Collège Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur

Collège Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur is a private French language co-education secondary school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Collège Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur shares its name with the University of Notre Dame, which was also founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross. "Notre-Dame" means "Our Lady" in French and refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. "Sacré-Coeur" means "Sacred Heart" which refers to the physical heart of Jesus Christ as a symbol of Divine love. It is generally considered one of the best French-language secondary schools in the city.

History

Collège Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur was founded in 1869 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is administered by Roman Catholic priests and brothers. It adopts an educational approach that enhances the development of intellectual capability, spirituality as well as of physical ability within a dynamic and favourable environment. Music, sports, the theatre and other students activities help create a healthy and balanced environment. Through all these years until today, College Notre-Dame du Sacre-Coeur is considered one of the best french schools in the province.

Dress code

Since its inception, school uniforms have been compulsory at Collège Notre-Dame. They must be worn at all times on school property. The dress code consists of a white or blue polo shirt and marine pants and/or a kilt for girls. Older polos might be colored yellow but these polos are not tolerated anymore since they are considered too marginal. The collar of the polo is coloured blue with yellow and royal blue stripes. The gym uniform consists of a grey or blue t-shirt with the schools emblem printed on it and a pair of blue shorts or cotton sweat pants with the school emblem again printed on it. All uniform items must have been purchased at "Maison Piacente"

Mission statement

The mission of Collège Notre-Dame is to form the spirit, the heart and the body of young people and to prepare them to contribute positively to society.

Values

* To respect others, the environment and yourself
* To persevere and to strive for excellence
* To be responsible
* To participate and contribute to the community

Facilities

The school library has over 20,000 books of all genres. It has three student-played orchestras. The computer labs have over a hundred computers. An indoor hockey arena, which seats a thousand spectators, is located behind the school. In addition, it has an indoor swimming pool, a football field, a fitness room, a race track and indoor and outdoor basketball courts.

Music

Music classes are mandatory from in grade 7 and grade 8. The class lasts 5 months which equals to a semester and then it is replaced by EMRC (catholic religious class) for the second semester of the same school year. Students can choose from wind instruments, percussions or double bass. Students playing the bassoon, oboe or double bass, will benefit from one private lesson per week with a specialist, since those instruments are particularly difficult for beginners. According to their performance, they can participate in a music concert at the end of the semester.

Those who would like to enrich their music basis can register their name at the Music Department and take private lessons with an expert and play in the different orchestras depending on their school level and technical/musical abilities. Usually, the director of the department, Marc Deschamps, who is also the conductor takes students from grade 9 (who has three years or more experiences in his/her major instrument) to grade 11 in his orchestra, the Wind Orchestra of College Notre-Dame(Orchestre à Vent du CND). They play harmony music of level 3 or higher. An interesting fact about the conductor is that he has filled this position since the age of 19. Today, he is 54 years old.

Every year, the different orchestras participate at the "Festival des Harmonies et des Orchestre Symphoniques du Quebec" held in Sherbrooke. There, the OAV plays different pieces(usually 1 warm-up piece and 2 competition pieces) and they are graded according to the orchestra's level.

Musicians can also participate in the "Concours Solistes et Petits Ensembles" from the FHOSQ in Victoriaville. If they achieve a greater distinction mark, they win a prize, usually a cetain amount of money for a specific music summer camp.

Improvisation

Collège Notre-Dame has an improvisation team [cite web|url=http://linux.collegenotre-dame.qc.ca/spip.php?rubrique146|title=L’art d’improviser|work=Vie étudiante|publisher=Collège Notre-Dame|accessdate=2008-09-10] in the ligue d'improvisation scolaire (LIS). It has won the Calembour cup twice.fact|date=September 2008

Notable alumni

* J. P. Darche, NFL Football player [Cite web| url=http://www.kcchiefs.com/player/jeanphilippe_darche/| title=Jean-Philippe Darche, #51, Long Snapper, Kansas City Chiefs| publisher=Kansas City Chiefs]
* L. P. Ladouceur, NFL football player [Cite web| url=http://www.nfl.com/players/profile?id=LAD000000| title=L. P. Ladouceur| work=NFL Players| publisher=National Football League]
* Gregory Charles
* Mathieu Brodeur
* Alexandre Tagliani

References

External links

* [http://www.collegenotre-dame.qc.ca Official website]
* [http://linux.collegenotre-dame.qc.ca/spip.php?rubrique5 Music Department at collegenotre-dame.qc.ca]
* [http://www.cndmusique.com/ Music Department website]
* [http://www.festivaldesharmonies.com/main.htm Festival des Harmonies et des Orchestre Symphoniques du Quebec]
* [http://www.concourssolistes.com/index.php Concours Solistes et Petits Ensembles]
* [http://www.piacente.ca maison Piacente]