Dear Families,
As a reminder, French Immersion registration begins this Friday, January 15. You can now access the pre-recorded French Immersion Information Session, which includes commonly asked questions and answers, on our website.
Grade 1 French Immersion Information Sessions and Registrations
What is French Immersion?
- In French Immersion, students receive instruction in French in a variety of subjects from a teacher who speaks French fluently.
- The French Immersion program begins in Grade 1 and is designed for children whose first language is not French.
- In Grades 1, 2 and 3, all subjects are taught in French. Starting in Grade 4, time is shared equally between French and English instruction.
- The French Immersion program continues in high school.
- Secondary school students must earn at least 10 French Immersion credits to qualify for the French Immersion Certificate upon graduation.
Important Considerations
- For the first few months of Grade 1, the children do not acquire skills identical to those learned by children in an English program as the focus is on learning in French.
- There may be certain lags in English Language Arts skills in the first few years of the program, but by the end of the elementary grades, successful French Immersion students perform as well as their peers in a regular English program.
- Communication with parents/guardians is in English including, but not limited to, report cards, newsletters and parent-teacher interviews.
- Reading to a child at home in a child’s native language can strengthen literacy skills. Research studies confirm that children achieve greater academic success when parents read frequently (daily) to them.
- There is only one entry point into French immersion in YRDSB; Grade 1.
Information Sessions
This year our Information session for Grade 1 entry into the French Immersion (FI) program will take place virtually on January 14, 2021. You can access the pre-recorded French Immersion Information Session, which includes commonly asked questions and answers, on our website.
Registration
FI registration will begin on January 15, 2021. Parents or guardians of Senior Kindergarten students entering Grade 1 in 2021, and wishing to enrol in the FI Program, can email or call their home school office and indicate their intention to enrol. The home school will notify the French Immersion school, and the French Immersion school will contact you by phone or email to collect any necessary information. You are asked to register by February 5, 2021. Registration during this period is not first come, first served.
Late Registrations
Late registrations are those submitted after February 5, 2021. Late registrations will be treated on a first- come, first-served basis and will be considered subsequent to registrations received during the registration period should overflow be necessary.
Accommodation Plan
YRDSB’s FI Accommodation Plan provides long-term consistency and equity of access to all students in York Region and will enable YRDSB to continue to offer the FI program to all who wish to enrol. The FI program will be offered in Dual Track or Single Track settings, in a variety of configurations. In order to meet community needs and optimize available space in our schools, a community’s Grade 1-8 FI program may be provided over more than one school during the course of a student’s FI education. Space requirements at some schools may mean that siblings are in different schools for primary dual track French Immersion programs due to differing grade structures. Like any of our schools across the Board, changes to school boundaries, and/or the accommodation model for the French Immersion program may need to be considered when new schools open, a school experiences enrolment growth, and program changes occur. This will allow flexibility in addressing community needs and the opportunity to use existing space in schools.
More information is available on the Board’s website: www.yrdsb.ca. Please note: Some of the FI accommodation plans will require facility modifications or the development of new schools and will require short-term transition plans that might include overflow while we work toward the long-term vision. Overflow refers to situations in which the Board directs students to attend a school other than their community school or optional program for a specific period of time, as defined in Policy #108.
