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BC Association of Teachers of Modern Languages
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French Immersion Celebration Week marks 50 years of French immersion in B.C.

6/2/2019

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Adapted from: https://cpf.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/j/7661389A782E4C0A2540EF23F30FEDED/2540670FCE52AB973EDEEDC46EB9B960

VICTORIA - Students are joining in French immersion Celebration Week events from Feb. 4-10, 2019, marking 50 years of the education program helping students in B.C. to become bilingual.
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“As we celebrate 50 years of French immersion in the province, let’s reflect upon how incredibly positive it is that so many B.C. families see the benefits of bilingualism, and that French immersion is growing tremendously in popularity,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Education. “This week is a great chance to shine a bright light on the educators and school staff who are creating innovative French language programs that empower kids throughout British Columbia.”
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Above: Parents from Greater Vancouver and the Island meet in 1978 to discuss joining forces to advocate for French immersion in B.C. The group would later become CPF BC & Yukon.
Learning French can connect kids to Franco Canadian culture and enriches travel experiences to countries where French is spoken. Studies show bilingualism has a positive impact on children’s intellectual development, giving them a better aptitude for learning new concepts, problem solving and multi-tasking. Being bilingual also opens more job opportunities.

“With the growing popularity of French Immersion, it becomes even more important to have programs and services available in the province for people who speak French,” said Adrian Dix, Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs in B.C. “It is very gratifying to me to know that French language and culture in our Province are strong and continue to flourish in large part because of our French Immersion students, teachers and families.”
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“We want to thank all the parents and educators who have given so many hours over the years to promoting and supporting bilingualism in communities all around the province,” said Glyn Lewis, executive director of the Canadian Parents for French – B.C. & Yukon. “Thanks in large part to their efforts, hundreds of thousands of young British Columbians have been enriched over the years by learning our official languages. What an incredible milestone to celebrate!”
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Above: Skating with Bonhomme Carnaval is a popular activity put on by many CPF BC & Yukon Chapters to celebrate French-Canadian culture.
Students, teachers and families throughout the province will participate in French-inspired events organized by the Canadian Parents for French. Many schools will host events, and some are open to the public, including:
  • a 50 Years of French Immersion Celebration on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at Pitt River Middle school in Coquitlam;
  • the Carnaval d’hiver in Nelson on Friday, Feb. 8, where students will have a visit from Bonhomme and an outdoor fire;
  • the Maple Man event in Saanich on Jan. 24 and Feb. 25, where 800 elementary school students will learn about the sugar shacks of Quebec; and
  • a French movie night on Friday, Feb. 8 at the Kitimat Community Theatre.
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Above: Storyteller Anne Glover performs with a Grade 12 student at École Pitt River Middle School, February 5th 2019.
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Above: Mr. Henri Roy (left), student in the inaugural French immersion class at Alderson Elementary in 1968-69 along with lifelong friend, and Coquitlam district language coordinator, Mme. Sophie Bergeron (right).
Quick Facts:
  • French immersion classes in B.C. started in the 1968-69 school year at Alderson Elementary in Coquitlam with a group of 32 kindergarten students. Now, 53,995 students attend French immersion classes, which is about 9.5% of the B.C. public school population. British Columbia has experienced an increase of 23% more French immersion students in the last 10 years.
  • To meet the growing demand for French language teachers, the Ministry of Education is leading several initiatives to attract more French educators to British Columbia, including:
    • Adding 74 teacher education seats at post-secondary institutions, with 37 student teachers doing their practicum in classrooms this year.
    • International partnerships that have meant 17 teachers from France have been certified to work in B.C., and an additional 31 applications from France and Belgium are awaiting evaluation for certification.
    • Scholarship awards of $3,000 each for prospective teachers from France who want to work in B.C.
    • Bursaries of up to $1,600 to students enrolled in French teacher education programs in B.C., with funding from the Government of Canada.
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Explore Program has expanded!

4/2/2019

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The extremely popular Explore program has expanded! There is now a three-week option for students aged 13-15 to participate in this enriching immersion experience all in French at one of three sites: Jonquière, Que., La Pocatière, Que., and Moncton, New Brunswick. There is a registration fee of $275 and students pay their return transportation to the site. Participants in Explore can receive funding that covers tuition fees for the program, instructional materials, meals and accommodations, workshops, and other activities. The program will be offered twice in 2019: July 1 to 22 and July 22 - August 12. Visit the website myexplore.ca and choose the youth option for more details. Students need to have completed their application by February 15, 2019.

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2019: Year of the Pig

3/2/2019

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Tuesday, February 5th, 2019 marks the first day of the year of the Pig, according to the traditional Chinese calendar. According to the Chinese astrology, 2019 is a great year to make money, and a good year to invest! 2019 is going to be full of joy, a year of friendship and love for all the zodiac signs; an auspicious year because the Pig attracts success in all the spheres of life.

Just in time for the big day, your French students can learn and discuss the cultural similarities and differences with these activity worksheets we have created. Gong hei fat choy!
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nouvel_an_chinois_2019.pdf
File Size: 232 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Dhahan Prize Youth Award 2018

2/11/2018

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Adapted from: https://www.surreyschools.ca/NewsEvents/Posts/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=659​
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​The Dhahan Prize Youth Award is the only one of its kind in B.C.. It aims to encourage storytelling and experience-sharing by students, not only to promote literacy and strengthen the Punjabi language among Canadian-born youth, but to foster tolerance and understanding.

The contest invites senior secondary students from across the province to submit their Punjabi-language stories. This year, 41 short stories were submitted and translated into English. An independent jury judged the writing and winners were selected.

Students won a $500 cash prize and their stories are published in an anthology that will also be distributed free to Surrey schools. Five of the eight Dhahan prizes were awarded to students from Surrey School District's Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and L. A. Matheson secondary schools. The other winning students were from North Delta Secondary and two students from Abbotsford's Dashmesh School. 
The awards were handed out at a ceremony on October 21 at the University of British Columbia.

Submissions for the Dhahan Prize 2019 are now being accepted online.
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BCATML Lifetime Honorary Award revived!

21/10/2018

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It has been ten years since BCATML has bestowed a Lifetime Honorary Award. This prestigious award recognizes the outstanding contributions an individual has made to BCATML and its members, as well as promoting the teaching of second languages in British Columbia. At this year's Celebrating Languages Conference, BCATML's Executive Committee decided to honour two outstanding educational leaders who have clearly demonstrated an unwavering commitment towards second language education, not only in British Columbia, but also across Canada. This year's recipients are Diane Tijman and Dr. Wendy Carr.

Both Diane Tijman and Dr. Wendy Carr served on BCATML's Executive Committee in a variety of roles, including president between 2004-2006 and 2006-2008, respectively. They each have also served with the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT), as well as Canadian Parents for French (CPF). While neither could be in attendance at this year's Annual General Meeting, both expressed their gratitude and heartfelt thanks for this award and were with us in spirit through the day tweeting from the Canadian Parents for French national convention. Congratulations and felicitations!

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New Executive for BCATML!

20/10/2018

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Members of BCATML's new and old Executive Committee. From left to right: Cindy Lister, Antonella Garcia, Tanya Campbell, Jacqueline Alvarado Cruz, Angela Kleine-Buning, Wendy Yamazaki, Stacia Johnson, Kindra Harte, Andrew McFayden, Ping Li, Stacey Sveistrup, Amandeep Chhina, Grace Ho, Trish Kolber, Rome Lavrencic.
Friday, October 19th, 2018

BCATML's signature event - Celebrating Languages - brought together over 400 Second Language Teachers, Educators, Retirees, TTOCs, Pre-Service Teachers, Exhibitors, Publishers, and Ministry representatives from différents parts of BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, the United States, and Saxony, Germany! This was a truly international second languages conference.

At the Annual General Meeting, the BCATML membership voted in its new Executive Committee for 2018-19. They are: Rome Lavrencic (President), Stacey Sveistrup (Vice-President), Wendy Yamazaki (Treasurer), Antonella Garcia (Secretary & Membership), Tanya Campbell (Elementary & Middle Years Rep.), Trish Kolber (French Rep.), Angela Kleine-Buning (German Rep.), Grace Ho (Japanese Rep.), Ping Li (Mandarin Rep.), Andrew McFayden (Other Languages Rep.), Amandeep Chhina (Punjabi Rep.), Kindra Harte (Spanish Rep.), and Cindy Lister (Web Manager).

President Rome Lavrencic gave special acknowledgement to this year's Conference Co-Chairs, Stacey Sveistrup and Kindra Harte, as well as the other members of the Conference Committee for their outstanding leadership and tireless commitment towards hosting an incredible day of learning and inspiration for all. Special thanks and acknowledgement were also given to this year's Executive retirees. Stacia Johnson has served on the Executive Committee for the last four years in the roles of Japanese Rep and Other Languages Rep. Jacqueline Alvarado Cruz has served on the Executive Committee for the last two years in the role of Spanish Rep. BCATML thanks both of these incredible women for their volunteerism and commitment towards improving second language education for all of British Columbia.

​^RL
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Ministry releases new classroom Assessment and Reporting tools

15/10/2018

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The Ministry of Education has recently updated its website and provided a number of resources and tools for teachers, parents, and students to use aligned to the redesigned curriculum. The Ministry has committed to providing new supports for classroom assessment over the next two years. One of the materials in the recent update includes the Assessment Literacy in B.C. video as well as several Kindergarten to Grade 9 classroom assessment supports.

Visit https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/classroom-assessment-and-reporting for more details.
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Nominees for BCATML's Executive Committee 2018-19

13/10/2018

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BCATML will vote its new Executive Committee at this year's Annual General Meeting at the Richmond Executive Airport Plaza Hotel on Friday, October 19th, 2018. Nominations from the floor will be called three times. All contested positions will be voted by a single slate ballot. Nominated names may only be submitted for a single position. Only active BCTF members in good standing with BCATML may run for office and vote.

This year's list of nominees are as follows:

Table Officers: 
President:                             Rome Lavrencic
Vice-President:                      Stacey Sveistrup
Treasurer:                             Wendy Yamazaki
Secretary & Membership:        Antonella Garcia

Other Members: 
Elementary/Middle Years:       Tanya Campbell
French representative:           Trish Kolber
German representative:          Angela Kleine-Buning
Japanese representative:        Grace Ho
Mandarin representative:        Ping Li
Punjabi representative:          Amandeep Chhina
Spanish representative:          Kindra Harte
Other Languages rep:            Andrew McFayden
Web Manager:                      Cindy Lister


For a full listing all Executive roles and responsibilities, please visit our website (www.bcatml.org) under the About tab or download the summary in the file below.
bcatml_executive_roles.pdf
File Size: 136 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Constitutional amendment for BCATML at this year's Annual General Meeting

13/10/2018

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BCATML's Executive Committee regularly reviews its constitution and makes necessary amendments as needed. At this year's Annual General Meeting on Friday, October 19th at the Richmond Executive Airport Plaza Hotel, BCATML will present an amendment to its constitution.

Motion: That Article 5 – Committees be amended to remove all co-positions as per BCTF recommendation and policy, and to add the role of Web Manager to the Executive. The Executive Committee shall not exceed 14 members.

The proposed amendment will read as follows:
  
Article 5 - Committees
1. The executive committee shall consist of the Past-president and the following members in good standing, all to be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the BCATML, for a term of one year. The executive committee shall not exceed 14 members.

a. Table officers:                                             b. Other members:
i. Past-president                                              i. Elementary/Middle Years Rep
ii. President                                                 ii. French representative
iii. Vice-president                                           iii. German representative
iv. Secretary/Membership                                iv. Japanese representative
v. Treasurer                                                 v. Mandarin representative
                                                                   vi. Punjabi representative
                                                                   vii. Spanish representative
                                                                  viii. Other Languages representative
                                                                   ix. Web Manager

The constitution may be amended by a 75 percent majority vote of members present at the Annual General Meeting. Only active BCTF members in good standing with BCATML are eligible to vote. 
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2018 Building Language Bridges Anthology by Maria Davradou

16/9/2018

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An anthology showcasing the work of the staff, students, and extended family of L.A. Matheson Secondary in Surrey was recently published by Maria Davradou. The hope of the publisher is to share her love of language and art, and how effectively we can all communicate regardless of our culture.

Visit the  following link to download  your copy:
https://issuu.com/languagebridges/docs/2018_davradou_anthology_-_issuu

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BCATML is the BC Association of Teachers of Modern Languages, a Provincial Specialist Association of the BC Teachers' Federation.

Website last updated February 11, 2021.

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