“The first concern of a genuine and appropriate educational method is the EDUCATION OF THE HEART of man, just as God made it...”
~ Servant of God Msgr. Luigi Giussani, The Risk of Education
Who is Jérôme Lejeune?
Venerable Jérôme Jean Louis Marie Lejeune (13 June 1926 – 3 April 1994) was a French pediatrician and geneticist, best known for discovering the genetic cause of Down Syndrome. He courageously defended the dignity of every human person and is a heroic witness for our times. For more biographical information on the life of Jérôme Lejeune, click here.
Educational Mission
"In looking at the stars or the sea, in falling in love with someone, in looking with tenderness at their children, in ardently seeking to know and use nature, human beings of every time, every race, seek happiness: what is true, what is just, what is beautiful."
~ Msgr. Luigi Giussani, address in Nagoya, Japan (1987)
The Educational Programs at Jérôme Lejeune School are rooted in the Catholic tradition and values each student as a child of God. We believe that education is an experience that springs from an encounter that engages our freedom and solicits our responsibility, making life truly human.
Our unique approach to education encompasses the search for human happiness and fulfillment grounded in truth, justice, beauty, freedom, responsibility, the authority and loving witness of the educators, community, and critical reasoning.
Our purpose is to accompany each student on their journey to reach their full potential. To embrace the fact of life as a vocation, and to educate their heart to an awareness of the divine givenness of the world and all that is in and beyond it.
Our Team
Staff and Volunteers
Sophia Hyginus McConkey
Foundress, Principal
Holds a B.Ed. from uOttawa, a B.A. Spec. Hons. Psychology, a Montessori teaching diploma from the NAMC and is trained in Level 1 of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Sophia is certified to teach by the Ontario College of Teachers and holds teaching qualifications in the Primary, Junior, Intermediate, and Senior divisions (KG through to Gr. 12). She has taught and served on the Board of various independent schools in Toronto and Ottawa. Sophia served as the Director of the Preschool Programme at Jérôme Lejeune School from 2018-2020 prior to serving as the founding Principal since 2023.
Sophia and her husband David have 2 children who attend the school.
Stéfanie Latreille
Teacher Form 3, CM Program Coordinator
Bio to follow.
Yvette Beaudoin
Teacher Form 2
Bio to follow.
Jeanette MacDonald
Montessori Directress
Holds a B.A. in Math and Music, a Montessori teaching diploma (ages 3-6) from the AMI, and a Lower Elementary Montessori teaching diploma from the NAMC. Jeanette is trained in all 3 Levels of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She was the Head Teacher of the Preschool Programme at Jérôme Lejeune School from 2018-2020. After working as an Assistant in the Upper Elementary class at BHMS from 2022-2024, Jeanette has been the Montessori Directress of the Kindergarten and Hybrid programmes since 2025.
She and her husband Michel have 7 children.
Julie Bennett Yates
Kindergarten Assistant
Holds a B.A. in Psychology & Sociology, and Level 1A (ages 3-6) training in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Julie has many years of experience working as an Educational Assistant in elementary and high schools in Ottawa. She has previously served as a classroom assistant in the Preschool and Hybrid Programmes at Jérôme Lejeune School and is pleased to serve as Assistant in the Kindergarten and Montessori programmes.
Fr. Matthew Chojna
Associate Priest
Pastor of St. Michael Parish in Corkery and St. Peter Celestine Parish in Pakenham in the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall, and a chaplain of the Spiritual Motherhood of Priests, Fr. Matthew has a great desire to be involved in the formative education of the young, and is pleased to visit the Montessori class regularly and preside the school Masses.
Maria Rose Moyse
KG Enrichment Teacher
Bio to follow.
James Sheridan
Math Teacher Form 4
Bio to follow.
Jolene Scherr
Student Support, Admin. Assistant
Bio to follow.
Cynthia Harrison
Latin Teacher
Bio to follow.
About
Jérôme Lejeune School
Founded by Sophia Hyginus McConkey, Jérôme Lejeune School is a charitable work of members in the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation and collaborates with the greater community in offering this educative proposal, with the blessing of The Most Reverend Archbishop Marcel Damphousse, Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall.
Jérôme Lejeune School follows the educational charism of Fr. Luigi Giussani and began in 2018 as a Homeschool Co-op for primary aged students, located at St. George's Parish in Westboro. In 2019, Jérôme Lejeune School moved to St. Stephen's Anglican Church and operated as a Homeschool co-op for a second year. In 2020, Jérôme Lejeune School was put on hiatus and remained closed for 3 years. On September 14, 2023, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, Jérôme Lejeune School re-opened offering an enrichment program for elementary aged students at the Couvent Saint-Jean-Baptiste and was validated as a private school by the Ontario Ministry of Education. In 2024, the school moved to its current location at Paroisse Saint-Bonaventure and started offering full time programs in September 2025.
About Communion and Liberation
Communion and Liberation (CL) is an ecclesial movement in the Catholic Church which has the purpose of forming its members towards Christian maturity, in order to make them co-workers in the Church's mission in all areas of society. The name brings together the conviction that the Christian event, lived in communion, is the foundation of man’s authentic liberation.