Published: February 05, 2009

Dear editor,

With all the negative headlines that reconfiguration generated it was too bad that one positive decision made by the previous board has not hit the headlines — and that is the implementation of the Late French Immersion into the Comox Valley.

When I witnessed the plays that Grade 6 students created and staged seulement en Francais in November after only three months of instruction, I said, “The media needs to be brought in. This is amazing. People need to know this is happening.”

Thanks for the photo although with no explanation that they were made up for their play, I’m not sure my daughter in her grandfather’s Valu-Village wig, a pair of dollar store glasses and my mother’s ‘70s psychedelic mu’umu’u from Hawaii made kids in the Valley want to rush out and sign up for the program.

But as a parent I can’t say enough about the positive aspects of LFI. After three weeks my daughter said their teacher had spoken to them for 10 minutes only in French and they themselves were thrilled to realize they had understood all of what she had said. Probably within a month of that they were with early FI Grade 6 students in math for 1.5 hours all in French.

Now they are actually giving assistance to FI kindergarten students with reading. The progression is beyond my dreams (and I’ve hoped for this program since my son was in K — he’s now in Grade 10).

I feel I am one of the lucky ones to have a daughter in this rich program with a dynamic teacher in an incredible school with caring staff, involved parents — and fun.

The deadline for registration for your Grade 5 now to start in September 2009 is Feb. 12. I was the first parent in line last year. Enrich your child’s life.

Carla Morrison,
Courtenay

Original Source: Comox Valley Record