New private English school for Laval-North Shore

"We undertook several studies that indicated a need for a private English high school and our research has proven quite accurate as we have already received applications from over 100 families who have expressed a concrete interest to send their children to our school as of September 2007," Mrs. Pepin told Courrier Laval Weekly News in a recent interview.

Marketed as a school that intends to offer a unique bilingual approach within a context of a balanced curriculum of academics, moral ethics, and individual development, North Star Academy intends to provide English-speaking families with an alternative to the education available in the public high schools of the Laval/North Shore region administered by the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. As well, Mrs. Pepin explained, the school will also give families in the region presently sending their children to private or semi-private schools in Montreal the opportunity to get similar, if not better, high-quality education much closer to home.

"Just think of the travel time and expense that young people and their families must put up with in order to attend schools in Montreal," Mrs. Pepin stated, adding that a school closer to home would suit the needs of Laval/North Shore families much more effectively and at more affordable costs in both time and money.

There is also another advantage to attending North Star Academy, said Mrs. Pepin. "We are a 100% private school and as such our students do not require certificates of eligibility for instruction in English," she explained, adding that this should make it much easier for families who want to send their children to an English school.

"I am told by reliable sources that others have considered doing such a thing in the past but that somewhere along the line the project fell through for any number of reasons. We have listened to these people with great interest and we have learned valuable lessons from their unsuccessful experiences. But as for us, we do not intend to fail. We have been working on the project for several years and we are well underway to making the North Star Academy a reality," Mrs. Pepin stated.

When asked how close to reality the school actually was, Mrs. Pepin replied that land on Laval island, in Fabreville, was in the process of being secured, and that building was expected to start in the spring of 2007 with completion anticipated for the opening of classes in September of 2007.

"We have consulted Laval municipal officials and have been assured that everything is in order. Our building permit should be in our hands within the next four months, as soon as the land in question is rezoned as semi-public institutional, a process which according to city hall falls within the parameters of Ville de Laval's rezoning regulations," Mrs. Pepin stated.

Mrs. Pepin, whose professional background and experience includes business management, special-care counseling, and owning and operating a number of successful private pre-schools in the Laval North Shore region, said she realizes that an undertaking of this magnitude is not easy to accomplish. "It's been quite a challenge," she stated, "but from the looks of things we've gotten much further than anyone else that has tried in the past," she specified.

"In fact, we're so close to opening the North Star Academy that we're inviting the community-at-large to an open house on Saturday, October 28, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the Hilton Laval, at which time we will be presenting our master plan for launching a school with a difference," Mrs. Pepin elaborated.

According to Mrs. Pepin, guest speakers at the open house will explain the school's

three-point plan for quality education: nutrition linked to physical education, the role of technology in the school's mission and the companions service, a program which will allow parents to freely and regularly communicate with teachers through electronic means.

"We will also provide information concerning the school plan, admission requirements, registration procedures, and answers to whatever questions the families of prospective students of North Star Academy may hav," Mrs. Pepin concluded.

(Photo: Courrier Laval Archives)