The France trip
enriches
the students' learning of French language and culture. The teacher
volunteer effort to make these trips possible is much appreciated.
Usually:
- there is a French
immersion grade 10 trip to France offered every year,
over the March spring break period. From 2011 the trip may change to
every other year for grade 9 and 10 students.
In the past the trip
was every year and alternated between an exchange and a short homestay.
Since 2006 the trips are now
short homestays, see below for 2006-7 'background information'.
2006 was a trip to
France. including Paris, the Loire and Normandy
2007 was a trip to France,
including Paris and the Loire
2008 was a trip to
France and Switzerland, including Paris and Geneva
2009 was a trip to
France and Switzerland, including Paris and Geneva
Check the school e-mail
news for information
Check school http://kitsilano.vsb.bc.capublications -
newsletters for information about when the first France
trip information
meeting will be held.
December 2010 the school reports that unfortunately the March 2011 French immersion france trip is not happeniing due to low participation. The school has reviewed the matter and observed there are several other trips planned for the same year, and that as the French immersion France trip is an important option inf the French immersion academic program, in future the number of school trips per year will be limited by having the trips alternate years. With an alternate year schedule, the French immersion France trip would be offered to grade 9 and grade 10 students. Some of the other competing Kits trips have been Japan, Spain, Cuba (including some volunteering and some beach time), Costa Rica (including some volunteering and some beach time), China and maybe Italy.
Mr. Morel's FI 2010 France/Switzerland brochure is online at:
ATTN: PARENTS OF FRENCH IMMERSION GRADE 10 AND 11 STUDENTS ~ Lukas Morel, Teacher Sponsor Our annual trip to France/Switzerland is once again in full swing - there will be an information meeting for parents and students on Thursday, November 4th at 6:00 pm in Mr. Morel's classroom (room 243, second floor, north-east wing of the school). This meeting will cover all details regarding itinerary, travel arrangements, safety, etc. Any questions you might have will also be answered. This is a trip rich in francophone history, culture, and traditions. The trip will introduce students to the francophone region of Switzerland, a new and different aspect of francophone culture that they typically know very little about. Stops on the trip include Zurich, Bern (the Swiss capital), a cheese factory, a medieval castle, the United Nations buildings in Geneva, and as many of the classic sights of Paris as possible. This trip will also include a 4-night homestay with French families in the greater Paris area. The dates for the trip are from March 21st to April 1st (12 days, 10 nights). Thanks to our extended Spring Break this year, no school will be missed while we're away. For further information, please feel free to contact Mr. Morel at lmorel@vsb.bc.ca, or at school (604-713-8961 Ext.7243) See you there!
GRADE 9 AND 10
FRENCH IMMERSION TRIP TO FRANCE / SWITZERLAND – SPRING BREAK, 2011 ATTN: Parents
and students of this year’s Grade 9 and 10 French Immersion program:
Sign-up has now started for the France/Switzerland
trip
which
is
happening
over
Spring
Break
2011!! The first leg of
our trip will consist of a visit to the francophone region of
Switzerland. This will allow students to experience a new
francophone culture other than the “classic” French culture of Paris,
Louis XIV, Versailles, etc. that they have been
hearing about since they started their French education. We will begin
in Zurich and then head south towards Geneva, with
visits to Bern (the capital), the city of Neuchâtel, the village
of Gruyère and the medieval castle of “Chillon” on Lake Geneva.
In Geneva, apart from visiting the classic sights, students will get a
taste of their Social Studies 11 course when we
visit the United Nations buildings and the Plaza of Nations. For the second
leg (and for many, the highlight) of the trip, we will head to Paris.
During the day, we will visit as many of the city’s
historic and popular landmarks (including the Eiffel Tower, the Notre
Dame Cathedral, the Champs Élysées, the Louvre palace,
etc.) while at night students will be paired up and assigned to
home-stays in a Paris suburb. Not only will these home-stays
will allow students to experience French life and culture first-hand,
but they will also immerse students in a completely
francophone environment for the duration of our stay. Exact dates are
not yet set, but will fall between March 18 and April 4. Thanks to our
Spring Break being extended next year,
participating students will not miss any school. The trip cost will be
approximately $3200 (depending on the number of
participants), which covers virtually all expenses with the exception
of a few lunches. As there will be several opportunities
for some free time for shopping, students should also plan on some
pocket money. Space is limited
to 30 participants and is already filling up fast! Please contact Mr.
Morel at lmorel@vsb.bc.ca or at Kitsilano
(604-713-8961 ext.7243) for further information or to sign up.
Re the Kits
2009-10 FI France trip
NOTE: at the time of planning the March 2009 Kits France trip,
the VSB was undecided about moving spring break March 2010 to February
2010 to coincide with the winter Olympics. Therefore, the France March
2009 trip was offered to both grade 9 and 10 students and a large
number of grade 9s participated. Subsequently, the VSB decided not to
move spring break 2010 from March..
From:Lukas Morel
Sent: Fri
11/20/2009 9:27 AM
Subject: Status of France/Switzerland trip
Hi
Everyone
My
apologies
for
the
delay
in
finally
getting
this
email
out
to
you.
I've
been
in constant contact with our travel agency to see if there was a
way to
make this trip work with the small number of students who've expressed
interest/signed up.
Though
I
had
about
20
students
originally
tell
me
they
were
interested
by
the
end
of the
last school year, the turnout at the parent info. meeting was quite
small, and
only resulted in 6 parents officially signing on. Unfortunately,
the trip
cannot run with this small number of participants. Furthermore,
the cost
of the trip, which was quoted based on a minimum of 20 participants,
would be
significantly higher with a group of 6.
So,
after
a
lot
of
discussion
with
our
travel
agent,
who
had
a
deadline
imposed by
the
airlines, bus companies, hotels, etc. to guarantee reservations,
we've had
to cancel the trip for this year.
The trip will be going ahead again
next year
as usual. As this trip is offered to grade 10s primarily and one
didn't
happen this year, next year's grade 11's will get first crack
at signing up when the time comes.
I
will be contacting all of you in the late spring to see if you're still
interested in our France/Switzerland 2011 trip.
Of
course,
please
contact
me
if
you
have
any
further
questions.
Thanks.
Lukas Morel
French
Immersion Program
Head
KitsilanoSecondary School
Vancouver, BC
604-713-8961 ext.7243
From the Kits school e-news Oct. 28,
2009
FRENCH IMMERSION
FRANCE/SWITZERLAND TRIP MEETING! ~ Lukas Morel, Teacher Attention all
French Immersion Grade 10 students who have signed up to participate in
the France/Switzerland trip. There will be an informational meeting for
parents and students on Thursday, October 29 at 6:30 pm in the 3rd
floor staff room. It is highly recommended that any interested
participants attend.
It's not too
late!!! If you still haven't signed up for the trip and are interested,
please contact Mr. Morel ASAP and/or show up at the informational
meeting on October 29.
From the Kits school e-news
Sep. 21, 2009
LAST CHANCE FOR
THE FRENCH IMMERSION FRANCE/SWITZERLAND TRIP! ~ Lukas Morel, Teacher Calling all
Grade 10 French Immersion students! This is your last chance to sign up
and be a part of our two week trip to France and
Switzerland happening around Spring Break 2010. If you would like to
sign up or would like some more information
first, please contact Mr. Morel (room 243) as quickly as possible.
There are only a few spaces left, and the registration
deadline is coming fast! Salut!
On
19-May-09, at 11:13 AM, Lukas Morel wrote:
Attention all grade 9 students
and their
parents/guardians:
Attached is a brochure with information about next year's French
Immersion trip to France/Switzerland.
At this point, I am only trying to see how much interest there is, you are not committing to anything at this
point. The minimum number of students is 16, the
maximum is 30.
Please let me know as soon as possible if you are interested, and/or
contact me for further information.
Merci!
Lukas Morel
Teacher, French Immersion Program KitsilanoSecondary School Vancouver, BC
604-713-8961 ext.7243
<europe 2010 brochure.pdf>
The first
meeting for the FI France trip 2008-9 will be in Sep. 2008, per B.
Hoppen May 2008.
FRENCH
IMMERSION PROGRAM TRIP TO FRANCE & SWITZERLAND ~ SPRING BREAK,
2009 - there was an introductory meeting Sep. 29, 2008 6:30 pm in
the 3rd floor staff room.
2009
trip
info FRENCH
IMMERSION
PROGRAM
TRIP
TO
FRANCE
&
SWITZERLAND
~
SPRING
BREAK,
2008:
There
was
an
Introductory Meeting at Kitsilano about this trip for
interested
students and their parents on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in
the
3rd Floor Staffroom. Please contact teacher Mr. Morel for more
information
at 604 713-8961, ext. 7243 or at lmorel@vsb.bc.ca.
For 2006-7 the trip was a homestay, not an exchange, due to other
FI
matters being a priority for FI teachers to the point that they did not
have resources at that time to organize an exchange. For more on
this issue, see: Background
information
Re educational trips to Quebec or
other francophone environments,
From "The
State of French-Second-Language Education in Canada
2004", chapter
7,
page 52 (in regards to core French, but also of interest for
French
immersion)
"Other areas that that have been found to contribute to improved
language proficiency are a positive parental attitude
toward the learning of French (Stern et al., 1976), and exposure to
French outside the classroom (Adiv and Doré, 1982). Students
tend to have a more positive view of learning French when these
conditions are present. One way of increasing students’ exposure to
French outside the classroom is by visiting francophone students in
Quebec or other francophone environments (Hanna et al., 1980; Lapkin,
Hart and Swain, 1995; Deane, 2001). If visits are not feasible,
research has shown that supplementary linguistic and cultural
programmes at school improve French proficiency and help develop
positive relationships “between students’ attitudes toward French and
French Canadians and participation in cultural and linguistic
exchanges” (Foley et al., 1988:597). More recently, MacFarlane
(2001:78) found that “to acquire a full repertoire of language skills,
and particularly, to be able to communicate successfully with native
speakers in natural contexts, classroom second language acquisition –
even with the additional context provided by content-based learning –
needs
to be supplemented by face-to-face communication with native speakers.”
Another effective way of improving French skills and attitude to
learning French is through Internet exchanges with students in target
language environments (Lawrence, 2002)."
FUNDRAISING
FOR
FI
TRIP
TO
FRANCE
The decision to
fundraise and how to fundraise is made for each FI France trip by the
current participating students, parents and teachers.
Usually the group
apply to PAC to participate in the Kits
School
Christmas Tree Lot fundraiser to help reduce some of the cost to
students.
Each student helping at the lot receives an amount in proportion
to their
individual effort. In 2004-5 there were too many applicants to
participate in this fundraiser, so the French immersion France trip
group were
not included.
Fundraising
usually includes
selling cookies at the December report card meet with teachers evening
and
selling poinsettias.
Note: if, for example,
the trip itinerary in Paris allows time for students to explore on
their own, students are to explore in groups of at least four - they
are not to explore alone - and they are to let a teacher know their
plan. Also, they are to carry with them, in case they get
lost/delayed, the phone number for the hotel/hostel where the
group is staying, so they can leave a message for the group.
Each student to carry with
them, in case they get lost/delayed, the phone number and name of
their host homestay/exchange family, so they can leave a message.
