Week #4

September 28 - October 2, 2009

It was wonderful meeting and chatting with so many parents at last week's open house. I appreciate the value that you place on our French program at South Branch, and will continue to strive to provide your children with a high quality education in French.

This week, we will continue presentations of ourselves as they have been created in individual classes. The Grade 4 and Grade 8 classes will begin working with verbs using music...this is always entertaining!

There will be some minor evaluation taking place this week regarding classroom objects in Grades 2 and 4.

Have a great week!

Madame Smith :)

Week #3

We are busy, busy, busy!! We are continuing work on last week's content and are getting our work on display for Thursday night. Please make a point of coming to see me and introduce yourself. I believe that a strong parent - teacher relationship is beneficial to your child's learning.

Please feel free to contact me at any time at the school. Please leave me a voicemail and I will return your call as soon as possible.

Have a great week!

Madame Smith :)

September 14, 2009

And we're off!!


Happy Week #2!

This week, all classes will continue review of language structures and classroom articles that have been learned in previous years. All classes will be working on a "personal" project that will be presented to the class in an informal manner. The products of these activities will be on display at our Open House on September 24th.

I would like to take this opportunity to re-introduce myself and express how excited I am to be teaching your child French throughout the 2009-2010 school year. This year, I will be working with students in the following classes:

Kindergarten (Bryan A&B + Lance)

Grade One (Polley)

Grade One/Two (Gaw)

Grade Two (Matheson & Radley)

Grade Four (Ross)

Grade Eight (Price & McCracken)

Over the next ten months, we will be using the AIM Approach for learning French as a second language. This method of teaching relies on using gestures to provide meaning to the vocabulary being presented in class, while using a play to provide interest and context to the language. This program aligns itself with the arts focus of our school and motivates students to feel comfortable to express themselves in a positive learning environment. I will be encouraging everyone to communicate in French as much as possible in order to develop his or her understanding and appreciation for the language. Practice is the key to success!

I will communicate monthly via our school newsletter to keep you aware of what to expect in the coming month. I will also be using my blog on a weekly basis to inform parents of upcoming assignments and due dates for the older grades. The address for the blog is http://madamesmith.blogspot.com/ .

As always, I invite you to contact me at the school should you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's progress throughout the school year. I look forward to meeting you. I believe that we can work co-operatively to make your child's experience in French a positive one. I thank you in advance for your help and support.

Madame Smith