Area student gives Education Minister a piece of his mind

Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord
News Release

********************

Stéphane Bazinet, a student who is finishing Grade 9 at École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité in Sturgeon Falls, attended his first meeting of the Minister’s Student Advisory Council with Laurel Broten, Miniser of Education for the Province of Ontario, last week.

As a member of the Student Advisory Council, Stéphane will be called upon to share his point of view and his recommendations regarding Ministry of Education policies, programs and practices.

He will also be invited to provide advice and comments with respect to ministry actions aimed at reinforcing student engagement.

In addition, his opinion will be sought with regards to strategies and communication tools such as websites, brochures and DVDs aimed at the province’s students.

In his first year of high school, Stéphane took part in « Toi, moi et notre communauté », a project which brought together twenty francophone students from across the province to Ottawa to create a video.

He also participated in a youth parliament which was held at Queen’s Park.

Stéphane’s name is well-known to readers of La grenouille qui parle, a youth publication which appears monthly in the Tribune, his community’s newspaper.

Stéphane contributes articles and helps with the layout of the paper.

One of his articles is entitled “Where is the place of youth in politics?”

Cynthia Roveda, Director of Education at Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord, states that Stéphane has certainly taken advantage of all available opportunities to make a place for himself in his school and in his province.

“The Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord board joins the staff of École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité in congratulating Stéphane for his engagement and his enthusiasm. We are confident that his advice to the Minister of Education will be useful in her efforts to reinforce student engagement.”

During the course of his mandate, Stéphane will meet the Minister of Education on two occasions and participate in at least one regional student forum.

He may also sit on subcommittees which are struck to deal with topics of special interest.

Sixty students from across the province have been nominated to the Minister’s Student Advisory Council. Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord board students who have been nominated to the council since its inception in 2009 are Josée-Ann Rainville of École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité, Danyka Ouellet of École secondaire F.J. McElligott and Myriam Faucher of École secondaire catholique Algonquin.

Additional information about the Minister’s Student Advisory Council is available on the Ministry of Education website at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/students/speakup/msac.html.

********************