Our Students
At La Citadelle, our very young students
are our pride and our most precious assets.
In our Child Care Program, we provide children with a positive learning environment that enhances their level of development. Through play experiences and the guidance of specially trained staff, our students are henceforth exposed to situations that stimulate their curiosity, both through imitative and independent practices, while being provided with a sense of self-esteem and decision-making.
La Citadelle’s Child Care Program has been carefully developed to provide children with communication skills, fine motor development and gross-motor skills through playing, reading, arts, music, physical activities, mathematics and the discovery of the world around them. La Citadelle’s Child Care Program encourages children to interact with others and teaches them respect for others.
Our Headmaster & Founder
A World-Class Education
With a rich and diverse educational background spanning over 40 years both nationally and internationally, Headmaster Alfred Abouchar founded La Citadelle International Academy of Arts and Science to instill in children a profound education of values while offering them a curricular program of study that leads them to the highest standard of academic achievement. Since its inception in 2000, La Citadelle has been a living testimony to his vision that all children can succeed!
Fluent in both English and French, Mr. Abouchar holds an Honours B.Sc. in Physics and Chemistry, a M.Sc. in Physics, a B.Ed. and an M.Ed.
Beginning his extensive career in education by teaching Physics at the secondary level, Mr. Abouchar subsequently assumed the positions of Education Officer, Provincial Consultant in Mathematics and Science, Secretary General of the Council for Franco-Ontarian Education, Principal Investigator & Coordinator of the Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool in Chemistry and Physics, Professor at the Faculty of Education of the University of Ottawa and Superintendent of Curriculum, Research and Continuing Education with the Ottawa-Carleton French Language School Board. Mr. Abouchar has also led the Ontario delegation at the joint Canada-France Educational Workforce in Chad, founded the Multicultural Francophone Association of Ontario, and served for 9 years on the Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship.
Mr. Abouchar has furthermore participated in the provincial overhauling of the Ontario Science Curriculum, written textbooks on physics and sciences, developed innovative educational software, music and films, and lectured extensively on a national level in a variety of topics in education.
A passionate musician and composer, Mr. Abouchar has also successfully merged his musical talent with his expertise in Information Technology to create a unique Computer Music program of study which is to this day offered exclusively to all elementary and secondary school students at La Citadelle. The albums of students’ collective compositions, available on YouTube Channel, are but tokens of the authenticity of their creativity and their power of learning and achievement at La Citadelle.
“Since ‘seeing is believing” I gracefully extend an invitation to all parents of school children to visit La Citadelle and experience firsthand its harmonious and scholarly perspectives and to join us on our fascinating endeavor of distinctly shaping the lives of our children and leading them to success.”
Mr. Alfred Abouchar
Headmaster
Our Teachers
Christine Lechallier
Daycare/Pre-Kindergarten
Paige Dalson
Daycare/Pre-Kindergarten
Victoria Directo-Maria
Junior Kindergarten
Wafa Hachi
Senior Kindergarten
Our Parents
PARENT TESTIMONIALS
“La Citadelle offers a safe and structured environment for our daughter. The school has a strong bilingual academic curriculum with a positive atmosphere for successful learning. The class sizes are practical, allowing noticeable attentiveness to each student. The variety of art, sports and musical activities the school has to offer really enrich the quality of learning.
There is a real feel of community within the school, where staff, teachers and students know one another and contribute to making La Citadelle a pleasurable environment.”
-Nadine Younes
“Our daughter looks forward to going to school every morning. She’ll even wake up on the weekend and ask if she should get changed into her uniform for school. The school has really helped our daughter develop a sense of independence and she is able to do simple tasks (such as putting on her own coat and shoes, dressing herself) that I would not have thought possible for someone at the age of 2.5 years. Although we are not native French speakers, our daughter’s understanding and verbal skills of the French language has progressed beyond our expectations. There are times when she will spontaneously use French to ask a question. Mme. Christine and the administrative staff at La Citadelle Academy work very hard and are very responsive to our questions and concerns.”
-Mother of 2 year old student
“La Citadelle is an extension of the home. It is a close-knit family of parents, students and staff who come together to provide a high standard of academics, social and emotional well-being for its children. We are happy to see both our children advancing toward bilingualism and couldn’t be happier with our choice of school”
-Carlo Mariglia
“My wife and I selected La Citadelle after perusing their booth at one of the Our Kids private school expos and also attending two open days at the campus itself. We have been very impressed with the new location as well as the inclusive, community driven, safe and welcoming environment for a multi-faceted and wholesome bi-lingual education of our son.”
-Vashtee and Kevin Carey
“We feel very fortunate to have found La Citadelle Academy. Before starting, our son displayed some sort of social anxiety. If we went to the grocery store and someone said, “Hi!” to him, he would start crying and bawling. If we went anywhere and he could hear laughter, he would start crying and wailing almost as though he thought they were laughing at him. Any form of eye contact would set him off. He started in September, and by December, he was performing on stage at the Gala without any issues. When dropping him off or picking him up, many students (even older students) would greet him by name. He was clearly very popular and enjoyed going to LCA. We know that with time he would have eventually grown out of it. But I do not doubt that LCA (especially his teachers Mme. Christine and Mme. Victoria) helped speed up the process.”
-Father of 3 year old student
“Our child has been attending LCA since JK and not only do we love this school but more importantly our child does. LCA provides our child with a holistic education that focuses on a bilingual curriculum within a warm and friendly family-oriented environment”
-Joanne Martire