Chapters Chapter Rep Update (CRU) 2012 February CRU
| 2012 February CRU |
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CPF – BC & Yukon Chapter Representative Update (CRU)Hello Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon Chapter Representatives! As was announced in the January CRU, our Branch Office is in the midst of a few staff changes. After working with the Branch as Office Assistant since October, I have stepped into the role of Chapter Support and Outreach Officer. While Erika was of great help during this transition, I appreciate your patience as I further familiarize myself with the specific advocacy issues and reporting statuses for each of our over 50 Chapters. I’m currently pulling membership lists and contacting each Chapter individually in order to address their reporting and any issues or concerns that have been noted in their file; Chapters should expect to hear from me within the coming week if they have not already. As a graduate of BC’s Early French Immersion program and someone who chose to complete their university studies in French in BC, it is my pleasure to be with CPF and advocate for educational and cultural opportunities in both official language. I sincerely look forward to supporting all of our dedicated parent volunteers and I look forward to the opportunity to work with you! À bientôt, Alex Hughes Chapter Support and Outreach Officer This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 778.329.9115 ext. 315 or 1.800.665.1222 Bienvenue Heather! CPF BC & Yukon is very pleased to announce that Heather Bartlett has joined the Branch as our new full-time Project Coordinator. Heather comes to CPF with a strong background in event organizing, grant administration and project coordination with environmental non-for-profit groups in BC & Alberta. She has first-hand experience with French Immersion as she graduated from the program in Ontario and went on to benefit from French second language initiatives such as Explore. Heather will be taking over a few core responsibilities formerly covered by Systems & Office Manager, Dimitry Morales - namely the administration of all chapter-lead socio-cultural grants and activities. Effective this week Heather will be Chapters’ primary contact for all socio-cultural grant related questions, comments, or concerns. As main coordinator, she will also be the primary contact for Concours related questions. You can reach Heather at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 1.800.665.1222 ext. 317. Involving CPF in Parent Information Nights Many school districts will be hosting information sessions for families with children entering into kindergarten and for those making the leap into secondary school or a Late French Immersion program during the weeks and months to come. These events can act as a perfect opportunity to reach out to new potential CPF members, building your membership and volunteer base. If you have not already done so, please feel free to contact your principals and/or school district in order to coordinate CPF representation at these events. The Branch Office would be more than glad to provide you with brochures, posters and guidance for these promotional opportunities! Concours d’art oratoire: Help Your School Participate! Registration for the provincial Concours will open February 28, 2012 and close April 18, 2012. Please help your school districts meet this deadline. In order for students to participate at the provincial level, their school must be a CPF member. Each year there are a number of eligible schools that, unfortunately, do not participate in Concours due to a lack of awareness. Please help highlight the benefits of this annual local, provincial, and national competition to your teachers and school principals. In addition, due to the current teacher job action affecting certain school activities your Chapter may need to take a more active role in organizing Concours events at the school and district levels. Concours is a longstanding tradition of CPF BC & Yukon, and we hope this year continues to build upon past success! For questions regarding Concours, how to begin organizing a local competition, and for up-to-date announcements please refer to our website: http://bit.ly/CPF2012Concours French Immersion Celebration Week: How Will You Celebrate? February 5-11, 2012 CPF – BC & Yukon is pleased to announce that both the Government of British Columbia and the Government of Yukon have proclaimed February 5th to 11th French Immersion Celebration Week! The Branch has circulated a media release and is encouraging all of our Chapters to recognize this event in their communities. The Branch is offering a $100 FI Celebration Week Volunteer appreciation grant to celebrate your Chapter volunteers. The volunteer appreciation event, initiative or gifts cannot include alcoholic beverages, tobacco or travel and must occur between February 1st and 29th. Please submit your receipts to the Branch Office (Attn: Volunteer Appreciation) by February 29th in order to receive reimbursement. Pictures, descriptions and stories from your event are always welcome and may appear in the Newsletter! Regional Conference Cancelled Due to the number of recent staffing changes it has been determined that this spring would not be the appropriate time to host a regional conference on Vancouver Island. Instead, we will plan to host a regional conference during the next fiscal year, most likely in February or March 2013. If the Branch Office becomes aware of any specific workshops or particular speakers of interest we will make a recommendation to include them in our fall 2012 AGM & Conference in Ottawa. If your Chapter would like to suggest a theme for the upcoming AGM & Conference, please forward them to Alex at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Is Your Chapter Using the Advocacy Toolkit? The Advocacy Toolkit was prepared by CPF BC & Yukon to assist Chapters with frequently encountered issues. The Toolkit is organized step-by-step around specific issues, such as how to build community support or influence decision makers, as well as assistance in running effective Chapter meetings and communication guidance. The Advocacy Toolkit is an online resource available to everyone through our website. Documents are available online and for download, and in the coming months we will continue to build on this resource. http://www.cpf.bc.ca/site3/index.php/chapters/advocacy-toolkit Let CPF BC & Yukon Know What’s Going On in Your Chapter! Once again we’d like to encourage all Chapters to get in contact with our office and let us know of any local news or events taking place in your community! If you have any online links, newspaper clippings, Chapter newsletters or flyers about Chapter or FSL issues and events in your area, please forward them to Alex ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) to be posted on the CPF BC & Yukon website. This helps inform other Chapters of what is going on in your community and the issues you face – they may have advocacy tips or event suggestions for you! This also helps the Branch and National offices keep track of issues and trends as to better advocate effectively on your behalf. Further, if your community is hosting any Francophone or Francophile events, please let our Branch Office know and we would be more than happy to help spread the word! We also have a calendar on our website that we will continue to update with Chapter and member organization events. BC Family French Camp Registration: Registration Now OPEN! BC Family French Camp registration is now open! CPF members will need their 5 digit CPF membership ID number in order to register for camp. If you do not have proof of membership as is outlined in the registration form or do not know your membership ID number, please contact Alex at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at 1-800-665-1222 ext. 315. N.B.: Please note that the original registration date of January 22nd was postponed. The BC Family French camp is a separate society with its own internal operations and governance, with who CPF BC & Yukon has an ongoing partnership with. To register and for more information please visit: http://bit.ly/BCfamilyfrenchcamp Information regarding other French camps sponsored by CPF Chapters can be found on the CPF website: http://bit.ly/CPFcamps
February Important Notices & Activities
Begbie History Competition Offers $1000 Awards The aim of the Begbie Canadian History competition is to provide students with an opportunity to test their skills in history against those of other students from across Canada. The contest's emphasis is on using critical thinking skills to evaluate primary sources such as political cartoons, paintings, posters, graphs, maps, statistics, songs, speeches, diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and memoirs. The contest questions are based on major events in Canadian history from 1850 to the present. There is one prize of $1000 for every 250 entrants. Students may participate in French or English versions of the contest. The deadline for entries is March 9, 2012. The contest date is April 18, 2012. For more information, please visit: http://begbiecontestsociety.org/ French Language Travel Programs Have a student who is interested in cultural discoveries, exciting experiences, new friends, and exploring a francophone region of Canada? Explore enables students who have completed at least Grade 11 to enroll in five-week immersion courses in French. Participation in Explore includes a bursary covering room, board and tuition. The deadline for application is February 28. Please visit www.myexplore.ca for further details and an application form. Destination Clic similarly offers a bursary covering room, board and tuition for a three-week immersion program for students in Grades 8 and 9. The deadline for application is March 15. Please visit www.destinationclic.ca for further details and an application form. Odyssey is a paid full-time work experience program that allows students to travel within Canada, gain experience in a school environment and share their cultures. Students work as language-assistants under the supervision of a teacher, encouraging students to improve their knowledge of language and culture. Academic credits are available for this program. The deadline for application is February 28. Please visit www.myodyssey.ca for further details and an application form. CPF BC & Yukon Award for Future French Teachers For the past seventeen years, CPF-BC & Yukon has been proud to offer a financial award to one or two students completing their post-secondary education studies and planning to teach French as a second language (immersion or core) in BC or Yukon. The awards are valued at $2,000 each. Up to two awards of $2,000 will be granted per year. This year's deadline is May 15, 2012. The application form is available online at http://bit.ly/CPFaward. Say Thanks with CPF’s Bouquet de Merci! Do you know someone who has done outstanding work to support French second language learning opportunities for children in your community? If so, nominate them for the Bouquet de Merci! The Bouquet de Merci recognizes individuals and associations whose work has furthered the goals of CPF. The deadline is June 30, 2012 and winners will be announced at our AGM in November. This award is a great way to recognize hardworking CPF volunteers in your chapter. For more information and the nomination form, please visit http://bit.ly/BouquetDeMerci.
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