First school in Canada to receive level 1 certification for excellence from the National Quality Institute, Canadian Excellence in Education Program (CEEP).

How do you define excellence in a school?

Parent Lisa Buckley thinks St. Luke Elementary School meets the criterion because her two children insist on going to school, even when they're obviously too sick to be in class.

When the future of St. Luke's was being decided earlier this year, every single teacher at the school went to public meetings, spoke and signed a petition, says Buckley. That shows a significant commitment to the school and the community it serves.

Parent Mike Strus says school excellence is about a strong administrator who gives his "exemplary" teachers their head to try new ideas. It's also about a day-long skiing outing every winter that his twin children, who are in Grade 5, keenly anticipate.

Teacher-Librarian Sandy Moher says excellence is about a cohesive staff that has always enjoyed going beyond the expected and delivering special extracurricular programs.

"It's really a happening place," says Moher, who's been at St. Luke since it opened in 1983. "With all the things we do, it really makes the students want to come here. When they want to be here, that makes them really want to do better academically."

On Friday, St. Luke got some of the recognition its school community knew it deserved. It became the first school in Canada to receive level 1 certification for excellence from the National Quality Institute (NQI).

This is the first year that the Institute, which promotes and teaches continuous improvement, has created an award for schools. St. Luke went through an extensive audit process to meet the criteria, NQI President Dan Corbett said. "This school has clearly stepped out in front," Corbett added. "They're on the leading edge."

Principal André Young told a special celebration that, "we have a great staff, great students and wonderful parents. Excellence doesn't come from the office." he added, "It comes from all these students."

Several parents and teachers did, however, give the office and Young a lot of credit for the school's success.

Teacher Kate Carleton, a veteran of the staff, said Young gets the most from the diverse talents of the staff, prompting numerous forays into extracurricular sports, clubs, field trips and overnight excursions.

"A big part of this has to do with an administrator who gives teachers guidelines, but allows them to do their own thing," Buckley said. "He really has an open door policy for everyone."

As an example of student success, visitors saw an excerpt of the school play Jesus Christ Superstar. The guests, including Mississauga South MPP Margaret Marland, Ward 2 Councilor Pat Mullin (whose daughter teaches at the school) and Peel Region Chief Administrative Officer Roger Maloney (an NQI board member) were amazed at the quality of the production, likening it to a high school play.

Student Laura Cuttini provided a top 10 list of reasons why she loves to come to school each day which provided insight into St. Luke's success. The list included the contributions of Father Keith Wallace, the priest who is in the school regularly and the wide array of activities available for everyone. "Our teachers all like each other and it is fun to be part of birthday songs, jokes and sharing," Cuttini said. Her number 1 reason to come to school? "I love to see Mr. Young in his Montreal Canadiens hockey jersey when everyone else is wearing the Maple Leaf."

Ironically, the school's award comes just as the decision to close it has been made. While St. Luke's will be absorbed into the new St. Mary school in Lorne Park in 2003, the school, parents and staff all agree that the important thing is that they will move together to the new building as a school community. There, with larger programs and more students, they'll try to continue their award-winning tradition.

This article originally appeared in Mississauga News