Promoting French culture is this year’s goal for Sylvan Lake French immersion parents, who met last Wednesday for the annual general meeting of the Sylvan Lake chapter of Canadian Parents for French (CPF).
About 10 parents discussed ways in which students and the community can learn more about French culture.
“It’s really important to have activities to help the children see what the culture is actually about,” said Cherie Cardinal, president of CPF’s Sylvan Lake chapter.
“It gives the language itself some purpose for them. Rather than just learning the language in class, they actually see where the language has come from.”
Cardinal said several French-related activities would likely be held in coming months and would be open to all students, not just those enrolled in French immersion programs.
“We work alongside the schools and other parents to help promote (French culture), because the schools themselves don’t get a lot of additional funding for cultural activities for French,” she said.
“We try and bring activities that would reflect that culture, so we’ll bring in performers who are French speaking so that the children see the French language and hear it in social, interacting ways.”
Cardinal said that such activities allow children to hear the French language being used in a conversational context outside the classroom.
The group is also planning on working with schools to bring a book fair with French resources to Sylvan Lake.
As well as promoting French culture and French immersion, CPF offers support to parents who don’t speak French, and allows them access to a number of resources.
This, according to Cardinal, enables parents to help their children do better in school.
CPF’s Sylvan Lake chapter meets five times a year at Sylvan Lake Municipal Library.
The group’s next meeting is set for May 27 at 6:30 p.m.