Minutes of the Hamilton-Wentworth Executive
Thursday May 23, 2002

Members: Rosalind Minaji, Julie Senecal Tremblay, Marie Patenaude, Frank Torelli Tracey Cseresnyes, Lori Prevec, Dean Alex
Guest: Mary Finstad
Regrets: Andrew Vowles, Deborah Doody, Kerry Dolan, Anne Gaeton, Kim MacDonald

The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 7:15 p.m. Minutes were recorded by Dean Alex.

1. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES:

The minutes of April 18 were approved by Julie Senecal Tremblay.

2. UPDATES:

Volunteer hours:
The total volunteer hours were logged since the last CPF meeting but not totalled.

Treasurer's Report:
Balance on hand $720.93
Expenditures $248.40 (Newsletter)
Deposits $614.77 (estimated from Champlain booksale at Earl Kitchener School)

Membership report: Eleven new members from our area have joined the CPF.

Chapter Outreach:
A meeting was held on May 6 with Mr. Hilaire Lemoine, Director-General, Official Languages Support Programs Branch, Canadian Heritage. Julie, Heather Sabbagh (CPF Ontario volunteer) and Roz met with him at the Hamilton airport to discuss local and national issues. They told him what our Chapter has been doing, what a great asset our Board's FSL Consultant is, discussed concerns about the FI Review in Hamilton, the lack of transportation for FI in Hamilton, and the difficulty parents in Waterdown are having establishing their own program.

Mr. Lemoine mentioned that the Department of Canadian Heritage is going to be looking at French language education funding this Fall. He asked if CPF Hamilton Wentworth could be consulted again at that time. Rather than just throwing more money into the Provincial pot, the Federal government wants to consider the best means of directing funding so that it will actually benefit those at the local level, (they don't feel they can dictate where the local School Boards spend their money).

CPF's suggestions to Mr. Lemoine were:
· provide additional special funds for transportation;
· either fund Board FSL consultants or provide Federal employees at the local level to promote the benefits of French and support teachers, parents, students etc.;
· increase the promotion of a bilingual Canada -that's why parents were lining up to register in the 1970s.

A group from the Waterdown area want to approach the HWDSB about starting a new French Immersion program in Waterdown. They have assembled 22 interested parents who wish to place their children in FI.

3. SPECIAL EVENTS

Book Sale: The book sale held on Tuesday May 14 at Earl Kitchener School was a big success. Approximately $5000 of books and accessories were sold. Champlain Bookstore will be sending CPF approximately $614 as our share of the proceeds. It was agreed to make this an annual event. Additionally, it was proposed that other booksellers (such as Usborne Books) be approached for presence at other Hamilton-Wentworth CPF events.

Picnic: CPF members would be welcome at the French Community Event celebrating St John De Baptiste. The Fete de la St. Jean picnic will be held on Sunday June 23 at Pier 4 Park in Hamilton. Roz will distribute posters once the details of the event are forwarded by the Centre Francais Hamilton Inc.

4. COMMUNICATIONS:

Newsletter: The second newsletter has been sent out, and it was identified that there is a need to include information from all schools.

Parent Conference: An email to the Hamilton-Wentworth CPF was received inviting our organization to conduct a seventy-five minute workshop in conjunction with a French Immersion Teacher at the Hamilton Wentworth Parent Conference on November 16, 2002. It was agreed to send a positive response back.

Web site: Roz is updating the information regularly.

5. FRENCH IMMERSION REVIEW:

We are waiting for further developments from the HWDSB Trustee's regarding the French Immersion Review. The next staff report will contain the most critical decisions and we will need to pay close attention to the Board agendas.

6. CONVERSATIONAL FRENCH:

It was felt that this would be an excellent item to offer our members this Fall or Winter. Julie will continue to follow up with CPF Ontario and everyone should be thinking about potential instructors.

7. MAKING CONTACTS:

Julie and Marie continue to maintain, and develop new contacts with some of the French language schools, and are preparing a list of francophone contacts for our records. It was agreed to pay $5 to subscribe to the monthly newsletter published by the Centre Francais Hamilton. Julie will forward a document summarizing all her activites in promoting closer ties between the local French community and French Immersion programs in Hamilton-Wentworth.

8. BOARD STAFFING ISSUES:

This item will be carried over to the June meeting to see if further action is required.

9. OTHER BUSINESS:

Roz has finished preparing the CPF Chapter Annual Report and is ready to send out the document to CPF Ontario. The report includes a summary of Hamilton-Wentworth CPF activities, a financial report, and a list of our accomplishments.

The Hamilton-Wentworth CPF will submit an application nominating Claudette Sims, the French as a Second Language Curriculum Consultant for the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board for CPF Ontario's W.R. McGillivray Award.

A letter will be prepared for the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board by our local CPF Chapter with concerns on split French Immersion classes at Dalewood School. We will also urge parents concerned about this issue to contact the HWDSB and local School Trustees.

The Hamilton-Wentworth CPF display board and handouts will be made available for Earl Kitchener's Open House on Thursday May 30 in an effort to raise CPF profile, gain new members, and provide information on French Immersion to EK parents.

10. HAMILTON-WENTWORTH CPF EVENTS FOR NEXT YEAR

Potential Hamilton-Wentworth CPF events for the next school year were discussed and for the remainder of 2002/2003, we have tentatively planned for the following activities:
June:
Þ Participation in St-Jean-Baptiste Picnic with francophone community
Þ French Immersion Review -input as required
September:
Þ Newsletter
Þ CPF display at Meet the Teacher nights
Þ Submit article for Fall issue of CPF Ontario newsletter
October:
Þ Concert (Mariposa in the Schools or other)
Þ CPF Ontario conference
November:
Þ HWDSB Parent Conference CPF Workshop on FI
Þ Newsletter
January:
Þ Conversational French Course -two concurrent 10 week courses for 20 people each
March:
Þ Kindergarten FI Information Nights
Þ Submit article for Summer issue of CPF Ontario newsletter
April:
Þ CPF Parent Information Night -topic to be determined
Þ Annual General Meeting & Election
May:
Þ 2nd Annual Champlain Book sale

MEETING ADJOURNED: 9:00 P.M.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday June 20, 2002 7:00 P.M.