Toronto’s Bishop Allen Academy students win University of Ottawa French Immersion Video Contest
Written by John Borst on December 10, 2009 – 4:57 amUniversity of Ottawa awards $200,000 in scholarships to finalists and winners of French immersion studies video contest
December 10, 2009 (Catholic education, Catholic schools)
Two classes from Bishop Allen Academy (a Grade 11 French Immersion class and a Grade 12 French Immersion class, both taught by French Teacher, Marie Nazroo) won 1st place and 2nd place in a contest facilitated by the University of Ottawa. The contest was open to grade 10, 11 or 12 immersion and extended French classes from the GTA. They were asked to create short videos that demonstrated how they stand out with their bilingualism.
As a result, the students in Bishop Allen Academy’s winning classes have won a total of $84,000 in scholarship money!
The University of Ottawa crowned the winners of the Are you part of the best French immersion class in Toronto? video contest at a gala in Toronto on November 27. University of Ottawa President and Vice-Chancellor Allan Rock was on hand to meet the students and give out $200,000 in scholarships to both the winners and the finalists.
Tied for first place were the grade-11 classes at Richview Collegiate Institute and Bishop Allen Academy, both in Toronto. Every student in each winning class earned a $2,000 admission scholarship to uOttawa. The contest also recognized three finalist classes, whose students each received a $1,000 admission scholarship; the finalists were from the Bishop Allen Academy (12th grade), R.S. Mclaughlin C.V.I. in Oshawa (10th grade) and EC Drury High School in Milton (10th grade).
“The contest was fun, but the awards ceremony and activities were especially important. This is a good way to practise our French, but also to think about the kind of person we have to be to become a true leader for tomorrow,” explained Alessia Kazakova, a grade-11 student at Richview Collegiate.
The Are you part of the best French immersion class in Toronto? video contest was launched in October for grade 10 to 12 French immersion classes in the Greater Toronto Area. Students had to produce a 60- to 120-second video in French showing how their class stands out for its bilingualism, its leadership or its service to the community.
Bilingualism has been a University of Ottawa priority since the institution’s founding in 1848. The University’s French immersion studies option was created in 2006 to give students from French-as-a-second-language high-school programs the opportunity to pursue their undergraduate university studies in immersion.
French immersion is available in 50 programs at uOttawa, and more than 1,000 high-school graduates have taken advantage of the option since its inception. Immersion helps train skilled, bilingual employees who can readily adapt to the needs of both the Canadian and international labour markets.
To view the winning videos LINK HERE
For more information, consult uOttawa’s French Immersion Studies website.
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