Ninth annual March against violence at Laurier Senior High School

"It's a problem everywhere, and unfortunately it's not bound to disappear soon," says Mrs. Diamond, in reference to violence in general and violence against women in particular.

And that's why, she says, she firmly believes in projects that raise much-needed funds in support of groups and organizations that wage a constant battle against the violence that too often prevails in our society.

The annual Laurier senior High School March Against Violence has become a respected and greatly-supported tradition, an initiative which dates back to the previous century (1999) when teacher and peaceful-conflict-resolution advocate Frank Mansi launched the project at what was then called Laval Catholic High School. With the help of various members and groups of the school community, including Barbara Diamond, Mr. Mansi laid the groundwork for what would later become a major end-of-school-year annual manifestation of support for those in need, especially the women and children caught in the insidious cycle of family violence.

Laurier Senior High School's association with La Maison le Prelude this year extended much beyond the annual march against violence.

"Staff members of La Maison accepted an invitation from our school community for them to come and sensitize our young people to violence in relationships," Mrs. Diamond explains. She adds that with the enthusiastic cooperation of The Laurier Senior High School French Department, two representatives from the La Maison visited the school to speak to graduating students in secondary 5 classes.

"It's priceless work," says Mrs. Diamond, "and work which is crucial to the attempts to find more solutions to this terrible problem. We may never reach the point where we will have eliminated violence entirely, but that shouldn't stop us from doing everything we can to control and reduce its frequency and damage."

"Violence and its disastrous effects know no particular age, so with this year's positive experience with our Secondary 5 students behind us, we've decided to expand the project to include Secondary 3 and 4," Mrs. Diamond specified. The successful sessions with the senior students were due in large part to the excellent collaboration received from La Maison le Prelude.

"There are a lot of people at Laurier Senior High School who give the annual march against violence their full support – from the administration to teachers to the student council and support staff. This expression of social responsibility is truly a reflection of Laurier Senior High School's willingness to reach out, in harmony and solidarity with those in need," Mrs. Diamond sums up.

The 2007 donation to La Maison le Prelude was for over $4000.