A new childcare centre in North Battleford celebrated its grand opening Feb. 15.
Les Petits Pingouins, which opened in the fall of 2010, is the Battlefords' only exclusively French childcare centre.
The provincial government contributed upwards of $400,000 towards the project, including capital costs to renovate the area in 脡cole P猫re Mercure where the child care centre is located and funds for equipment, furnishing and materials to enhance learning.
Cut Knife-Turtleford 小蓝视频 Mike Chisholm attended the grand opening, along with parents and representatives of Conseil des 脡coles Fransaskois, and emphasized his government's commitment to increasing child care spaces in the province.
"The 25 new spaces at 脡cole P猫re Mercure are part of that investment, and mean that more children will have access to high quality early learning opportunities," he said.
Lorraine Armstrong, director of Les Petits Pingouins, said the admittance guidelines for the childcare centre are the same as those of 脡cole P猫re Mercure, with at least one of the child's parents speaking French, or having a French heritage.
"We don't want to punish parents for not having had French spoken to them," said Armstrong, explaining the heritage concession.
If the parents plan to also enroll their children in pre-school at 脡cole P猫re Mercure, they have to have a meeting with the parent council to determine whether French instruction is appropriate for their child.
"It's not just speaking French here, it's a lifestyle," said Armstrong.
At the moment, the childcare centre's hours of operation are Monday to Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and they are licensed for children aged 18 months to 12 years.
Armstrong said, since 脡cole P猫re Mercure's pre-school offers programming in the morning, three times per week for three-year-olds and five times per week for four-year-olds, the child care centre is useful for the remainder of the time.
"We're actually very fortunate because we're in 脡cole P猫re Mercure," said Armstrong, explaining students can come right to the child care centre, eliminating the need for working parents to come pick up their children and drop them off at a child care facility elsewhere.
The children in the childcare centre regularly interact with pre-school and kindergarten students and attend special assemblies; something Armstrong says helps the transition into school.
Also, students in Grades 7 to 9 regularly read to the children in the centre, help them settle down for naps and assist in other activities, something Armstrong said is beneficial to both.
"It's been a really great collaboration," she said. "The support we get from the rest of the school is fantastic."
Les Petits Pingouins is not the only French-based early learning program to be established recently.
Le Petit Monde Pr茅scolaire, 脡cole Monseigneur Blaise Morand's pre-school, also opened its doors in the fall of 2010.
Unlike EPM, EMBM is open to all children, regardless of whether or not their parents have ever spoken French or have a French heritage.
Theo Masich, EMBM principal, said the majority of children enrolled in the pre-school have no background or previous experience with French.
"I've been amazed at how much French they've picked up, considering they're only here two or three times per week," said Masich.
"It's going to be really exciting to see how these kids will do when they enter kindergarten," he said.
The pre-school has 56 students, divided into four groups, and is housed in a portable classroom at EMBM.
As with EPM, pre-school students have much contact with grade-level students, and regularly attend assemblies and other school functions.
"It gives [the older students] a leadership opportunity," said Masich.
Masich also spoke of the benefits of enrolling a child in French Immersion; saying learning a second language, regardless of what language that is, can develop a child's cognitive abilities. He pointed to scientific studies which showed bilingual students perform better at tasks requiring mental flexibility than their monolingual counterparts.
Also, contrary to popular belief, students enrolled in French immersion often have enhanced English-language skills because they understand the relationship between words and meaning.
Finally, Masich said having French as a second-language results in a wider range of job opportunities, both in Canada and abroad.
