ST. PAUL – One day, Lise Gratton was driving through the town of St. Paul when her eyes locked on a sculpture of an Indigenous man holding a pipe outside of the post office on 50th Ave. It made her wonder who the man was and what he represented.
Gratton, who is from Bonnyville, will have the chance to get to know the community better after being named as the new principal for École du Sommet, a francophone school for kindergarten to Grade 12 students located in St. Paul.
The francophone school is part of the Conseil scolaire Centre Est (CSCE).
“You know, one thing that I would really like is to get to know the community of St. Paul, get to know the artists, get to know the stories, get to know the history, and share that with the students,” Gratton told Lakeland This Week on Aug. 15. “Sometimes, we take for granted what is right in front of our eyes.”
She mused over who created the statue of the First Nations man, sparking an interest into learning more about the backstory of St. Paul and wanting to share that with students at École du Sommet, “not only to make them proud of their Francophone roots but proud of their community... to get to know their community, inside and out, and be proud of it.”
When not in school teaching students, Gratton loves to embrace nature in the company of her husband. The couple lives by a lake and they enjoy activities such as kayaking, biking, cross-country skiing, and backcountry snowshoeing.
“We really enjoy... just getting out on the trails, on back trails, and getting out into nature, getting outdoors, and really connecting to the simplicity of life.”
Plans and future
Among Gratton’s plan as the new principal include pushing École du Summet more into the limelight and making the school more visible in the community. She explained that doing so provides parents a transparent awareness of what’s going on at school, and also creates partnership with the community.
“I am originally from Mallaig and graduated from [École Mallaig School] and worked most of my professional life in Bonnyville and Cold Lake,” she explained. Gratton has worked for the francophone school division for over 17 years and has worked as a teaching professional for over 25 years.
Most of her background is in secondary education, and she was also a principal at École des Beaux-Lacs in Bonnyville for six years.
Speaking about her new position in St. Paul, she says, “I am very, very grateful for the warm welcome that I've already received from parents and the staff that I've met and had numerous phone calls with over the summer.”
As a Francophone native to Alberta, the new principal is excited to share her expertise and background, which includes an emphasis on preserving the French language. She said French, in a setting where it is a minority language, is easy to lose and requires hard work to maintain.
“It’s very easy to lose your language if you’ve never had any occasion to use it.”
Gratton plans to commute from Bonnyville to St. Paul for the new position, which shouldn’t be an issue since her own children have now grown up.
“I have three kids and my children are now grown and gone... they're young adults at the moment and so I don't have kids waiting for me to run to a soccer practice or a volleyball game,” she said. “So, I'm just going to devote time, maybe commuting a little bit more, but that's okay.”
Staff at École du Sommet are busy preparing for the upcoming school year, which includes organizing events for the school community to learn more about its new principal before the school begins.
“I’m really anticipating a really good start to the school year and a very good year of working with the team,” said Gratton.
Dolorese Nolette, superintendent with CSCE, said she is very pleased with Gratton accepting the role of principal at École du Sommet, stating by email, “Madame Gratton is an experienced principal.”
“She is focused on students and their ongoing success,” added Nolette. “I am looking forward to work with her in her new role.”
