CPF BC & Yukon Chapter Representatives,

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.

There is important information in every CRU so make sure you read them and pass the info on at your meetings!      

À bientôt,

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

The CPF BC & Yukon Branch office has been flooded with phone calls and emails over the past month from parents tyring to register for French immersion. There are district wide FI wait lists in Surrey, Vancouver, and Vernon -- to name a few.

There's also a growing push from parents in communities like Tofino, Mackenzie, and Gibsons to create a FI program. 

Put quite simply, too many parents are currently being denied the opportunity to access French immersion programs for their children. 

The CPF BC & Yukon Branch office has been supporting parents and assisting with local advocacy efforts, where we can. 

We are also meeting with the Education Minister (Hon. Peter Fassbender) on March 24th to share the concerns of parents and to outline some solutions. 

To read more, see our open editorial in the The Province this past week.

Please help us share this article through your local networks. Parents need to know they're not alone.  

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/03/03/patti-holm-too-many-being-turned-away-from-french-immersion-in-b-c/

Looking for a number of volunteer positions for our provincial Concours d'Art Oratoire at Simon Fraser University Surrey campus. We are looking for:

• Judges
• Registration volunteers
• Hosts
• Lead volunteers

This annual event is lots of fun and counts towards volunteer hours, for students. We are also looking for adult volunteers to help lead/coordinate tables/other volunteers. 

For more information about organizing a local Concours d'art oratoire, and the registration dates, please visit: 

http://bc-yk.cpf.ca/actvities/youth-activities/concours-dart-oratoire/

For some common Concours FAQs click here.

The provincial Concours coordinator is Heather Bartlett, CPF BC & Yukon Projects Coordinator. You can reach Heather at: projects@cpf.bc.ca or 778.329.9115 ext. 317

Cranbrook - The second ever TM/Parkland Carnival Buddy Day in Cranbrook was a super event despite the cold. On Feb 5th, the local Canadian Parents for French Chapter hosted the event, which had grade 5/6 students from the elementary school (TM Roberts) go to the middle school (Parkland)  and 'buddy up' with the grade 7 French immersion students. The students had fun competing in sled races and paper ball throwing contests. Bonhomme was there with his big smile and received a warm welcome by the students.

Chetwynd - Hosted a pizza party for French Immersion Celebration Week, to acknowledge the hard work of their volunteers.

Campbell River - Made the news by fundraising for their 2014 grade 8 Quebec trip. Read about it in the Campbell River Mirror.

Delta - Celebrated their volunteers and French Immersion Celebration Week with Starbucks gift cards!

Ridge Meadows -  Hosted their annual film festival, showing Hugo and Ernest et Celestine.

Nelson - Students attended the annual Carnaval d'Hiver, with a sugar shack and hot chocolate. They recieved donations from Fortis BC and District Credit Union to host this fun event! Great job building partnerships Nelson!

North Vancouver - Hosted their annual film festival for students in both North and West Vancouver.

New Westminster - Celebrated their 25th year of Late French Immersion and their 10th year of Early French Immersion with a Pancake Breakfast with entertainment by Aude Ray! New Westminster Chapter was awarded the Mary Joyce Booth Endowment Award to fund this event.

South Cariboo  - Celebrated French Immersion Week by taking their volunteers out for lunch!

Surrey - Hosted their annual Carnaval d'Hiver with approx. 200 students in attendance. There were arts and crafts, prizes for signing up for membership, movies, storytime and treats. Bonhomme even made an appearance!

Williams Lake - Celebrated French Immersion Celebration week with students singing O Canada in French at City Hall, then heading off to a skating party where they enjoyed treats such as poutine and maple candy.

Vernon - Got together with treats to celebrate their volunteers and French Immersion Celebration Week.

Don't forget to send your Chapter's stories and photos to be included in upcoming CRUs!!

Chapter reps from all across the Lower Mainland gathered at Hart House in Burnaby for our Lower Mainland Regional Conference. In spite of a random snowstorm, all of our delegates made it out, worked hard and learned lots. We had a fundraising panel with a representative from a Rep A level softball team, our very own Tri-Cities President, Heidi leFaive and former City Councillor, MLA and MP, and current community activist, Penny Priddy. The morning's keynote, Ryan Williams from Tekara Organizational Solutions spoke of how people are motivated. After lunch, Glyn Lewis taught some chapter reps about governance while the other half of the group learned about applying for Gaming Grants. The last workshop of the day was organized by Kirsty and focused on community based partnership building and gave us the opportunity to connect with other organizations that would be interested in collaborating with our network. Presentations from this conference will be posted on our website within the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Photo - Greer Cummings, Director, Daphne Lu, Youth Director & Patti Holm, President CPF BC&YT

The DELF-DALF are a set of six independent diplomas issued by the French Ministry for National Education that recognize the French-language skills of people whose first language is not French. These diplomas were developed by the Centre International d'Etudes Pédagogiques (CIEP), a public operator for the French Ministry of Education.

Recognized and used by employers, administrators, and educational institutions around the world, the DELF-DALF diplomas are harmonized with the six levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). The CEFRL is an international reference framework adopted by the European Union and by other countries around the world. It allows for standardized evaluation of language skills in a person's non-native language. In pedagogical terms, the CEFRL is based on teaching practices that allow the learner to organize his or her own learning, with activities designed to promote mastery of four key skills: oral comprehension, oral expression, written comprehension, and written expression.

Check out their new website here: New DELF Website

CPF and Conseil jeunesse francophone de la Colombie-Brtiannique (CJFCB) partnered up within the framework of the forum to welcome in Vancouver secondary school youth (grades 10, 11 and 12) from the Whistler, Nanaimo and Victoria areas for 2 nights.

We are looking for host families to provide accommodation for 2 to 3 people per family (a mix of youth and teacher accompanying them), for the nights of Thursday April 24 and Friday April 25.

The forum regroups 200 FSL (French Second Language) and FFL (French First Language) high school students for the opportunity to discover and experience the cultural and professional value of continuing a bilingual education. During a full day in French of interactive workshops, visits of our exhibitors’ lounge, surprise special guests, music, fun and networking, each student gathers tools and inspiration to pursue a bilingual post secondary education and/or professional career. Registrations close on march 16.

Organized this year by the CJFCB, the forum will take place on Friday April 25, 2014 at SFU-Burnaby.

Originally exclusive to schools of the greater Vancouver, the invitation to the forum will be extended this year to a few other areas: Whistler, Nanaimo and Victoria as previously mentioned; this initiative is made possible by CPF.

Looking for parents
• Francophone or Francophile, or with a child in a French program
• Preference: one parent speaks French
• Preference: child or children attending the forum
• Preference: family with children of similar ages
• Preference: in the Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Richmond, Vancouver, North Vancouver, or West Vancouver areas
• Submit your interest/candidacy by March 23, 2014.

You will be compensated for 3 meals you will provide to your guests (Dinner-april 24, dinner-april 25, breakfast april 26), and may be subject to a criminal record check if selected.

For more info visit: French for the Future

Le Conseil jeunesse de la Colombie-Britannique est présentement à la recherche d’entraîneurs pour encadrer la délégation qui représentera la province aux Jeux de la francophonie canadienne (JFC) qui se dérouleront du 23 au 27 juillet prochain à Gatineau, au Québec.
Êtes-vous un expert en sports ou en art s? Nous vous offrons l'opportunité de recruter et d'entraîner  la délégation de la C.-B.  dans les volets suivants:

Sport :Athlétisme, Badminton, Basketball, Volley-ball, Frisbee Ultime

Art :Arts visuels, Musique, Slam

Les JFC représentent le plus grand rassemblement jeunesse d’expression française au Canada. Organisés par la Fédération de la  jeunesse canadienne française (FJCF), ils permettront à 1200 participants de 14 à 18 ans d'exprimer leurs talents en sports, arts  et leadership. Le Conseil jeunesse francophone de la C.-B. a pour mission de faire briller la Colombie-Britannique lors de cet événement national.

Pour plus d’informations ou pour déposer votre candidature, rendez-vous sur www.cjfcb.com