SQUAMISH

Squamish is finally here! First of all, I would like to respond to
Kamloops' query in the last issue of Info-parents: Yes, growth
spurts can be very painful! Now, more than ever, I know it will
take a great deal of hard work to keep our small francophone
school in Squamish. To help our francophone school and com-
munity grow, we need dedicated parents to organize fundraisers
and cultural events.

. *sq@ We have had many ups

ea . = “3.2 and downs at Les
“ " 8 Aiglons. In 1999, we
had two classes.
_ When, for personal
] reasons, one of the
a =f 2 teachers could no
——— — a | ae longer continue to
ae : teach, many parents
lost faith. Caroline Molini assumed teaching duties for Grades 3-
7 in March. The following year, we had only one French class
(Kindergarten and grades 1, 2 and 4). Caroline stayed with the
school and was its only teacher for several years. A huge thanks to
Caroline and her assistant, Maddie, for their excellent work! Since
that time, the student body has grown and we again have two
classes. Caroline teaches Kindergarten and Grade 1, and we
are fortunate to have a new teacher, Catherine LeMay, for grades
2-4. We now have approximately 23 students.

Our school parents committee boasts one Acadian from New
Brunswick, one Quebecois, one Franco-Ontarian, and two
Anglophones. These members are all dynamic, devoted parents.
In December, we organized a wonderful turkey supper following
the students' Christmas Concert. We really "pigged out"! This is
certainly an event to be repeated next year! We are planning an
outing to a sugarbush in March, a musical evening with a French
orchestra, a St-Jean Baptiste celebration and numerous other
events for our Squamish francophone community.

Carole Comeau, APE President

LANGLEY

For Halloween, Mme Musuku's class again organized a
haunted house, a frightening place that gave every student
in the school real shivers. Thanks to Mme Musuku and her
students for preparing this popular activity! Congratulations,
too, to all of the students who dressed up for the event!

Speaking of spor&.we were able to witness a superb per-
formance by our Cougars during the francophone volley-
ball tournament last November. Our Grade 6 team won two
of four sets to place second in its division! Our Grade 7
team proudly represented its school colours, falling in the
tournament final to Anne-Hébert School in a hotly con-
tested game. Thanks to all the parents who turned out to
support their youth, to coach Claudie Bussiéres for her ex-
cellent work, ,
and to Mme
Musuku for her
support.

_

To help out our
students with \.
their Christmas 5
shopping, we ’<
planned our gee
3rd = Annual
Christmas / ;
Boutique. * i ilies
Heartfelt thanks to Mme Gress s for her help with this event!
As usual, the students were thrilled with their purchases and
a number of parents found a variety of wonderful surprises
under the Christmas tree!

Thanks to the donations and generosity of many parents, we
were able to brighten up Christmas for numerous
francophone families and provide some food for the Langley
Food Bank. Thank you, all!

Alain Laberge, Director

ANNE-HEBERT

The APEAH has a new "look." Along with a redesigned logo, le
Factuel, our monthly information newsletter, has expanded to three
columns and now systematically includes a message from the presi-
dent, minutes of APE meetings, a summary in English, and, of
course, news items and articles concerning basic issues. The
website has also been completely revamped. The site,
www.csf.bc.ca/apeah, is updated regularly and includes our
monthly activities and events calendar; online versions of le
Factuel, the school bulletin, and various forms; and information
on the composition of the Association office, including minutes
of Association meetings, and much more.

To celebrate Halloween, the school gymnasium was filled for the
potluck supper, prepared by more than 150 chefs, and musical
performances presented that evening. There were even prizes for
the best costumes. To the students' great delight, on November 28
the school library became a cinema, featuring Harry Potter a l'école
des sorciers (French-language version frangaise). This event was
a huge success. The Christmas Bazaar - Book Bazaar, organized
by a team of parents and coordinated by Renée Popov, took place
December 11 and 12 in the school gym. Along with tables filled
with French-language books were the Brackendale Café, to raise

funds for Grade 3, and an APEAH table, featuring sales of our
new school calendar. There was also a kid's corner, the Grade 7
mini-casino and lottery ticket sales, and, most importantly, a
visit from Santa, who willingly posed with children, young and
old, for souvenir photos. The bazaar was a resounding success,
generating record profits. Our next date is March 13, for our
Multicultural Feast, a gastronomic treat to help celebrate
Francophonie Week. The APEAH also carried out numerous
fundraising operations, including the once-a-month pizza
lunches, collections for Unicef, recycling drives (for cans and
juice boxes), a lottery, beverage sales, and sales of Christmas
wrapping paper and the Association's 2003 calendar. A major
fundraising event this year will be an auction, which we plan to
hold in April 2003. The Association is also monitoring de-
velopments regarding school zoning changes affecting
Richmond, Rose-des-Vents, and Anne-Hébert schools.

Lastly, we would also like to note that the APEAH has made an
effort this year to reach non-francophone parents through its
information newsletter and to set up an anglophone parents
committee.

Eddie Jouen, APE Parent

INFO-PARENTS PAGE 15