French Immersion Students
Have Fun Competing
Brampton, ON, July 10, 2008 – Recently, 34 French Immersion students from Peel Region participated in the 2008 French Idol Charity Event. The event, hosted by Solid Choice Services, raised $557 and 188 pounds of non-perishable food items for Foodpath, Mississauga's largest food bank.
Nikita Lyfenko (Burnhamthorpe Public School) won first place in the monologue competition with his interpretation of Marie Lou – Casse-Cou; Julia Debowska (Burnhamthorpe Public School) won first place in the poem competition with her recitation of Le loup et le chien; Krista Johnson (Eagle Plains Public School) won first place in the song competition by singing Savoir qui je suis. The winners each received a trophy along with some French books.Their schools were also presented with a collection of French books.
Mme Josée Dumas-Hurt, the Peel District School Board's Instructional Co-ordinator for French Second Language, addressed the students in French and talked to parents about the importance of experiencing French outside of the classroom.Mme Lisa Gallant, of Solid Choice Services, said participants got involved for three reasons: to have fun, to practice their French, and to raise donations for Foodpath.
Mme Gallant told the audience that every $3.50 that was raised would feed one individual for 10 days.Mrs. Lorraine Hemond, Foodpath's Director of Community Relations, was presented with a $200 cheque. She thanked Solid Choice Services for partnering with them for the 3rd consecutive year to raise donations for Foodpath. The participants then had the opportunity to walk among the audience, each with a bank, to collect additional financial contributions.
Mark Albert, the event's emcee, shared some French trivia with the audience and introduced the competitors for each of the categories. The audience was entertained with French poems, songs and monologues.Each member of the audience cast a vote in each category.
Mme Gallant talked about how proud she was of every student that performed during the event and how she admired their persistence in practicing French. Every participant was presented with a medallion.
For more information, visit www.SolidChoiceServices.com or you may contact Lisa Gallant by telephone at 905-861-9792, or via e-mail at solidchoice@sympatico.ca.
Monologue Contestants – from left to right
Nikita (Burnhamthorpe P.S.), Mme Lisa Gallant (Solid Choice Services), Marina (Vista Heights P.S.)
Poem Contestants – from left to right
Front Row: Lakshmi (Burnhamthorpe P.S.), Alexis (Sheridan Park P.S.), Kingson (Burnhamthorpe P.S.), Isabelle (Vista Heights P.S.), Julia (Burnhamthorpe P.S.), Abhinav (Dorset Drive P.S.), Edward (Springfield Park P.S.), Back Row: Vaishaaly (Credit Valley P.S.), Agata (Springfield P.S.), Zainab (Oscar Peterson P.S.), Sherwin (Oscar Peterson P.S.), Syedah Zainab (Oscar Peterson P.S.), Daniel (Folkstone P.S.), Ishan (Credit Valley P.S.), Jason (Springfield P.S.)
Song Contestants – from left to right
Front Row: Michelle (Oscar Peterson P.S.), Aarrushi (Britannia P.S.), Gabriella (Eagle Plains P.S.), Aaliyah (Folkstone P.S.), Brendan (Vista Heights P.S.), Krista (Eagle Plains P.S.), Paige (Herb Campbell P.S.), Back Row: Chenniel (Dorset Drive P.S.), Erin (Credit Valley P.S.), Tanisha (Springfield P.S.), Oshai (Eagle Plains P.S.), Catherine (Vista Heights P.S.), Gabriel (Credit Valley P.S.), Sandra (Credit Valley P.S.), James (Springfield P.S.), Jenny (Burnhamthorpe P.S.)
Fun avec French offers programs that make practicing French fun. Elementary French Immersion students from Peel and Halton region have the opportunity to practice their French skills outside of school. Programs are offered during the fall, winter, spring, and summer out of Brampton, Mississauga, and Oakville locations. For more information, visit