Learning Support

The Learning Centre is there to support student learning in many different ways. It is located on the ground floor of the Grand Bâtiment.

The Learning Centre is open throughout the school day. Students can come at any time to ask for help. The Learning Centre staff includes Ms Couet, Ms Medina Martinez, Ms Sharma and Ms Italici. Between them they are able to work with students in both French and English covering the gamut of the curriculum in the Secondary School. In supporting students, the learning support teachers work with other members of the community including parents, classroom teachers, administrators, the school psychologist, the school nurse, outside specialists, and sometimes with older students who earn ‘CAS hours’ for their efforts. Learning support teachers can and do work with teachers on strategies for teaching that reach the widest possible audience of learners.

The Learning Centre offers a variety of support. Students can come for “one-off” help when they are momentarily overwhelmed with the demands of their program. Homework Help happens after school from 15h30 – 16h45 when older students and learning support teachers offer a place to work quietly and help with homework. Any and all students are welcome. Learning to learn workshops have recently been added to the repertoire of ways all students can develop learning strategies and skills. These workshops happen regularly throughout the year.

Some students with specific learning difficulties receive more structured and long-term support. For Years 9, 10 and 11 students there are regular learning support classes where they are followed closely and learn strategies to become independent learners. In these classes students have the opportunity to take stock and plan to complete specific assignments, prepare for tests, review notes, get help understanding concepts they found difficult in class, etc. They also work on organization of time and materials, as well as understanding their own learning strengths and how to put them to work for better success. Students with specific learning difficulties in Years 12 and 13 work on similar goals during one or more of their free periods during the week.

Students come to the Learning Centre in order to learn to be independently successful. Each student is unique and thus each path to success is unique. Some students experience difficulties short-term in nature, while others have more neurologically-based learning differences that require a long-term relationship with learning support and documentation of their learning difficulties obtained through psycho-educational testing. This work is done in concert with Mme Montégut, the school psychologist. Once a student leaves learning support, he or she may again find difficult moments in his or her journey through school. The door is always open and students can return for help when they feel they need it.

We make every effort to accommodate students within the learning support structure, and when we cannot, we make a referral to local sources of help with the needed expertise.