Collège Sainte Anne

History

Collège Sainte-Anne was founded in 1861 by the Sisters of Saint Anne and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2011, making it one of the oldest schools in Quebec.

Architecture

The school is composed of five main buildings:

The Main Pavilion (Pavillon Sainte-Anne) is the eldest of the five, built of stones extracted from the nearby Lachine Canal as early as 1861. The building has the shape of the letter E and is divided in three counterparts. The building is famous for its architectural features such as the large dome which can be seen from miles away. The central wing is a library with many technological features such as iPads and eBooks. The rest of the building is divided on either side of the chapel. On the West side of the chapel lies the Convent which is currently being renovated to house the Collégial Sainte-Anne, for students continuing their post-secondary studies at the school. The East side of the chapel is part of the secondary school and is used by students from secondary II to IV, each level on their own floor. However, the fifth floor is open to all students and is divided into a large study hall, two art rooms and two science labs. The building's main features are: the principal and administration offices, two conference rooms and a small auditorium, four science labs, a small cafeteria, the agora, the study hall, the BiblioTEC and the art rooms. This building is linked to the sports complex by an underground tunnel which crosses Lachine's 12th avenue.

The Pavilion Marie-Esther, founded in 1988, is home to the secondary I students. It is named after Mother Marie-Esther Blondin, the foundress of the Sisters and former headmistress of the school. This building's main features are: a 500-seat auditorium (Salle Jeanine-Serres) along with one out of the school's two music rooms with individual cubicles, a cafeteria and a science lab. The third floor of the PME is linked to the fourth floor of the sports complex by an interior walkway.

The Sports Complex is the centerpiece of the schools four buildings. Located between the 11th and 12th avenues and adjacent to the PME, it rises on four floors. The three bottom floors are occupied by the schools sports facilities, however the fourth floor (Pavillon Roger-Gauvin) is exclusive to the secondary V students and holds the name of the former headmaster of the school. This building's main features are: On the lower level; a semi-olympic swimming pool with 1-meter and 3-meters diving boards along with a gymnasium, a music room, a classroom for the Académie Sports et Arts Élite program, a dance hall and a student lounge. On the second floor; another dance hall and a gymnastics palestra with two Olympic trampolines, parallel and asymmetric bars, a tumble track, rode floor, vault, pommel horse and balance beams. On the third floor; a third dance hall, a double gymnasium with rock climbing wall, a gym with cardio machines and weight training, the student cafeteria with a panoramic view on the Lachine Canal and the St-Lawrence River.

The fourth and smallest building is the former school library. As of 2011, it will be transformed into a larger cardio gym since this library will be replaced by the larger BiblioTEC.

The fifth building is a small historic house that was a residence of the Sisters. During 2014, it has been completely transformed into the school's Maison des Arts, which is used as an art classroom.

Programs

This school has many programs available for their students.

Programme Sainte-Anne: a common, regular program

DéfiMonde: An international program for students with humanitarian values and who are engaged in their community. These students have extra curricular classes in history, geography, mandarin and humanities. DéfiMonde students are of the involved type and have intensive classes in order to prepare for their departure to an integrative project semester abroad in their last year.(Secondary V)

DéfiSports, in which students have up to 8 hours of Physical Education and intensive sports per week, such as rock climbing, triathlon, gymnastics, badminton, tennis, swimming, athleticism, introduction to scuba diving and life-guarding, etc. As of secondary IV, students can select one out of three sports programs for their last two years.

Académie Sports et Arts Elite: This program is for students who are in a provincial, national, or international level of competition in sports and arts, and who have to take time off school to compete outside of the region. These students attend regular classes with students from other programs, but have complementary intensive classes and study sessions in their own classrooms.

Danse Sainte-Anne: in which students have three compulsory dance classes (Ballet, Jazz and Contemporary) in their weekly schedule. Students in this program can also choose extra curricular dance classes such as Hip-Hop and House.

Musique Sainte-Anne, in which students discover the art of music and they play at competitions. From secondary I to II they must attend singing classes after school.

SciMaTic: This program is for all those who have an eye for science. Truly an enriched program destined to bring out the best in the next generation of scientists. It focuses the student's attention on Science, Math and on use of technology, which can be an ample lot of fun for those interested. Although, it demands a lot of work to keep up with the higher mandatory average in Math, and obviously Science.

Reputation

Collège Sainte-Anne is widely regarded as one of the best and most prestigious secondary schools in Quebec (ranking number 1, tied with a few others, continuously for several years), and has consistently received high rankings from the Fraser Institute for academic achievement.