By Robert Frank
www.thesuburban.com
North Star Academy took time, Dec. 6, to honour the man who turned the school from a dream into reality.
The school presented its Founder’s Award to Norbert Pinto, during its awards ceremony, Friday evening, for making it possible to open the school in 2007.
“When we established the school, we needed pedagogical direction,” North Star principal Josée Pépin told The Suburban in an interview. “He had been an exceptional science teacher in public schools here for 36 years, and gave us the insight into how to form a community-oriented school.”
“He didn’t stop at teaching,” she added. “He was involved in many extracurricular activities, like trips to Europe and sports, and stayed very late every day. He was extraordinarily dedicated to the vocation of teaching. He always said ‘A teacher arrives early and leaves late.’”
Today, demand for the private high school’s services is so strong that North Star plans to add a grade 5 and 6 elementary school stream next year, Pépin said. The school currently teaches about 130 high school students.
“Our philosophy is ‘Your child, their goals, our priority,” she explained. “That’s how we accept children. Some are athletes who need time off, others have dyslexia and some are extremely high achievers. It’s all about your child and what they need and want. It’s very individual.”
“The demand for that approach is even higher at the elementary school level,” she concluded.
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