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French immersion is great |
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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 |
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Response to: "One school needed for French immersion" |
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In response to:
School Board exploring Late French Immersion
by Melissa Jameson
Dear Sir:
I am angered that as a parent with four children in French immersion I have to continually justify why this program needs immediate help as well as support at the district level. The reconfiguration of Cassie Hall and Kiti K’Shan is the best support we could have received from the district and I applaud them for following through with a decision many French immersion parents have been waiting for.
One of the biggest problems the program faces is the number of enrolled students. We lose so many children at the elementary level that the numbers at the high school are not enough to support an immersion experience they had at the primary level. I have watched a program that flourishes in the younger grades virtually disappear as my children get older. Out of the 6 French courses they have to take between grades 10-12 to graduate with French, two are taken by correspondence because there are not enough children in the program to warrant a teacher for these classes.
I am convinced that a single track school for the French immersion program will encourage long term growth. Single track K-7 schools are not uncommon and in this environment we can nurture our French immersion children to their fullest potential. In a few years perhaps late immersion will be possible to further enrich the program that Terrace parents can offer to their children.
With a single track school we can get learning assistance to those children in need instead of them “switching” to English. We can consolidate our parent groups who usually have to choose between a school’s parent advisory council or Canadian Parents for French (I am a member of this group).
As a strong parent group we can work towards offering the elementary and high school students’ exchange trips back east where they can use the skills they are developing.
It is possible to make French immersion a shining star. I can see the potential, and am very excited about the future of this program. Our children deserve the best we can offer and I am very pleased that the school board and trustees are showing such a commitment to the program.
I do wonder, however, if a school other than Kiti K’Shan could offer a more suited environment for French immersion, such as having a gym big enough for the elementary students. I believe we have a new unused one on the bench.
Lorelle Walker-Kluss,
Terrace, B.C.
Original Source: Terrace Standard |
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