Instructive, conscientious, professional

On behalf of Provincial Association of Social Studies Teachers (PASST) and myself personally, I would like to thank the Courrier Laval Bilingual Edition for the extensive coverage given to our 2007 History Awards Ceremony which was held on Thursday, November 29th at the Palais des Congrès.

Your paper’s most recent article on this year’s ceremony which appeared in the edition of January 13, 2008, and which was reported by Renata Isopo, did a great job in describing the celebration of excellence (100% in History of Quebec and Canada) as well as providing insight into the feelings and thoughts of some of the honourees – both teachers and students. The piece was instructive which was a nice touch too.

The final part of the article which stated that some students actually hung around long after the ceremony’s conclusion “... still soaking up the positive atmosphere created by success derived from hard work and outstanding effort” was particularly effective.

What a well written and conceived conclusion to a piece which actually generated atmosphere.

The Provincial Association of Social Studies Teachers has always striven to get the recognition it deserves so that the Quebec Social Studies community in particular, and the English community in general can reap the benefits.

Your newspaper’s commitment to publicizing what we do is a highly valued asset without which we would be hard-pressed to continue our work in such an effective fashion.

And thanks too for the front page picture with teacher Phyllis Funaro and consultant Joan Wasserman joining three of the eight Laurier Senior High School honourees – Alessandro Silvestri, Jessica Tana and Stefano Mocella. That too added a very special touch to the presentation of our annual event to the community-at-large, especially the people of Laval.

Thanks again to Courrier Laval for all you do and to Ms. Isopo too for her conscientious professionalism.

-Jerry Cohen

President, PASST,

Teacher, Phoenix Alternative High School,

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board

Photo: Jerry

(Photo: Martin Alarie)