This year the Hazeltons will be hosting the regional Concours Contest which is the French Immersion public speaking competition. In the past local students have found great success with this and several have not only gone on to the Provincials in Vancouver but have also carried on to the Canadian finals back East.
The first step will be the John Field school competition combined with the high school students next week on Mar. 15 starting at 9 a.m., Helene Paranich explained.
“The Concours is generally for all the french students from Grade 4 to 12 but we have also let the Grade 3s participate,” she said. “Everyone has to decide on their own topic and write and memorize their speech which varies in length depending on the Grade. All to of the students are judged and the top three are then sent on to the Regionals which we are also hosting this year on April 2.”
From there the top three high school students are then sent down to Vancouver for the Provincials.
“This is the biggest event for our French immersions students because they get to showcase their talents,” Paranich added.
While the French programme has been a part of the Hazeltons for more than two decades, enrolment has slightly declined. However, things are picking up again, Paranich said, and with 14 students already enrolled in kindergarten for next year, she is hopeful that numbers will stay up in the future.
“When we first started we had 21 kids but it dropped off and now we are finally getting back up there. The programme is a big success and a lot of our students go on to do great things as the success rate is pretty high,” she said.
For more information on the French Immersion programme please contact John Field Elementary School at 250-842-5313.