聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Est-ce que tu parles fran莽ais? Do you speak French?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Canadian Parents for French 鈥� Saskatchewan are an organization which promotes bilingualism within the country. Locally, Wawota, has been active within their CPF chapter in bringing fun activities for youth to enjoy while learning French. One of these programs is the annual summer day camp, F锚te du Soleil, which has become a well-enjoyed feature each year by local youth.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Open to anyone in the area the camp required a small fee, but not only did the fee cover camp, it also gave membership to families for three years with CPF-SK.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Camp was held from Tuesday, July 14, to Thursday, July 16, with bilingual monitors provided by CPF-SK. The head monitor this year at the camp was Jo毛lle Gaudet, who has worked with CPF for a number of summers and has been to Wawota before.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚鈥檝e worked with the organization for many years,鈥� Gaudet said. 鈥淓very year there are French camps that CPF puts on around the province to promote French immersion and learning the language even if not in immersion programs. It encourages French studies. Kids sometimes reach a certain age and become uninterested in learning French, but if we can make it fun for them then they want to continue learning.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he program lets them practice French in the summer and they see the benefits of speaking French. For me, it鈥檚 my first language, for the other girls here it鈥檚 their second, but we can all show the kids what the benefits are of being bilingual.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Retired French teacher, Monique Meyers, was present at the camp. Meyers helped bring CPF to Wawota and continues to be involved with the program as she remains passionate about youth learning the language.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t warms my heart to hear the tiny voices speaking French, asking what a word is; it鈥檚 another way for them to express themselves in a safe place where they can experiment with the language in a fun and enjoyable way,鈥� Meyers said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 CPF-Wawota is hoping to possibly develop a relationship with 脡cole de Bellegarde and focus on developing French in the area further with excursions and possibly classes for parents interested in developing their French.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing programs disappearing in rural areas and this is a way to keep opportunities alive in small town communities because it鈥檚 easier to learn another language when you鈥檙e young than when you鈥檙e an adult. So, if we can do it, why not?鈥� Meyers explained.
