30 juin 2023
Just a quick message to wish everyone a great summer holiday ! Make sure you look into the Passeport d'été with your kids in order to have them pratice their French a little bit and have some fun learning activites too. (If they've lost it, the link is in "Calendrier d'activités".)
The students who completed it last year received a little reward at the beginning of the school year, but the real reward was that they continued to get better in French !!
5 juin 2023
Getting involved
Never hesitate to offer your services in order to help out at our school, just because you don't speak French. We are very able to communicate in both official languages ! There is always room for able-bodied volunteers, whether it is to help organise an event, accompany a group, or assist with coaching, amongts other things, so please reach out !
8 mars 2023
Association Champlain
Looking for an occasion to interact in French ? Join the Association Champlain's social events, such as board nights and paint nights, and spend time with adults in a French and social setting. Most activities take place at ACAG in the evenings. Don't worry about the quality of your spoken French, we're just happy to create more francophones in the area !
10 février 2023
I would like to reiterate the offer for free French tutoring, for all subject matters. If you feel like your child would benefit from a little extra help, call on Mme Pascale (gallapa@ecolecatholique.ca) and she will help put you in touch with the right tutor for your child. And it's all free !!
12 janvier 2023
Free tutoring
Did you know the Ministry of Education has given a subsidy to Ontario schools in order to offer tutoring to students from grades 1 to 12, free of charge ? We have a list of qualified tutors who can work with your children before or after school hours, possibly on evenings or weekends too.
This could be the extra French language support that your child needs !
If you are interested, please contact Mme Pascale (gallapa@ecolecatholique.ca) and she will help put you in touch with the right tutor for your child.
12 décembre 2022
No specific news for this section this time, but don't forget that there is always someone available to discuss with you in English, and even in other languages if need be !
le 14 novembre 2022
L'heure du conte
Don't forget to check out French storytime for the little ones this weekend, Saturday 19th of November at 10h30, at the Brockville library ! There is also a more extensive section of French books donated by the school board so you can borrow French books from the library. We have gotten some positive feedback for the selection.
le 19 octobre2022
Translation application
I was recently shared this application which can help to translate paper documents and texts. Sure, Google translate is great to translate something you are reading on the Web, such as this blog or the Magasin-en-ligne (Online store), but what about when your child has a paper document to be signed and you want to make sure you know what you are signing ? Or when you need to translate a new word found in a book ? Well, this application works directly on your mobile device. You simply scan the document and there you go !
French classes for parents
Hats off to these parents, and others not pictured, who have signed up for the new French language class for parents. Bravo !
le 28 septembre 2022
French classes !
As promised, I have found a teacher to teach Beginner French (level 1) to interested parents ! Her name is Andrée Guillette, and she is a retired teacher from ACAG. The registration fee is 40$ for a 10 week course, which will take place on Tuesdays from October 4th to December 6th, 6 pm to 9 pm. It also includes 3 hours of practice using Rosetta Stone between the in-person classes, which will take place in one of our classrooms.
Sign up now, there are only 20 places for this course ! If there is enough interest, we might add a second night. Follow this add for the link to register; click on "Je m'inscris" and join us soon !
Brockville Library
Did you know the Brockville Library offers a French story-time at the Brockville Library approximately once a month on Saturday mornings ? Our own Alyssa Bédard reads a story to the kids, then follows up with some interactive play. The next date is Saturday October 22nd. You can find the following dates here. Scroll down to "HEURES DU CONTE EN FRANÇAIS".
Spread the word !
le 6 septembre 2022
Although most of the presentations will take place in French on Meet the Teacher Night this Thursday September 8th, I do encourage you to come by and chat with the staff and the other parents as this helps to strenghten the ACAG community, which is obviously bilingual.
As well, I often hear parents ask if they can get involved with School Council if they are not fluent in French. As it is a French school, all meetings will take place mostly in French, and documentation will be provided in French, so it would be important to have a working understanding of the language. However, if a parent feels more comfortable speaking or asking questions in English during the meetings, this is not a problem.
Not able to understand French at all, but still want to get involved ? Fantastic ! Please reach out to help in any of the following ways : helping with fundraising, chaperoning during school outings, assistant-coaching various sports teams, and so on. Have other ideas about ways to get involved ? I would love to hear them, so please get in touch.
le 2 juin 2022
Are you familiar with the Google Translate extension for Chrome ? This extension adds a button to your browser toolbar. Click the translate icon whenever you want to translate the page you're visiting.
The extension also automatically detects if the language of a page you're on is different from the language you're using for your Google Chrome interface. If it is, a banner appears at the top of the page. Click the Translate button in the banner to have all the text on the page appear in the new language.
Learn more about Google Translate at http://translate.google.com/support/?hl=en
le 2 mai 2022
Would you like your child to have the opportunity to work with a tutor this summer, to keep working on their French skills ? Contact Alyssa Bédard by email: alyssabedard095@gmail.com or by phone at 613-213-2217. Madame Alyssa works as an educational assistant specialising in helping to develop our young students' French language skills and vocabulary, so she would be a great help in keeping up those skills during the summer !
le 20 mars 2022
This week's tip is simply a website name Idello/Boukili where you can find resources and free French books to help read in French to your children. Although reading in any language will be a benefit to their education and their development, exposing them to more French language activites will help them develop their vocabulary in this language and help them succeed at the Académie !
le 28 février 2022
This week I would like to share a book by Glen Taylor titled "I'm with you 2 : Raising a Bilingual Child in a Two Language Household" which may help some of you navigate this very important decision you have made to offer your children a French-language education, while not being very fluent yourself.
I also found this interesting reference on a parent support website for a French school board in British-Columbia. It offers helpful tips for the non-francophone parent in a bilingual family. It is about a 3-4 minute read and includes many interesting ideas which can be easily implemented.
Do you have other ideas on how to support your children in their acquisition of French, please let me know so I can share here with other parents.
le 31 janvier 2022
This week, I would like to share a very useful tool when it comes to communicating in the other official language : DeepL Translator. This is by far one of the most precise online translating tools that I have come across in the last couple years. As you know, our primary language of communication at ACAG is French, and we don't always have time to translate. Moreover, most of the educational professionals might feel a little more comfortable discussing about the world of education in French, since that is the language most of us had our original training in, which means we don't necessarily know how all the technical terms translate, even though we might be fluently bilingual. Conversely, it could also help you acquire a little more vocabulary in French when you use it, so it's a win-win !
10 décembre 2021
Would you like to be more involved with your child's school, but hesitate because you don't speak French very well ? Please contact the school parent association (conseilparentsacag@ecolecatholique.ca) to see in which ways your talents can contribute. All parents are welcome to become involved and there are many ways to do so. As restrictions ease up, we will once again be able to offer opportunities like helping out at the school BBQ or organising fundraisers. Have an idea for a fun project for the kids ? Contact me (Mme Chantal) directly. I will be happy to discuss, in both official languages.
Also, consider using the Duolingo app in order to learn some French vocabulary along with your children. It is a fun way to learn any new languages in just a few minutes a day.
21 novembre 2021
A few parents have reached out to get information about taking French classes this year. The fall session has filled up, so click here for the information about the next session, starting January 24th 2022. They have both credited and non-credited classes. Credited classes have a 40$ registration fee, while non-credited classes are either FREE with a valid YMCA reference number or have an additional fee of 210$.
Sign up now !!
