Collège Notre-Dame du Sacré-Cœur
Collège Notre-Dame du Sacré-Cœur is a subsidized, private French language co-education secondary school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Collège Notre-Dame du Sacré-Cœur shares its name with the University of Notre Dame, which was also founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross. "Notre-Dame" means "Our Lady" in French and refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. "Sacré-Cœur" means "Sacred Heart", which refers to the physical heart of Jesus Christ as a symbol of Divine love. It is generally considered one of the best French-language secondary schools in the city . School fees for the 2020-2021 school year were $4,591. They are able to maintain low tuition due to the large average class size of 34 as well as subsidies from the Quebec government of roughly $4,500 per student. The school is right in front of Saint Joseph's Oratory. In fact, Saint André Bessette, who built the Oratory, was the school's doorkeeper. History. The school was founded in 1869 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and was administered by Roman Catholic priests and brothers. Originally a boys-only school, it decided to allow female students in  1982 in grades 7 and 8 and then progressively became completely co-educational. In recent years, the institution has come into the public eye for a multitude of sex abuse cases and cover-ups spanning the better part of the second half of the 20th century. Sporting Team. The football team, the Cactus, was created in 1958 and is playing in Quebec's AAA league. It has won fifteen provincial championships (87, 88, 89, 90, 94, 96, 01, 02, 05, 09, 10, 11, 13, 15, 21) and is largely regarded among football analysts to be one of the great dynasties  in Canadian Football. The Cactus now offer several sports: Uniform. Since its inception, school uniforms have been compulsory at Collège Notre-Dame and must be worn at all times on school property. The dress code consists of a white or blue polo shirt and marine pants and/or a blue kilt for girls. Older polos might be colored yellow but these polos are not tolerated anymore since they are considered too marginal. The collar of the polo is coloured blue with yellow and royal blue stripes, which was the uniform until 2012. Since then, the polo is fully white, with a  marine logo, and the marine polo now has white horizontal stripes. The gym uniform consists of a grey or blue T-shirt and a pair of blue shorts or cotton sweat pants; all have the school's emblem printed on them. Facilities. The school library has over 20,000 books of all genres. It has three student-played orchestras. The computer labs have over a hundred computers. Teachers have recourse to technology whilst teaching: every classroom is equipped with a projector, a touchscreen board as well as a computer. An indoor hockey arena, which seats around 400 spectators, is located behind  the school. Collège Notre-Dame possesses a grandiose auditorium. In addition, this institute has an indoor swimming pool, a football field, a soccer field, two fitness rooms, a race track and an indoor basketball court. The school is currently extending its building. In fact, in 2020, Collège Notre-Dame began building its very own sportive complex, at the costs of twenty million dollars. The school is composed of three buildings, the “Old Building”, the “C Building” and the “P Building”. All three buildings are five stories high. The C Building has two huge study halls, which are both equipped with  desks. The rooms are used by the students during their study periods. Music. Music classes are mandatory in grade 7 and grade 8. The class lasts 5 months, which equals to a semester and is then replaced by ERC (religious class) for the second semester of the same school year. Students can choose from wind instruments, percussion or double bass. Students playing the bassoon, oboe or double bass will benefit from one private lesson per week with a specialist, since those instruments are particularly difficult for beginners. Depending on their performance, they can participate in a music concert at the  end of the semester. Every year, the different orchestras participate at the "Festival des Harmonies et des Orchestre Symphoniques du Quebec" held in Sherbrooke. There, the OAV plays different pieces (usually one warm-up piece and two competition pieces) and they are graded according to the orchestra's level. Musicians can also participate in the "Concours Solistes et Petits Ensembles" from the FHOSQ in Victoriaville. If they achieve a greater distinction mark, they win a prize, usually a certain amount of money for a specific music summer camp. Improvisation. Collège Notre-Dame has an improvisation team in the ligue d'improvisation  scolaire. It has won the Calembour cup twice. The school is represented in the "Cadet" category by the CoiNciDence, which has won the regional championship in 2013 and the "Juvenile" category by the inCaNDescence.