Dufferin-Peel Board to hold meetings for French Immersion

October 21, 2015 · 0 Comments

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will hold a series of public information meetings in Mississauga and Brampton for parents and guardians interested in enrolling their children in the board’s French Immersion program for the 2016-2017 school year.
The information sessions are intended to provide an overview of the French Immersion program, criteria for admittance and changes that can be expected from the regular program.
The Brampton session will be Nov. 11 at St. Angela Merici Catholic Elementary School at 83 Edenbrook Hill Dr. There will also be meetings Nov. 10 at St. Pio of Pietrelcina Elementary School at 4765 Huron Heights Dr. in Mississauga and Nov. 12 at St. Margaret of Scotland School at 2266 Council Ring Rd. in Mississauga. All three meetings will start at 7 p.m.
Dufferin-Peel offers the French Immersion Program starting in Grade 1 at eight school sites. Students registered in this program will spend 90 per cent of their day learning in the French language. All subjects and activities in the French Immersion classroom, except for Religion and Family Life, will be delivered in French. In Grades 2 and 3, 70 per cent of the instruction will be in French, with the proportion of English increasing to 50 per cent in later years.
Students in the French Immersion program usually attain a mid-range level of competency in the language. This means that after at least 4,510 hours of French instruction during his/her school career, the student should be able to read newspapers and books, with the occasional help of a dictionary, as well as watch and understand radio and television news and other programs. The student should also be able to participate adequately in conversation, demonstrate knowledge of the culture, society, customs, economy, government, institutions of a French-speaking community and, after a few months’ residence, and function quite well in a French-speaking community.
Online registration will begin following the French Immersion parent information sessions with the deadline for submissions to be announced. Should the number of applications exceed the number of spaces available, a centralized, computer-generated lottery will be held following the deadline.