Click here for the 2025-26 French Immersion online application.
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 HWDSB students starting in Grade 1.
An immersion program means that French is not only the medium in which subjects are taught, but it is also the means of communication between students and the teacher in the classroom and, as much as possible, beyond the classroom.
French Immersion requires that French must be the language of instruction for a minimum of 50 per cent of the total instructional time and provide a minimum of 3,800 hours of French instruction by the end of grade 8. At HWDSB, we strive to offer more than the minimum requirement each year from grades 1 to 6. In grades 7 and 8, 50 to 60 per cent of the program is taught in French.
Click here to visit the French as a Second Language page.
Click here to visit the Core French page.
2025-26 French Immersion Application Process
Applications for Grade 1 entry into French Immersion are only accepted through the online application form. The link to the application form will be posted to the French Immersion page linked above on October 28, 2024.
This application is only available to current Senior Kindergarten students. To be eligible for the 2025-26 school year, your child must have been born in 2019.
Senior Kindergarten families can find a list of important dates below. The French Immersion Virtual Information Night took place on October 17. Click here to watch a recording.
- October 17, 2024: French Immersion Virtual Information Night
- October 28, 2024: Application form opens
- December 1, 2024: Application form closes
- December 16, 2024: Families notified of application outcome
- January 12, 2025: Deadline for families to accept or decline their placement
HWDSB guarantees a placement within the French Immersion program, but not necessarily the closest neighbourhood school. Here is the criteria for French Immersion placement:
- Availability of the program closest to the student’s home address, based on their French Immersion boundary.
- Grade 1 siblings entering French Immersion may attend the same school as their older sibling currently in French Immersion, space permitting.
- Balance of English and French Immersion enrolment in dual track schools (50-60 per cent in English or French).
- Year over year impact as students progress through Grades 1-8.
French Immersion Schools
Please see the list below to explore HWDSB schools offering French Immersion programming for the 2024-25 school year. Visit our find a school page and view school boundary maps for French Immersion to find what school your child would attend.
Click here to view the list of 2024-45 French Immersion schools!
| Sherwood Secondary School Cluster | Westdale Secondary School Cluster |
| A.M. Cunningham (Gr. 1-5) Eastdale (Gr. 1-8) École Élémentaire Michaëlle Jean (Gr. 1-8) Frank Panabaker (Gr. 1-8) Lawfield (Gr. 1-8) Norwood Park (Gr. 1-8) Parkdale (Gr. 1-5) W.H. Ballard (Gr. 6-8) |
Bennetto (Gr. 1-8) Cootes Paradise (Gr. 1-5) Dalewood (Gr. 6-8) Dundana (Gr. 1-5) Earl Kitchener (Gr. 1-5) Flamborough Centre (Gr. 6-7) Guy B. Brown (Gr. 1-8) Kanétskare (Gr. 6-8) Mary Hopkins (Gr. 1-5) Sir William Osler (Gr. 6-8) |
Transportation
Transportation to a French Immersion program offered at your child’s in-catchment school is offered according to HWDSB’s Transportation Policy.
Transportation for French Immersion is offered to students whose in catchment school exceeds the walking distances of 1.6 kilometers for Grade 1 to 8 students. The method of transportation for elementary French Immersion is:
- Grades 1 to 6 – Black and Yellow Buses with community stops. A community stop is a centrally-located stop, similar to a transit style stop, for students and may not be within walking distance of a student’s home. Community stops may change year to year based on the home addresses of students.
- Grades 7 and 8 – HSR (unless there is an existing route that accommodates these students)
Where HSR is not available, alternative transportation will be provided.
Transportation to a French Immersion program offered at an out-of-catchment school, for example, a school that is not your child’s neighbourhood school, is the responsibility of the parent/guardian.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
French Immersion email for further questions: [email protected]
Why does HWDSB have an application process for French Immersion?
The purpose of a system application process is to ensure that all students who wish to take French Immersion programming are able to do so. The process is designed to accommodate all students who apply.
A Grade 1 system-wide application process for entry to French Immersion allows for program placement of students, monitoring of accommodations, balance of enrolment and long-term stability of the French Immersion program. Grade 1 French Immersion classes for the next school year as established based on the home addresses used on applications.
When a student is accessing French Immersion, placement is determined by the availability of openings within schools providing the Program. HWDSB guarantees a placement within the French Immersion program, but not necessarily the closest neighbourhood school.
My neighbourhood school has French Immersion. When I register, will my child have priority to attend that school?
Students who live within the boundary of the neighbourhood school are considered in-catchment students. Although every effort is made to place students in the program at their in-catchment school, living in-catchment, does not provide priority to that school.
We have an older child in French Immersion at the in-catchment school our younger child would attend. How can I ensure they are in the same school?
Grade 1 siblings entering French Immersion may attend the same school as their older sibling currently in French Immersion, provided the older child will remain at that school for the 2024-2025 school year. Applicants with siblings who will attend FI at the school in 2024-25 will be offered a placement prior to the random selection process, if it is required.
Placement within a school is determined by the availability of openings within the school and the receipt of the online application. The guarantee is placement within the French Immersion program – not necessarily the neighbourhood school.
Do FI classes ever end up in split class situations (i.e. Grade 1 / 2)? How does this impact learning and curriculum?
In HWDSB schools, both in the English and French programs, combined classes can happen depending on enrolment numbers for the academic year. Learning continues for all students in a combined class, as our educators are experienced in providing programming that meets the needs of all learners as well as advancing their proficiency in the French language to become bilingual and biliterate learners.
How is French taught and introduced to non-French speaking students? What subjects or topics will be in French versus English?
A typical day in the French Immersion program looks very similar to a day in an English class, except that most subjects are delivered in French. In Grade 1, there are many opportunities to play with words through song, plays and poems. The literacy program in Grade 1, aims to ensure that young learners acquire the strong foundational skills necessary to read and write effectively in the French language.
At HWDSB, French as a Second Language students will move through various stages of learning French to develop their speaking skills. First, students will:
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Learn and use the basics of the French language
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Understand simple words and expressions
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Communicate with others
As they continue to be exposed to the language, students will:
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Work towards becoming independent users of the language
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Start to understand and communicate in familiar and increasingly complex situations
Finally, students may:
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Work towards increased proficiency to become functionally bilingual
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Understand virtually everything heard or read
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Express themselves in French in any given situation
What sort of support is offered to students who encounter difficulties in the program?
French Immersion educators get to know your child as language learners who are actively, listening, speaking, reading and writing. As previously mentioned, the goal of the French Immersion program is to develop students’ proficiency in French while building a mastery in English. French Immersion is an inclusive program that recognizes that each child is unique, and we honour the entry points and developments of ALL students regardless of the needs within the program.
The program at my home school is full. What happens now?
In cases where there are no available openings at the in-catchment school, an offer will be made to a program at the next closest school that has available space. The guarantee is placement within the French Immersion program – not necessarily the neighbourhood school.
If my child arrives at HWDSB later than October, can they enroll in Grade 1 French Immersion?
Students moving to HWDSB from another board may be offered a French Immersion program location based on an assessment conducted by the in-catchment school. This assessment confirms the student has enough background in French to not be behind their peers. Students who are deemed ready will be offered a placement in their French Immersion catchment school if space permits. If there is no space in the French Immersion catchment school, the placement will be offered in another school with French Immersion programming, and no transportation will be provided.
If my child does not begin the Grade 1 French Immersion program, can I provide tutoring to enroll in Grade 2?
For families that are interested in the program after the Grade 1 entry point a French Proficiency assessment is required. In order to qualify for the assessment, a student must have academic experience (enrolment in a French Immersion program at another school board) or life experience in the French language where the family speaks the language.
What happens if I miss the application deadline?
Applications received after the deadline will be reviewed at the beginning of April and then the beginning of each month until September. Placement is determined by the availability of openings within schools providing the Program. The guarantee is placement within the French Immersion program – not necessarily the neighbourhood school.
French Immersion Resources
- Canadian Parents for French
- Parent Guide to Supporting Your Child’s Success in French Immersion and Extended French
- You can also connect with Hamilton’s Francophone community to learn about events and activities.
- French Immersion Curriculum Grades 1-8
- HWDSB French Immersion Boundary Maps
French Immersion email for further questions: [email protected]
Updated on Monday, October 28, 2024.