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Friday, October 17, 2014
Record numbers of local parents dunking their children in French
!
Up nearly 40 percent: More than 900 students in immersion program
Kathy Santini
C
e at my new office located in 110 - 80 Station Street in orward to seeing you there.
On the move!
, CFP®, BBA, RRC® dvisor l Inc. on Street V9L 1M4 -3240 @holliswealth.com
On the move!
Andrew Leong
Community Policing manager Carol-Ann Rolls and her dog Shanty help kick off the We Want To See More of You campaign to help keep pedestrians safe and reduce person-vehicle collisions. ICBC has partnered with Cowichan Community Policing to provide free reflective tags for pedestrians, available at Community Policing offices in Duncan, Chemainus, and Cowichan Bay. Rolls, and Shanty set up this shot to demonstrate what a motorist would see.
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division of Scotia Capital Inc., a member of the Canadian Investor Protection
parent who wants to enrol their child in French immersion would fit any particuNews Leader Pictorial lar stereotype. “It’s a lot easier to identify the motivaowichanians are immersing tion than the kind of parent,” he said. their children in French in According to Lewis, the typical French record numbers. immersion parent wants to challenge Last year, more than 900 their kids, sees the value of having a students were registered in second language, and has a more global, School District 79’s French Immersion worldly perspective on education and life programs — up nearly 40% from the opportunities. total six years earlier. “New Canadians are especially atAnd this came despite the district’s tracted to French immersion programs, dropping enrolment overall. because they really want to integrate with As of 2013/14, there were 928 students Canadian society,” Lewis said. “I think in French immersion in the Cowichan Valley School District, an increase of 256 the rest of the world sees us as more students, or 38.1% over six years, the CPF bilingual than we see ourselves.” He said Stats Canada published a found. report in 2011 showing those who speak According to a recent report from CaEnglish and French earn 10% more and nadian Parents for French, Ministry of Education, said overall student enrolment have a 3% lower unemployment rate than in the CVSD decreased by 1,127 students, their uni-lingual counterparts. “The trend lines in terms of French or 12.8% during the same period. immersion are positive; the word is out Sheryl Koers, an assistant superintenabout the life-changing impact of the dent with SD79 said one reason for the program,” Lewis said. rising numbers could be the fact the Enrolment in French immersion would district now has two schools feeding into be higher, he said, if there wasn’t a shortthe secondary French immersion school age of space and a lack of teachers. program at Cowichan Secondary Dual “It can be challenging for the school Campus School. Duncan’s Ecole Mt. Prevost and Ecole district to grow the program,” he said. Koers agreed there was a limited pool Cobble Hill, with more than 400 and of teachers and some have strong French, 340 students respectively are single-track but not the pedagogy and others the French immersion schools, not tied to reverse. any catchment areas. I'm You can find me Last yearmoving! the district went out of “By and large, by opening the second the old Eaton's building at 11 province looking for French teachers school, we have and are meeting the and got a couple of applicants. Being in downtown Duncan. I look for needs, the waitlist isn’t huge,” Koers such demand, some prefer to live in larger said, adding 11 or 12 students are on the waitlist for Mt. Prevost and five or six for cities. Outside immersion programs, SD79 Cobble Hill. is like the rest of the province, inChris that Schultz, CPF executive director Glyn Lewis said Investment Ad the number of students taking regular the Cowichan numbers follow a trend Scotia In Capital where more students in British Columbia core French courses has gone down. 110core - 80 Station 2003/04, 4,138 students were taking are participating in French language Duncan (BC) V programs than ever before. Provincewide, French. By 2013/14 2,916 were enrolled,Tel.: the (778) 422French immersion enrolment has been CFP says. increasing for 16 consecutiveI'm years. chris.schultz@ moving! You can find me at mymore new offi7ce locat on page Lewis said he didn’t think the kind of
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the old Eaton's building at 110 - 80 Station Street in downtown Duncan. I look forward to seeing you the Chris Schultz, CFP®, BBA, RRC® Investment Advisor Scotia Capital Inc. 110 - 80 Station Street Duncan (BC) V9L 1M4 Tel.: (778) 422-3240 chris.schultz@holliswealth.com
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