational message with the audience and played the steel pan drum for the audience. We were also uplifted by hearing moving testimonials from students who shared some reflections about their educational journey with us. Although each student’s story is unique, what is common to all is their determination to follow their dreams and create a better life for themselves and their families. It was truly an inspirational afternoon, and I thank our Continuing Education Department and our adult education and vocational centres for organizing this wonderful event.

All of the events and achievements I have shared with you are rooted in community. Students achieve when they have the winning conditions for success, and the support of our community is one of those contributing factors. Another great community event is the Annual Pearson Family Fun Run takes place on Sunday, May 3rd. Here is another opportunity to come together as a community and walk, run, stroll, or roll with us for 2km or 5km. The fun gets started at 9:15 on May 3rd, so please join us at the starting line at Margaret Manson Elementary in Kirkland. There will be a DJ on hand, healthy snacks, and free face painting for children so it is definitely a family-friendly event. It is also a fundraiser for Pearson Educational Foundation so we hope you can stop by, make a donation to PEF and celebrate with us.