Les Échos and Les Navigateurs high schools welcomed their first students in the last few days. These two new high schools, located in Vaudreuil-Dorion and Saint-Zotique respectively, are a response to the demographic growth that Vaudreuil-Soulanges has been experiencing for several years.

"What a great start to the school year for the students of Saint-Zotique and the surrounding area! I'm very proud that our government has made education a priority, investing to build stimulating environments to facilitate learning and adapt it to the needs of young people. I'm sure everyone will remember discovering their new high school, École des Navigateurs. I congratulate everyone involved in making this project a reality," says Soulanges MNA Marilyne Picard. 

Construction of the schools, which cover an area of over 21,200 square metres, began in 2021. Each school will feature, among other things, a green roof, an auditorium, gymnasiums and flexible, scalable teaching spaces to provide environments conducive to socialization. 

"Building a new school takes time, and today we've reached the culmination of this project. The smiles on everyone's faces as they discovered our new facility were more than telling. I think the students and staff are really excited about the first day of school at École secondaire des Échos," says Jean-François Drouin, principal of Vaudreuil-Dorion high school. 

The schools are bright, thanks to the abundance of windows. Measures have also been put in place to ensure excellent energy performance. Many healthy, sustainable materials were incorporated into the construction, including wood, aluminum and glass.

"There was a lot of excitement in the air over the last few weeks! It's a pleasure to see the students and members of the school team move in and see Navigateurs high school come to life. We're all motivated to make this first school year a success," says Patrick Maisonneuve, principal of École secondaire des Navigateurs in Saint-Zotique. 

Inaugural activities will take place over the course of the school year.

"As a school service center, we want to be able to offer our students an environment that fosters learning, success and sustainable development.
École secondaire des Échos and École secondaire des Navigateurs certainly meet these objectives.I'd like to acknowledge the work of everyone involved in this project - it's thanks to you that our students and staff can now enjoy these stimulating new facilities," adds Chantal Beausoleil, General Manager of the Centre de services scolaires des Trois-Lacs.

The arrival of Les Échos high school was planned and anticipated in a riding like Vaudreuil, which is experiencing a demographic explosion.The MNA for Vaudreuil, Marie-Claude Nichols, is very proud of this achievement, a stimulating environment for students and staff alike.She hopes to be invited to the upcoming official inauguration! 

Education Minister Bernard Drainville also had a few words for the students of Vaudreuil-Soulanges.  "Back to school is always an emotional time!It's even more so when students continue their journey in a new school. I'm very happy for all the young people and school staff who will be attending the two new high schools in the Centre de services scolaires des Trois-Lacs. I'm convinced that these new environments will have a positive impact on everyone's daily lives.Happy back-to-school!"