Two Moose Jaw Catholic schools will continue offering French immersion programming for the 2024-25 school year, with French used to instruct pupils in classrooms 50 to 90 per cent of the time.
All school divisions are required to submit forms to the Ministry of Education by Feb. 15 about which schools will offer French immersion for the coming year.
The form lists each school seeking designation, the grades involved and the percentage of time French is used as the language of instruction for each grade. This process applies to new grade-level designation applications and renewals of previously approved programming.
For the 2024-25 year, Holy Trinity Catholic School Division plans to re-submit École St. Margaret School and Vanier Collegiate for approval as sites of French immersion education.
At St. Margaret, 90 per cent of instruction in kindergarten to Grade 2 is in French, 70 per cent in grades 3 to 5 is in French and 68 per cent in grades 6 to 8 is in French.
Meanwhile, at least 50 per cent of instruction in all grades at Vanier will be in French. However, some classes may have more instruction in that language depending upon what they are.
Division administration presented the designation form at the Jan. 15 board meeting for trustees’ approval.
Sarah Phipps, superintendent of learning, explained that the percentages of classes taught in French are similar to last year and in the past.
“At every grade level, there is a minimum (provincial) requirement that we surpass by far,” she said.
While division administration has French instruction for St. Margaret students in grades 3 to 5 pegged at 70 per cent, that number could be closer to 75 per cent, stated Phipps. However, since it doesn’t know what staffing will be like there next year, it has left that number as is since an English teacher with prep time could decrease that amount of French instruction.
This is an interesting process because the division office has Phipps scheduled in the annual work plan to submit this data in January, but the ministry usually sends in a different form after the board meeting, said education director Ward Strueby.
“If we don’t approve it now, then we can’t approve it in time to get it into the ministry … . So the form going into the ministry will look a little different, but the numbers will stay the same,” he added.
The next Holy Trinity board meeting is Monday, Feb. 12.
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