CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE Nov. 2, 2018
On Friday evening, parents and children alike got a chance to party it up at the grand opening of the new Maison des Jeunes (MDJ) location in Shawville.
Located in the back of Pontiac High School (PHS), the room houses all kinds of board games, electronics and activities for the local youth.
“So technically it’s a partnership between Maison des Jeunes and the Western Quebec School Board, but more specifically Pontiac High School,” explained PHS Principal Debra Stephens. “We’ve given them the space in our school, use of the space and some things in the space. In return, they offer this incredible programming for our students and our future students as well.”
The old MDJ facility in Shawville was housed in a run-down garage near Dr. S.E. McDowell Elementary, but the building was condemned in the spring of 2017, forcing the relocation.
“I think when it was just located at a different spot in town, it got some Shawville people but not necessarily people from other communities coming,” noted Stephens. “Because we pull in from all the different municipalites … they’re getting a bigger market than they did at the other location.”
Desiree Tremblay-Giroux will be the coordinator for the new facility, and she explained that she’s been working for about a month and a half to get the facility and programming ready. She listed off a host of activities they offer and have planned, from puzzle competitions, parent-child cooking nights and a staff-student ping-pong tournament.
“I got hired in September and then this was my responsibility,” she said. “We opened about the second week of October and I’ve been in here three lunches a week and then after schools. We’re also doing cooking on Mondays and Fridays are pub nights. I see more kids at lunch, but after school is growing more and more.”
The location even has a new mascot, a rabbit named Caramel, which Tremblay-Giroux said is a great stress reliever.
Stephens noted that the programs are steadily growing in popularity, and the added space and amenities make PHS an ideal location.
“Already at lunch hour, we’re getting somewhere between 20 and almost 40 people, in not even a month,” she said. “So it’s incredible. Obviously the demand is there, the kids are really happy to have it and I’m really happy to have a place for these kids to go and to have the space being used so productively.”
Tremblay-Giroux’s boss, Stephane Durocher, said that this is just one of the many programs that MDJ offers in the region which include locations in Mansfield and Rapides des Joachims, as well as sports leagues and camps in the summer. He was pleased with the progress at the Shawville location and said he has high hopes for the future.
