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Welcome to Our School

Knowing a language is an accomplishment – learning a second language is a real gift – mastering a third language is priceless! Academic excellence, exceptional cognitive stimulation, impeccable services, unparalleled student development, and exceptional success rate. These are the hallmarks of École Socrates-Démosthène, of the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal (HCGM). Our goal is to provide young people with an exemplary multilingual education in French, Greek and English; focus on math and science; to provide every child with a passport to a solid future in further education and career; allow students to explore their heritage and develop a sense of pride; promote self-awareness and encourage young people to reach their full potential; boldly instill the foundations and values that will enable students to grow and face the challenges and responsibilities of life. Welcome to our school!

In the eyes of the Ministry of Education of Québec (MEQ), École Socrates-Démosthène is a fully conforming school that possesses the material, human and financial resources necessary and respects the Regime pedagogique and the Law of Private Education Our most recent permit renewal for 4 years is a testament to the strength of our school. With five campuses and an Annexe, the School offers educational services for Pre-K, kindergarten, elementary and high school. For kindergarten and elementary, we receive the standard tuition grant from the Ministry of Education of Québec (MEQ) which is about 50 percent of what it costs to educate a child in Québec. Tuition and financial support from HCGM makes up the difference. We receive no grant for our Pre-K or high school students. The HCGM covers the extended program (200 minutes), which could be at least as high as $500,000 a year. Finally, the HCGM also covers the loss incurred for bus transport.

École Socrates-Démosthène was created by the HCGM as part of its mandate to promote the Greek language, Hellenic culture, politismo, traditions, values, and more. Our primary objective as a school is to provide children with a quality education in French, with advanced learning of English and with a strong emphasis on Greek – which is the raison d’étre of the School – in a family environment where children can explore their cultural heritage while developing their sense of belonging to the Québec and Canadian society. Our overarching goal above all is to develop independent disciplined learners.

The Minister of Education of Québec requires every school to teach 1500 minutes a week (prescribed instruction time). École Socrates-Démosthène goes beyond this and offers 1700 of instruction time to help accommodate the third language. École Socrates-Démosthène is committed to giving its students the necessary tools needed to build and redefine the society of tomorrow through its programs and activities. The trilingual education provided is in French, Greek and English. We basically follow the same French program used in the best Québec private schools, with all material, methods and minutes (duration) prescribed by the Ministry of Education.

The School also offers its students the unique opportunity to study in an environment rich in Greek tradition. Through
a special program focused on learning the Greek language, students are encouraged to discover the history, geography, religion,
culture of Greece and its influence in the world. In 2009, the school established a new and more dynamic Greek curriculum, built by our own former and current senior Greek teachers, more in line with the needs of every modern family of Greek origin. The multilingual program of École Socrates-Démosthène is complemented by the English language program starting from the first grade, since this language occupies a very important place in today’s world.

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