School Attendance Zone
Mille-Îsles (Lac Massie sector, Lac Robert sector), Mirabel (St-Antoine sector, St Janvier sector, section of Mirabel-en-Haut sector, section of Ste-Monique sector), St-Hippolyte (North on Chemin des Hauteurs to Chemin du Lac Bleu, Chemin du Lac Connelly, South to Chemin de la Carrière, Chemin du Lac Bleu), St-Jérôme (Bellefeuille, Lafontaine, St-Antoine), St Lin-Laurentides (Domaine CLC ONLY), Ste-Sophie.
Zone Map click here
The map describing the attendance zone for this school is intended to provide a general overview of the territory this school serves. Parents must contact the school in question in order to confirm admissibility to the requested school.
Philosophy / Mission
Laurentia Elementary is dedicated to excellence in academic, personal and physical development thereby permitting every child to develop a high degree of self-esteem and self-worth.
General Information
On January 20, 1932 the first English school was opened in Saint-Jérôme with 9 students and one teacher. In 1954 it moved to its current location on Filionl Street. In 1991 an extension was added to accommodate the growing influx of students. Today Laurentia has 240 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 drawing from a wide rural and urban area. We remain the only English school in Saint-Jérôme.
Parent Participation
Laurentia Governing Board has 12 members, six of whom are parents. We meet six times per year. It is an efficiently run, committed Board that amicably discusses, proposes and decides many important school issues.
Our Parent Participation Organization (PPO) is renewing itself each year. Interest, ideas and parent power are present and the time needed for leadership and on-going commitment fluctuates from year to year. Being a city school with many parents who live in the countryside and who work outside the area presents organizational hurdles. However, we continue to move forward and find creative solutions to our difficulties. We excel at bake sales!
Programs
The majority of students who attend Laurentia are from French mother-tongue families. Often, their parents or grandparents attended Laurentia and it is the parents wish to see their children receive an English education.
Consequently our academic program focuses on developing English competencies, particularly English oral language in the younger grades. By the time our students graduate we can proudly say that most of them are bilingual. Our French language program is enriched to meet the challenges of our students. There are 3 homerooms in each Cycle (One, Two and Three) plus Kindergarten. Every attempt is made to have teachers teach only within their Cycle, except for the French specialists.
Thematic studies, project approach and integrated science in Cycle 3 are some of our program offerings. An Early Literacy Program, (Kindergarten and Grade 1) supported by teachers and volunteers, is part of our School Success Plan, to actively develop our students' English skills.
Services
We offer a school-based day care service before and after school and on pedagogical days. Our Student Services Team includes a psychologist, nurse, social worker, speech-language pathologist and a resource teacher as well as a child care resource person. Aside from the resource teacher who is school-based, the other resource personnel is assigned on a shared, part-time basis from the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board or from the CLSC. Students with special needs will receive services based upon their Individual Education Plan (I.E.P.).
Events and Activities
Laurentia is known throughout the Saint-Jérôme - Laurentides region for its involvement in basketball. The senior boys and girls teams, "THE MAGIC", belong to a league with extracurricular games and tournaments being conducted between October and April. We are fortunate to have two teacher-coaches who devote hours of coaching time to these teams and other intramural lunch hour sports.
Two annual book fairs are popular events as well as the September Terry Fox Run. Each year, at least once, two or more classes reserve time at Arundel Natural Science Center where they spend a minimum of two days engaged in environmental cross-curricular studies. The Grade 6 classes traditionally spend two days at a camp with other Grade 6 students of the region. It is an initiation and socialization experience prior to entering high school at Laurentian Regional in Lachute.
Assemblies are held on a regular basis with our Remembrance Day Service, one of our most dignified and meaningful assemblies. Legion members and local peacekeepers routinely attend our student/staff memorial service.
During our monthly assemblies, Laurentia students are recognized for showing such positive character traits as: citizenship, determination, caring, respect for others, and respect for self. These Laurentia superstars are honored by having their stars placed in the hall and their names published in our monthly newsletter.
Our Closing Day Ceremony marks the occasion when students from each homeroom are recognized for achievement and efforts throughout the year. Citizenship and Rights and Responsibilities awards are also presented at this time. The assembly honours our Grade 6 and Kindergarten graduates too! Our closing ceremony is a very happy anticipated event enjoyed by our Laurentia student and parent community. It brings a fitting closure to our year of programs and activities.
Other Information
Our students abide by a behaviour code that emphasizes student rights and responsibilities. Clear guidelines and expectations for student behaviour are described in our student agenda and are reinforced in classrooms and at student assemblies. Consequences (fouls) and rewards (dunks) are regularly awarded through a consistent monitoring program.
Our school logo reflects our Laurentian mountainous area, the diverse background of our community (city and rural) and the engagement of our students with reading. The logo is used on our school stationery, T-shirts and school pins. Laurentia prides itself on being a friendly, caring school.