Released: May 28, 2007

Five senior high-school students each won the grand prize of a $20,000 scholarship at the Canadian Parents for French (CPF) National Concours d’art oratoire 2007, held at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa on Saturday, May 26, 2007. The scholarships were donated by the University of Ottawa.

The event involved 42 senior high school students from across Canada who were eligible to compete as finalists in the national competition. Each finalist delivered the French speech that won them first prize at the school, regional, and/or provincial/territorial levels. There are five language categories at the national level: core French (basic), core extended, early French immersion, late French immersion, and Francophone.

The winners of the core French category are:
1st Place- Marissa Constand, Toronto, ON (York Mills Collegiate Institute)
2nd Place- Hayley Miloff, Chelsea, QC (Philemon Wright High School)
3rd Place- Richard del Rosario, Vancouver, BC (Burnaby South Secondary School)

The winners of the core extended category are:
1st Place- Kyle Gamble, Regina SK (Thom Collegiate)
2nd Place- Shaundel Leamon, Corner Brook, NL (Corner Brook Regional High)
3rd Place- Maneesha Rajora, Halifax, NS (Halifax West High School)

The winners of the early French immersion category are:
1st Place- Hazem Shoblak, Yellowknife, NWT (Sir John Franklin High School)
2nd Place- Sarah MacVicar, Hammonds Plains, NS (Halifax West High School)
3rd Place- Seharish Noor Khan, Pierrefonds, QC (Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School)

The winners of the late French immersion category are:
1st Place- Honzer Chen, Langley, BC (Walnut Grove Secondary School)
2nd Place- Vanessa Doering, Winnipeg, MB (Westwood Collegiate)
3rd Place- Gary Hood, Sydney, NS (Riverview Rural High School)

The winners of the Francophone category are:
1st Place- Alexis Soha, Scarborough, ON (Earl Haig Secondary School)
2nd Place- Danielle Migeon, Victoria, BC (Mount Douglas Secondary School)
3rd Place- Jessica Monnaie, Yellowknife, NWT (Sir John Franklin High School)

In addition to a grand prize of a $20,000 scholarship, each of the finalists who competed but did not win the grand prize was awarded $2,000 entrance scholarships which were also presented during the awards ceremony.
CPF acknowledges and thanks the following organizations for their contributions toward the competition: the Government of Canada’s Department of Canadian Heritage, University of Ottawa, Jos Scott Memorial Fund, Bank of Montreal Mosaik Mastercard, Delta Hotels, Radio Enfant-Ado, and Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface (CUSB) for their contribution of $400 for each of the four CPF-Manitoba finalists eligible to participate in the nationals.
Canadian Parents for French is the national network of volunteers which values French as an integral part of Canada and which is dedicated to the promotion and creation of French-second-language learning opportunities for young Canadians. There are currently more than 25,000 members across Canada.

Information/Renseignements:
Antonia Papadakou, Director of Communications/directrice des communications
Tel : 613-235-1481 ext. 26    Cell.: 819-665-5382  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it