Parents of SK students

February 7, 2017

Dear Parents and Guardians,

HWDSB recently approved a new French Immersion (FI) program at Mary Hopkins beginning in September 2017. The program will be offered to Grades 1 to 3 for students living in the Balaclava, Flamborough Centre and Mary Hopkins boundary. Students living in the Guy Brown and A.A. Greenleaf boundary continue to access FI at Guy Brown.

Please consider the following when registering your child in French Immersion:

• French Immersion is a proven way of acquiring excellent language skills in French. The French Immersion program at HWDSB is specifically designed for parents who do not speak French but want their children to speak both official languages. The program is open to all students in Hamilton‐Wentworth starting in Grade 1.
• It is highly recommended that you discuss your intentions with your child’s current teacher and or Learning Resource Teacher, as they can provide valuable insights.
• You may gain more information about the French Immersion program by visiting the board website: https://www.hwdsb.on.ca /Programs tab and then French Immersion listed on the left side.

To assist with accurate enrolment projections each of our schools needs to know your intentions for September 2017. Please return this letter to your child’s teacher by February 28, 2017.

• English Grade 1 or
• French Immersion Grade 1

Child’s name: _________________________________________

Parent’s signature: _____________________________________                 Date: ___________________

Please note: If you live in the new Mary Hopkins FI catchment area and do not have a child currently attending Guy Brown FI you will need to attend the office of Mary Hopkins to register your child for French Immersion for September 2017. If you have a child currently attending FI at Guy Brown and intend to register your Grade 1 child as an out of catchment student at Guy Brown, you will need to attend the office of Guy Brown to register your Grade 1 child for September 2017.

(If you elect to have your child attend Guy Brown out-of-catchment, they are not eligible to receive busing transportation. Although the older sibling may be receiving transportation to Guy Brown, you will have to apply for courtesy transportation as your Grade 1 FI child will be an out-of-catchment student. This means that your child will only receive transportation if there is available room on the bus and it does not affect the bus route or current stops.)

To help students adjust to moving to Mary Hopkins for French Immersion we will be setting up a Transition Committee and will be looking for parent participation on this committee. More information about this committee will be sent out soon.

Sincerely,

Ms. J. George, Principal