September 2013
Dear Cliffside Parents,
I would like to use this newsletter to reintroduce myself as the French Teacher at Cliffside Public School, and to familiarize you with the Core French program I will be teaching this year.
“The aim of The Ontario Curriculum : French as a Second Language - Core French, Grades 4-8 curriculum (1998) is to develop basic communication skills in French and an understanding of the nature of the language, as well as an appreciation of French culture \in Canada and in other parts of the world. The Core French program offers students a valuable educational experience and the opportunity to develop a basic usable command of the French language that can be expanded through further study or contact with French-speaking people.”
In order to help students develop the required knowledge and skills in the Ontario Curriculum, the following learning materials will be used this year :
Grade 4: Visages 1 & 2 Grade 5/6 class : Visages 2 & 3 Grade 7/8 class : Passages 1 & 2
The above learning materials contain a wide variety of highly interesting themes and activities that focus on developing the skills, abilities and attitudes required for the ongoing development of communicative competence in French. The major emphasis in all grades is on Oral Communication (speaking and listening), with a slightly greater emphasis on Reading and Writing at the grade 7 and 8 level.
As a French Teacher, I concentrate on providing my students with a balanced, challenging and meaningful program that motivates them to learn, and to want to learn and use French. Personally, as a musician, I still strive to integrate rhythmic and music activities into my lessons, both to motivate students and to give them a variety of ways to rehearse their French. I also continue to use many games and challenges during French class as another means for students to use French in a meaningful and fun way. Outside of regular classroom time, I also encourage students, and their parents, to visit the library and internet for further resources to learn and practice their French, which would be much more preferable to homework worksheets. Unfortunately my own French website has expired on the internet, but current search engines are now very adept at finding online resources for learning French. Even popular websites such as YouTube contain useful educational resources for honing oral French skills.
On the back of this letter, I have photocopied some additional information about learning French. I look forward to working with your child this year, and to hearing from you. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at the school, or to e-mail me at :
[email protected]
À bientôt!
Mr. R. Veilands