Chair of the Council of Commissioners

Chairman's Message 2022-2023
 

As Chairman of the Council of Commissioners, it is with great pride that I wish our students, their parents, as well as all of the members of our dedicated staff, a successful 2022-2023 school year. Like all of you, I do hope that the pandemic will be less and less prevalent so that we can have a school year resembling those of not too long ago. Rest assured that our staffs are well prepared to welcome your children in a safe environment conducive to learning.  

To those who are new to the CQSB, allow me to inform you of our school board's motto ''Learning for All''! These three words have been, and will continue to be, the motivation behind all of our decisions. The success of each and every student is what we strive to ensure through the many actions that we take during any particular year. With the unwavering dedication of a competent and enthusiastic CQSB TEAM of teachers, professionals, principals, support staff, board administrators and, of course, the Council of Commissioners, our students have achieved, year after year, enviable results in ministerial exams. Likewise, the CQSB’s high graduation and qualification rates rank us among the best school boards in the province. In fact, in June 2020, our students’ results on the ministerial exams allowed the CQSB to become the number one school board (including the French language service centers) out of the 69 boards/centres in the province! Excellence has become a CQSB trademark and we will continue to ensure that our students maintain their high academic success. To the parents of our new students, allow me to say that you have made a wise decision in choosing our schools.

To those who are already members of the CQSB school communities, we say WELCOME BACK! WE thank you for your constant support to your children and to our schools. With your cooperation and understanding, the hard work of our students, as well as the experience and dedication of our staff, we will continue to provide the quality educational services which have made our schools and Learning Centre among the best in Québec.

On the political scene, we still await the decision of the Superior Court of Québec regarding Bill 40. As you all know, the present Quebec government plans to replace school boards by school service centres – this is already the case in the French school network. The nine (9) English-language school boards stand together against Bill 40 as we believe that it is contrary to the rights guaranteed by section 23 of the Canadian Constitution.  The decision is expected soon and will definitely have an impact on the governance of our schools. Our CQSB website, as well as the Québec Chronicle-Telegraph and CBC Radio, will keep you well informed on the judgement as well as on its repercussions for our school board and the communities we serve.

Par ailleurs, je tiens à rassurer tous nos parents relativement à l'importance que nous accordons à l'apprentissage du français dans chacune de nos écoles. En effet, notre but est de faire de nos élèves des citoyens qui pourront s'exprimer de façon claire et précise dans chacune des deux langues officielles de notre grand pays, le Canada.

Lastly, but not least, should you feel the need, I am pleased to remind you that the CQSB has a Student Ombudsman in the person of Ms. Karina Brassard, whose coordinates can be found on the CQSB website.

May the 2022-2023 school year be a safe, healthy and promising year for all of us!

STEPHEN BURKE

Chairman of the Council of Commissioners
August 20^th, 2022