ÉPM official candidate for IB designation

École Père Mercure has received word it has now reached the candidacy stage in its quest to become an International Bacclaureate school. If all goes well, final authorization could be within its reach in 18 to 24 months.

The 61-student school, which is part of the province's francophone school division, Conseil des écoles fransaskoises, would then offer, along with a partnering Saskatoon school, the first IB Primary Years Programme in the province. The PYP is designed for students aged 3 to 12, Pre-K to Grade 6.

In preparation for the two expected visits from the IB consultant they've been assigned, the staff of the school has gone through a process of developing units of study, training for the teaching of those units and the infusion of the IB philosophy throughout the school, says principal Lori Michaud.

Between now and final authorization, the school must finish development, teaching and evaluation of 42 units. There can be no duplication among those units, Michaud adds.

The students are excited, she says. The IB program meets their natural needs, especially curiosity, builds important social skills and encourages empathy and caring.

"It creates a global child," says Michaud. "They come to us like that and we want to make sure we maintain that through their school years."

Inquiry based learning is a way to support students in the development of their individual style of learning and their strengths. Each child is able to take their own path, she says.

Even so, the school must still meet provincial curriculum outcome requirements. These requirements are the base upon which the units of study have been developed, says Michaud.

As they have been establishing the IB philosophy throughout the school, students have shown strong results on provincial testing, with adequate to proficient levels in literacy and numeracy, specific targets of the province's goal of increased student achievement.

For École Père Mercure students who are in Grade 7 or higher, their studies will follow the provincial curriculum, however the IB philosophy will impact them as well as it permeates the whole of the school.

Another language will be added to the school, as well, although not right away. English is already on the study list, starting in Grade 4. The third language will be Spanish.

Michaud, whose family has lived in the area for 25 years, but who is originally from Ontario, is in her third year at École Père Mercure, the first two as acting principal, and now as permanent principal. The process to become an IB school began before she arrived, she says.

The school began the process of seeking IB certification during the 2008-09 year. Principal at the time was Claude Desnoyer, who is now executive director of the community's French language cultural centre, Centre Culturel. École Père Mercure's approach to multilevel classes, its integration of themes across its courses of study and its consistent high academic standing is a good fit for the IB program, said Desnoyer at the time.

École Père Mercure was chosen as the first school in the CÉF to apply to the IB process because it is already used to integrating subjects, the staff was ready and willing and the community already had a reference to IB, with IB classes available at the high school level.

There are 325 IB schools in Canada, including a total of five high school IB programs in Saskatoon, Regina and North Battleford, the only centres in the province with IB programs so far.

There are 61 primary programs across Canada, but other than North Battleford, Saskatoon and Regina's candidate programs, none in Saskatchewan. Neither are there any middle years programs in the province.

École Père Mercure began operation in 1991. It was set up in the Don Ross Centre and operated there for about eight years, until the Catholic school board shut down St. Joseph's school at 1881-99th St. and it became available for purchase by the Francophone school division. (It was not the first Francophone school in North Battleford, however the last, St. André school, established by St. André Parish, had been taken over by the separate school division and French language instruction within the Catholics schools eventually took the form of immersion.)

Like Francophone schools throughout the province, École Père Mercure focuses not only on the academic, but French culture as well.