Friday, December 18, 2015

Registration Now Open!!

Registration is open at Earl Grey School for kindergarten for the Spanish Bilingual Program! The school is located at 340 Cockburn St N and the phone number is (204) 474-1441.

In order to register your child, you will need to go in person to the school today or starting on January 4th. Documentation that you will need to bring to register:

1. Manitoba Medical Card listing the child and parent(s) name
2. To prove residency - Property Tax Bill of primary residence OR Rental/Lease Agreement OR Accepted "Offer to Purchase" with possession date included
4. Birth Certificate OR passport OR Treaty Card
If you are not a citizen then you will need to provide a landed immigrant document OR work visa OR study visa OR refugee status

There will be three forms for WSD families and four forms for families outside of the division. 

The principal and the secretaries at the front office are ready to accept applications from all families. All of the registrations will be date stamped and those out of catchment will most likely be put on a wait list.

We need to have a minimum of 20 children from WSD catchment by January 29. 

We plan to have an open house mid-January to update you on the current program at EG, as well as plans for other division presentations and late entry (grade 7) proposal. 

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

What's Next?

The first ever Winnipeg Spanish bilingual program will begin September 2016 at Earl Grey School (N-8). The plan is to start a kindergarten and/or a grade one class and registration forms will be available shortly from the division and the school. If you have any questions regarding the process to register your children, please contact Eugenia or I. Once the forms are ready and registration is open, we will let you know so you can contact the school directly.
But we are not finished with our work on Spanish Bilingual programming as there are families in other school divisions and those that have older children who want a Spanish Bilingual program.
If there are any families interested in being a part of the program, no matter what the age of your child or area that you reside in, please let them know how to get their child on our database. This is only the beginning of Spanish Bilingualism in Winnipeg.
Next steps... Late entry program and other school divisions!
Our goal is to gather enough children born in 2004 to propose that the division start a late entry for grade 7 at Earl Grey. With a school already identified, it shouldn't be hard at all.
As well, we continue to collect names so that we can present to other divisions. All we need is 23 children entering into kindergarten or grade 1 or even grade 7 for late entry.

Thank you for all your support and your work in this with us.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Official Statement by the School Division

We are pleased to announce that the Spanish Bilingual Program will be started at Earl Grey School and will begin in September with kindergarten and/or grade 1. We are most pleased with the decision! Official registration will begin in January and more details will follow.


See news on the Winnipeg School Division website HERE



Monday, September 14, 2015

Fall Update

Last week we had another meeting with Celia Caetano-Gomes, the District Superintendent of Winnipeg School Division. She has been a fabulous support to us, even coming to one of our summer presentations at the Spanish Club. 

A few updates:
Three school communities will be surveyed by the WSD, Isaac Brock, Earl Grey, and Luxton this month. If you belong to one of these school communities, watch for a newsletter or communication from the division. They are assessing interest for new programming at these schools, one of them being Spanish, and the other two are yet to be determined. We do know that French programming will not be started at these schools as William Osler (offering French) was just opened up this year. To clarify, the programming that may be added to these schools will be in addition to programming already offered. The division is not looking to remove programs from these schools.

Celia has encouraged us to communicate to the families the following timeline:

September 2015 - the Board of Trustees will confirm the survey for the three school communities listed above
October 2015 - the WSD will determine the final location for the Spanish Bilingual programming
November 2015 - we need to have final numbers for children within the WSD born in 2010 and 2011 to present to the Board of Trustees.
       We have 20 children in WSD born in 2010 to start grade 1 in September 2016. We need 3 more children for 2010!
       We have 14 children in WSD born in 2011 to start kindergarten. We need 9 more children for 2011!
November 2015 - the WSD will appoint a person to contact the families on our list to confirm they want to register.
January 2016 - the board will prepare their budget and then approve Spanish Bilingual programming will be part of the 2016/17 budget

We will keep you posted as we meet again in 2 weeks with Celia.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Information Meeting - August

When: Wednesday August 12, 2015
Time: 7:00 - 8:00

Meeting at St. Boniface UTC - 05 Room #0617 in the new building. 

In recent months, a group of parents presented to The Winnipeg School Division’s Board of Trustees, a proposal requesting the establishment of a Spanish Bilingual Program. This proposal was very well received and has been accepted for further consideration. In order for the Board of Trustees to approve and initiate the program, there are certain criteria that have yet to be met. 

1. The parent group is to present a minimum of 23 children (per grade level) prepared to register and enter into the program. 

2. The school division has yet to determine the program location in a school with adequate space. At this time the division has identified potential schools being considered. A Heritage Language survey, of these select school communities will soon be administered. This survey will assist in determining which school the division will select to host the Spanish Bilingual program.

Please join us at this event if you …
- Are a resident of Winnipeg
- Are interested in having your child attend a Spanish Bilingual Program
- Wish to be on our database (receiving updates and more information)
- Or if you have any questions about the program

You may also contact us at:
Eugenia Lehmann 204-887-4572 genilehmann@gmail.com
or
Kathy Heppner winnipegspanishimmersion@gmail.com

You can also find us on Facebook:
Winnipeg Spanish Immersion


Hace unos meses, un grupo de padres presentó a la División Escolar de Winnipeg, una propuesta solicitando el establecimiento del Programa Bilingüe Español en las escuelas públicas. La misma ha sido muy bien recibida y aceptada para mayor consideración. A fin de que la Junta Directiva apruebe e inicie este programa, hay ciertos criterios que todavia deben cumplirse.


1. Este grupo de padres debe presentar un mínimo de 23 niños (por grado) preparado para registrarse y entrar en el programa.

2. La Division Escolar tiene que determinar la ubicación del programa en una escuela con un espacio adecuado. En este momento, la división ha identificado y está considerando potenciales escuelas. Se llevará a cabo una encuesta de “Patrimonio de Lengua” que ayudará a determinar qué escuela será seleccionada para comenzar con el Programa Bilingüe en Español

Favor de asistir en el evento si usted es:
1. Residente de Winnipeg
2. Estás interesado en que tu hijo/a asista en el Programa Bilingüe Español
3. Deseas ser parte de nuestra base de datos (para recibir actualizaciones y más información)
4. O si tienes más preguntas

Por favor contáctanos lo antes posible a:
Eugenia Lehmann at 204-887-4572 genilehmann@gmail.com
o
Kathy Heppner winnipegspanishimmersion@gmail.com
También puedes encontrarnos en Facebook -
Winnipeg Spanish Immersion

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Update

Our presentation to the Board on June 8 was well received. We reiterated our commitment to bringing a Spanish Bilingual program to reality by continuing our work with the Winnipeg School Division.

The goal is to see the program start in 2016, so please continue encourage your contacts to send us their information to include in future presentations to the WSD Board of Trustees and other school divisions as well. We have set up meetings throughout the year with the WSD and are encouraged by the increase in communication in developing a timeline of goals. 

In the near future, WSD will be making an announcement to the community of their decision and plans for next steps. Stay tuned......

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Bussing


Qualifying Bussing (Per Board Policy):
  • There is free school bus service for qualifying students who are in the [Heritage language] Bilingual Program in Kindergarten to Gr 6
  • Home and Daycare addresses must be within the Division boundaries and at least 1.6 km from school.
  • Daycares within the Division may be serviced if the home qualifies and must also be over 1.6 km from the school.
  • There is no fee for students qualifying for bus service.

Non-Qualifying Bussing:
Any student that does not qualify for bussing under regular Board Policy may apply on a fee-for-service basis from their home or daycare that falls within the following criteria:

  • Service address (home or daycare) must be within the Division
  • Home or daycare must be at least 1.6 km away from the school
  • There must be an existing stop/route that the student could access
  • There must be room on the bus and buses would not be rerouted to accommodate fee paying students 
  • Service will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis if approved

  • If the seat is required at a later date for a student who qualifies under regular Board Policy, the parent of the fee-for-service student would be given 7 days notice to make alternate arrangements for transportation


Wednesday, May 20, 2015

What is Really Happening



The Winnipeg School division has set a new target date for September 2016 to start a Spanish Bilingual Program pending sufficient enrollment numbers. 

The story in the Winnipeg Free Press on May 12th was misleading and incomplete, calling the program “a bust”.  After a recent meeting with the School Board Chair, Mark Wasyliw, the Winnipeg School Division has reiterated its commitment to the Spanish Bilingual program. 

It will begin at Luxton School, located at 111 Polson Ave. in West Kildonan pending sufficient enrollment. Chief Superintendent Pauline Clarke and Mark Wasyliw are dedicated to working with Eugenia Lehmann, Kathy Heppner and the community to bring the Spanish Bilingual program to reality in Winnipeg. The program will start with a combined kindergarten and grade 1 class if there are 23 students willing to register. 

For further information and to register call Eugenia Lehmann at (204) 887-4572 or Kathy Heppner at WinnipegSpanishImmersion@gmail.com

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Still Waiting.....

From the WSD regarding the addition of grades 1-6:

The Policy/Program Committee met on April 20th and directed the administration to report back to the Committee regarding enrollment and transportation.  It is anticipated that the information will be provided to the Committee on Monday May 4th.

Thank you for your patience.


Friday, January 23, 2015

Possible Multi-Age Classrooms

This week we met and made another presentation to the WSD. We asked them to not only consider having a kindergarten class start, but with our numbers, start a grade 1/2/3 classroom as well as a 4/5/6 class.

Many of the trustees were new from last year, so we forwarded them our proposal from last year. They seemed to wonder if there would be enough room at Luxton, so we of course encouraged them to consider a second location. We shall see what happens in the next few weeks!