CPF BC & Yukon Chapter Representatives,

Enclosed is the November 2013 CRU. This month's CRU is a long one, as there has been lots going on at CPF. There is important information enclosed about sociocultural grants, our AGM, Concours and our next regional conference!

As always please forward this important information to your local chapter mailing lists, school contacts, local media, and partners. We encourage you to include additional stories and activities from your local chapter. One of the best ways to promote membership and recruit new volunteers is by effectively communicating the good work of our organization (at all levels) and the many resources available to support students and parents.    

À bientôt,                                                                                                                 

Kirsty Peterson,CPF BC & Yukon Outreach Officer (outreach@cpf.bc.ca)

North Vancouver - Hosted a well attended Parent Survival Night last month and invited Kirsty Peterson, Chapter Outreach to say a few words.

Ridge Meadows - Hosted a well-attended Parent Survival Night and invited Kirsty to attend. (Two survival night appearances in a row for Kirsty!) They also hosted 3 CPF book sales, one at each of the early immersion schools in the district. They have been promoting membership drive by giving new members the free book "50 French Phrases!"

Ridge Meadows Chapter Book Sale

Langley - Parents in Langley hosted an information session for other parents interested in re-establishing this chapter and hope to hold an AGM within the next month.

Victoria - Kirsty and Glyn Lewis (CPF BC & Yukon Branch Executive Director) attended the Greater Victoria AGM where this chapter was re-established on October 19th, 2013!!

Branch - Directors Patti Holm, Diane Tijman, and Glyn attended the National AGM. The host Branch this year was our very own BC and Yukon Branch, and the event was held in Victoria BC. Kirsty also had the opportunity to connect with reps from across the country, as she was in Victoria at the same time! Alicia Rooney, Office Support, attended the BC Association of Teachers of Modern Languages Conference in Burnaby and greeted attendees from across the province at the CPF Branch table.

On the weekend of November 1-3rd, chapter delegates from across BC & Yukon got together for our 35th anniversary Annual General Meeting. On Friday night chapter delegates networked and listened to the history of CPF BC & Yukon Branch from Judy GIbson, founding member. The next morning they got up for an early breakfast and full-day conference before the evening banquet where over a delicious meal we listened to songs by Aude Ray, followed by presentations of the Teacher's Awards and Bouquet de Merci. Sunday brought our Annual General Meeting where we elected two new board members, Greer Cummings from Oceanside and Rebecca Beuschel from Quesnel. Congratulations Greer and Rebecca! Canadian Parents for French board and staff would like to thank everyone who attended, participated in and spoke at our event. Merci!

Check out this link for all of the post-AGM & Conference materials (presentations, speeches, resources, and more!): http://bc-yk.cpf.ca/agm/

Background: The Ministry of Education (MOE) provides funding to the CPF Branch for our socio-cultural Grant Applications. The MOE are in the negotiation phase of signing their next 5 year agreement with the Federal government to release this funding. The MOE is looking ahead to the next 5 years and at the impact the funding will have on the French second language community.  New priorities have been developed to be implemented for the sociocultural grants over the next 5 years (applies both BC and YT). These priorities are:

1. Attrition - Increase programming to address key attrition (drop out) years i.e.: – 7, 8, 9.

2. Innovation - At times the tried and true events should continue to be offered (ex: Maple Man, Trabador etc.,). Other times, chapters should ask the question: Are these events having the impact we want (see #4)? Should we continue in this tradition or revise the programming to support growth in the French cultural identity development of the youth/community? Innovation may involve long term planning. Or it may involve small changes to personalize french for the youth audiences/communities.

To assist in this new direction, the CPF Branch office is in the beginning stages of creating inspiration, and eventually a sociocultural resource for our Chapters. The following webpage will be built up over the next few years to assist our chapters in sharing innovative ideas: http://bc-yk.cpf.ca/about-us/branches/sociocultural-event-planning-resources/socio–cultural–activity–guide/ When you have excellent ideas - share them with us – provide your 'how to' planning docs and let us share the information to inspire, and encourage other chapters.

3. Partnerships – build up partnerships with Francophone organizations in your region – this can be with the Francophone school board (CSF), or your local Francophone cultural centre/organization. Remember that organizations like: le Conseil Jeunesse Francophone de La columbie-britannique:  http://www.cjfcb.com/index.php/fr/ work with both Francophone and French Immersion/Core french youth. Connect with them to see what programs they have available.

4. Learning Outcomes – connect to prescribed learning outcomes in education standards, and ensure French is being spoken throughout the activity / program.  http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/perf_stands/.

This will be part of the Survey questions and reporting requirements. We will be challenging Chapters to put forward activities and events that ensure a high standard of French language is used to the greatest extent possible. The goal here is to ensure students get the most out of the French socio-cultural experience.

Free Live Polling: PollEverywhere PollEverywhere (http://www.polleverywhere.com/).

Use this to get real time survey data – works with cell phones, tablets, computers/laptops. When using this for the SC surveys, please ensure you do not modify the questions (new 2014 surveys will be circulated).

Remember – if you're having trouble getting survey responses, give an incentive! Give prizes for surveys!

Heidi Clarkson

Visit our new Blog post to hear about why Heidi won this year's Bouquet de Merci. Congratulations Heidi!

Photo - Stephanie Hogan (Chair, CPF New Westminster Chapter) and Heidi Clarkson (Past-chair, CPF New Westminster Chapter) at the BC & Yukon Branch Annual General Meeting & Conference

Pauline Mahoney

Visit our new Blog post to see why Pauline won this year's Bouquet de Merci!

Photo - Bulkley Valley Chapter Representatives presenting Pauline with her Bouquet de Merci once it made the trip to Smithers from the BC & Yukon Branch Annual General Meeting & Conference

Our new blog will discuss a range of CPF related topics from events to governance issues, 'how-to" articles, and chapter profiles. Here is our first post!

Congratulations to CPF New Westminster for 25 years of LFI and 10 years of EFI programming! This blog post about CPF New Westminster's milestones was written by past-president and one of this years Bouquet de Merci winner Heidi Clarkson. We will be looking for blog contributions from across BC & Yukon, please email Kirsty at outreach@cpf.bc.ca if you like to write and would be interested in contributing! 

ICI Colombie-Britannique is looking for students in grades 10 to 12 interested in taking part in a one-of-a-kind journalism experience in French!

For the fourth consecutive year, French-speaking high-school students across the province will get a chance to be reporters for a day. They’ll receive instructor-led training on all steps involved in producing a news item – from research and interviews, to shooting, writing and editing. Participants will see their work aired on ICI Colombie-Britannique’s various platforms, as well as deliver live hits on TV and radio.

HOW TO APPLY
Students wishing to apply for the JEUN’INFO 2014 program should visit iciradiocanada.ca/jeuninfo or call 604-662-6135. All applicants are encouraged to fill out the online form. An information session will be held Saturday, December 7 to provide details about the program and help students prepare for the auditions being held later that month. If you can’t make the information sessions, you can still audition.

Write to us at jeuninfo@radio-canada.ca for more information. Be part of the Jeun’INFO 2014 adventure! For details on the program:
iciradio-canada.ca/jeuninfo or jeuninfo@radio-canada.ca

Application deadline December 9, 2013

Each year, fifteen university students from across Canada are selected to participate in the Senate Page Program. The Senate Pages are responsible for a wide variety of activities associated with the legislative process. Moreover, they are given a direct opportunity to further their knowledge of parliamentary affairs by exposure to the rich tradition of Canada’s Parliamentary system and the Senate of Canada.

Senate Pages are enrolled as full-time undergraduate students in one of the four universities in the National Capital Region. They are hired on a one-year contract with the possibility of renewal for a second year. Pages also have the opportunity of remaining for a third year if chosen as Chief or Deputy Chief Page.Enter your description

For more information visit their website: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Employment/Senate/PageProgram/senpages-e.htm