“The passion and progressive thinking evident in this project are qualities endorsed and promoted across the Western Québec School Board. The vision of Lab-École is in complete alignment with our commitment to innovation and its impact on learning. This project will serve as a model for schools in our board as well as for others across the province.”
– George Singfield, Director General of the WQSB
A large gathering of dignitaries, parents, students and media gathered for a special event at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School on Monday, June 9th. Inaugurated by the province’s minister of education, Bernard Drainville, the new addition, christened “the Lab-École Gatineau,” represents a novel way of envisioning schools with new spaces and approaches. The project represents an investment of more than $35 million by the ministère de l’Éducation. The latter,along with the WQSB and the Lab-École foundation have been working with the school on the addition for the past eight years.
The dignitaries who spoke included Minister Drainville, Hull MNA Suzanne Tremblay and the mayor of Gatineau Maude Marquis-Bissonnette. Speakers also included Western Québec School Board’s chairperson Joanne Labadie, Ward 8 commissioner Clément Bélanger, Director General George Singfield and Principal Mr. David McFall. Lab-École co-founders, Chef Ricardo Larrivée, athlete Pierre Lavoie and architect Pierre Thibault also spoke. This Lab-École is the sixth in the province to be unveiled following those in Québec, Saguenay, Maskinongé, Shefford and Rimouski.
Prior to the ceremony, under the direction of head chef Joy Sparling, a team of mini chefs at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School (PETES), made a special lunch in the new teaching kitchen for Mr. Drainville and WQSB representatives to enjoy in the new cultural “Zibi” room. The lunch was proudly delivered and served by three of PETES’ student ambassadors, from the Citizenship Club.
The WQSB’s superintendent of buildings and project manager for the PETES’ Lab-École expansion, Luc Carrière, also led a thorough tour of the new wing for the honoured guests in attendance. On the tour, Mr. Drainville popped into one of the new classrooms to speak with the young students during their lunch period. He asked students what they thought makes PETES a great school and received a flurry of responses. The group also stopped in the gymnasium, where both Mr. Drainville and Chef Ricardo shot some hoops with the students and chatted with the staff.
The inauguration ceremony went smoothly with many WQSB directors and administrators in attendance. The entire student Citizenship Club, after greeting and ushering guests into the reception hall, were also present for the ceremony. Under the direction of Fiona Medley and Tim Piper, the children’s choir (PETES Performance Group) sang O Canada in English, French and Algonquian to a captivated crowd and proud parents. After the speeches, the dignitaries engaged members of the Press in a media scrum.
Following this, the assembly proceeded to the new open library for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, completing the inauguration of the Lab-École expansion.
Lab-École proposes a new way of thinking about schools in Québec, with innovative approaches regarding the physical environment, a physically active lifestyle and the adoption of healthy eating. Created in close collaboration with each community, these laboratory schools, which are open to the community, place students at the centre of their thinking. The architecture, which was created by DMArchitectes, is designed to cater to the students’ needs as well as those of the staff who work there daily.
The school already subscribed to a collaborative and community-based learning environment, often partnering with local organizations and hosting events open to the community. More opportunities for partnering will now be available with the Lab-École expansion, given the school’s new bright and welcoming spaces, an open corridor circuit, a central outdoor courtyard, additional gymnasium, a large-tiered assembly area.
An industrial-sized teaching kitchen, in addition to facilitating the holding of community-school events, can host up to two classrooms, introducing students to the culinary arts. This is a highly valuable and incentivizing way to have students learn about and practice chemistry, science, math, reading, artistry and develop fine motor skills in a real-life context.
The school whose building capacity was at 500 prior to the expansion currently caters to 530 students from kindergarten to grade 6. Now, with its 35 classrooms, and a capacity of 640, the school can enjoy more flexibility in its use of spaces and in its programming.
The Western Québec School Board extends a huge congratulations to Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School and to all who worked so hard to ensure the successful completion of this impressive expansion, which will benefit students and the community for many years to come.
“Schools are fundamental places at the heart of our communities. The Lab-École project at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary is very inspiring and demonstrates the full potential our schools have when given dedicated financial and material resources. It is an innovative project that should be replicated. I am delighted to know that many young people in Gatineau will be able to thrive here and enjoy these spaces! I want to thank those who carried this project forward, especially Minister of Education Mr. Bernard Drainville, the Lab-École Gatineau team, as well as Pierre Thibault, Ricardo Larrivée, and Pierre Lavoie.”
– Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, Mayor of the City of Gatineau
