Do the walls still echo with the laughter and singing of the girls? Originally a hotel, Assumption Academy became a school when it was opened in 1926 by the Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin of Nicolet, Quebec. Thanks to the Sisters' advocacy with Archbishop H.J. O'Leary, young French-speaking women in Edmonton would have the same educational opportunities as young French-speaking men.
The curriculum was based on the science and humanities courses created at Laval University in Quebec City. The Academy included a daycare, music rooms, a gymnasium-auditorium and eventually residences for out-of-town students. An elementary and secondary school for girls until its closure in 1972, the Academy welcomed French-speaking students from Edmonton and the surrounding area.
Thanks to the hard work of the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta (ACFA), a co-educational K-12 French school, J.H. Picard, replaced Assumption Academy and its sister school, Collège St-Jean High School, in 1972.