APE News

Ecole du Bois-Joli and the ‘baby steps’ policy

a————_—— By Danette Marcotte, PARENT

Ecole du Bois-Joli follows the ‘baby steps’ policy...and it
works! Baby Steps: the traces left by the 3 and 4 year olds
attending our new nursery school! What better way to
increase our numbers in the future than to offer preschool
classes within the school itself! The children get used to
coming here, they form friendships, the school gains a
reputation and, of course, the youngsters begin Kindergarten
with a stronger vocabulary.

Longstanding APE members were thrilled—and amazed—
to see this project develop in merely seven months, under
the guidance of a new group of young parents. The new
parents’ dedication despite the responsibility of raising young
children, and, especially, their outstanding organization, are
worthy of our gratitude and admiration. They were able to
find some twenty clients for the new school, Les Lutins du

Bois, and the school, which houses nearly 50 students after
five years of operation, sees this as a sign of rapid future
expansion. The APE will do everything in its power to
encourage these new families to choose our school for their
children’s education.

There’s more...all going in the right direction. Dressed in
their brand new bright yellow T-shirts emblazoned with the
school crest, our students took part in the Ladner May Day.
This traditional walk has been held each year for nearly a
hundred years in this Delta district. The T-shirts not only
made people aware of the school but also came in handy for
both security and promotional purposes during group outings
to Science World, to the recycling centre, to the Children’s
Festival, and to the provincial museum in Victoria. At Bois-
Joli, we feel like we’re all taking steps together toward a
promising future.

EcoLe ROSE-DES-VENTS, VANCOUVER

a——______ By Eph Fortin, APE PresipeNT ——————#

Another school year well underway at Rose-des-Vents ! This
is already our third year in our permanent location in
Oakridge. Since September 2001, student enrolment has
more than doubled; we now have 133 students in classes
from Kindergarten (25 students) through Grade 6. We will
add Grade 7 in September 2004.

The school physical space has also grown with three new
classrooms and a special visual arts and music studio. The
library, which also houses the computers, has been moved
to a larger space, which also allows room for a reading
corner and more shelf space for books.

We are pleased to welcome back our teaching staff, along
with two new teachers: Mrs. Helen Loftus, who teaches
English to the grades 4, 5 and 6 classes, and Mr. Richard
Fréchette, who teaches music and art and will put together
a choir for students in grades 3 through 6. We are also
thrilled to welcome French language monitor Christine Poirier
to our school. Her role is to promote French in the school
through her involvement in group projects in the classroom
and through publication of a school newsletter.

For the second year in a row, our students will enjoy
swimming lessons. We also plan to form a chess club. Again

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Jufo-Parents

this year, students in grades | through 6 will attend the
Festival des écrivains, October 22-23, where they will have
a chance to meet Marie-Danielle Croteau.

APE involvement in school life continues to be significant.
Among our planned activities for the coming year are the
hot lunch service (three times per week), pizza day (the last
Wednesday of the month), the Scholastic book club, various
social and cultural events, and coordination of various school
related activities (Spanish language, drawing, and painting
classes).

As part of our prime activity, fundraising, we are thrilled to
announce our 2003 Silent Auction, which will take place
November 21, 2003, at the VanDusen Botanical Garden.
The $5 entry fee includes a gourmet buffet. We invite
everyone in the francophone community to enjoy the evening
with us and take part in the silent auction, all for the benefit
of our school. We would also like to note that the V Ja
l’bon vent after school daycare and nursery school are in
their second year of operation. A francophone daycare
service, L’ile aux enfants, has also opened in the school
building and currently caters to a dozen children between
the ages of 18 months and 5 years. We welcome all of these
newcomers!