It's time to register for the coming year!

Spanish Bilingual Registration is open at Earl Grey School for children going into Kindergarten, or Grade 1. Call the school at (204) 474-1441 to register.

Children don't have to have a Spanish speaking background, or have even attended the current Kindergarten class to be able to register for the program. Even if your child is going into grade 1, there is a space for them, but hurry and register your child!

The current kindergarten class is amazing - many are already reading and writing in Spanish. I was just there a few days ago and it was so cool to see how all these children were comfortable responding to my questions in Spanish, they understood everything I was reading them in Spanish. Just to note that half of the students in the class don't come from a Spanish speaking family.This is a great opportunity for your child!

Don't be disappointed, register today!

Where we are at now!

We are happy to say that the Kindergarten class of 2016 has been up and running at Earl Grey school with much success. The class is full and the teacher is fabulous! We are so happy for the community support and for the families who have enrolled their children in the program.

Looking ahead in the new year, we want to remind families that registration for the 2017/18 school year will begin in February and March of 2017. Parents can register their child for either kindergarten or for grade 1 in Spanish Bilingual at Earl Grey.  You can call the school at (204) 474-1441.

As for our other projects, we are still gathering support to bring proposals to other school divisions in Winnipeg. If you live in St. James School Division, River East Transcona School Division, Louis Riel School Division, Pembina Trails School Division, or Seven Oaks School Division and want to see Spanish Bilingual programming, please contact us at winnipegspanishimmersion@gmail.com.

Another thing we are working at is to propose a late entry at Earl Grey School for the coming year; if you have a child in grade 6 right now and want them to enter into a late program, please contact us right away so we can put together a proposal for a grade 7 Spanish Bilingual class at Earl Grey School.

We wish you all the best in 2017!!

Eugenia and Kathy

Parent Meeting with Spanish Embassy - Reunión de padres con la Embajada de España.

We had a very informative session led by Maria de los Santos Espejo Quijada from the Spanish Embassy in Ottawa. To become or maintain Spanish bilingualism for your child, there are some very important things that must happen, because without it, the child will not keep Spanish, even if they speak it now.

Maria stressed that many Latin American families think that since their preschool child speaks Spanish fluently, that will not change. However, once they are in school and speaking and reading and writing English and French, it doesn't take long before the child no longer can communicate in Spanish. The fact is, our society is English dominant. So, what can Spanish families do?

1. Bilingual Education - Register your child in Manitoba's first Spanish program at Earl Grey School

2. Set goals for your family and set aside 5 or 6 hours in the week to speak, read or study Spanish together.

3. Improve your Spanish skills as a parent so that your child sees you actively working on your Spanish as well.

4. Determine what activities will be in Spanish (example, reading, movie watching, bath time, meals) and where (in the home, at the park, when shopping).



Tuvimos una sesión informativa dirigida por Maria de los Santos Espejo quijada de la Embajada de España en Ottawa. Para adquirir o mantener el bilingüismo español para su niño, hay algunas cosas muy importantes que debe ocurrir, porque sin él, el niño no se mantendrá en español, incluso si hablan ahora.

María subrayó que muchas familias latinoamericanas creo que dado que su niño preescolar habla español con fluidez, que no va a cambiar. Sin embargo, una vez que estén en la escuela y hablar y leer y escribir en inglés y francés, no se tarda mucho antes de que el niño ya no puede comunicarse en español. El hecho es que nuestra sociedad dominante es el inglés. Entonces, ¿qué pueden hacer las familias españolas?

1. La educación bilingüe - Registrar su niño en Manitoba del primer programa de español en la Escuela de Earl Grey

2. Establecer metas para su familia y aparte de 5 o 6 horas a la semana para hablar, leer o estudiar Español juntos.

3. Mejorar su castellano como un padre para que su hijo lo vea trabajando activamente en su español también.

4. Determinar qué actividades serán en español (por ejemplo, leer, ver películas, el tiempo del baño, comidas) y dónde (en el hogar, en el parque, cuando compras).

Meeting this Monday with Spanish Embassy!

Families,

We have this amazing opportunity to hear from the Spanish Embassy Representative from Ottawa, Maria de los Santos Espejo Quijada!

When: Monday June 20th at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Earl Grey School, 340 Cockburn Street N.

Maria will be speaking to families on how to support their child in a bilingual program, for those that don't speak Spanish at home. She will also be addressing Spanish speaking families on the importance of a bilingual program to retain not only oral Spanish, but written as well.

This is open for anyone, regardless of catchment or age of child! Please let your contacts know, especially those who aren't sure about Spanish Bilingual and need to know more.

Important Updates

1. They have hired the Spanish teacher for September who will be the kindergarten teacher and the Spanish resource teacher

2. Earl Grey will be getting a new principal as the current one is retiring. They will have someone hired by June 21st

3. Registration is still open for kindergarten and there are two child care centres in and beside the school, Dante Day Nursery and Earl Grey Children's Centre. If daycare is an issue for registration, register your child at EG and then call the two centres informing them you have registered your child and they will make you a priority. EGCC only has children from EG school, so you can't get a spot until you register at the school.

4. OUT OF CATCHMENT 

Because this concerns a number of families who have already registered, Celia informed us it is very difficult for the division to know how serious families are and therefore it is difficult to promise a spot in the program. She suggested that if out of catchment families are committed to having their child in this program, not just for kindergarten but through the next 6-12 years, they need to communicate that. 

To state your commitment, call the District Superintendent and the principal at Earl Grey School. Reiterate that there is no Spanish program in your division, and so you won't go anywhere. If the child you have registered is your oldest, point out that there is little chance of moving them and a 100% chance their younger siblings will be coming to EG. Add anything else that you think may be relevant. 

5. The division found a local Winnipeg author that writes Spanish children's books and they are working to provide additional resources for the kindergarten class.

6. The Rep. from the Spanish Embassy in Ottawa, Maria de los Santos Espejo Quijada will be coming June 20/21 and may have time in her schedule to have a parent meeting. This would be open to anyone, but especially geared towards Spanish speaking families who would benefit from hearing why enrollment in this program will help retain their language, both written and spoken for their children.

Registration is Open!

Hello Families,

Just a reminder that you can still register your child for Spanish Bilingual Kindergarten at Earl Grey School. The school is located at 340 Cockburn Street N. and the phone number is 474-1441. The program still has spots available for this September! Hurry!

Commitment of Moving Foward

Now that the Winnipeg School Division has officially committed to starting the Spanish Bilingual program at Earl Grey School for kindergarten in the fall, if you have a child born in 2011 you will need to contact the school at (204) 474-1441 to register them. The kindergarten class will be held in the morning.

Eugenia and I are still committed to advocating for a Spanish program in other divisions. In order to have a viable chance of starting anywhere else, we need to have 20 children in one division in one year. Without that, a presentation would be ineffective. We know that we can be successful because we've already done it in WSD!

Below are the numbers of what we have already on our database. Do you see your division? Would you like to have a Spanish Bilingual program in your area? 

Help us spread the word and get the numbers up so we can present to your school trustees!

2011 (kindergarten for 2016)

2- St. James

7 - River East

5 - Pembina Trails

7 - Louis Riel

4 - Seven Oaks

2012 (kindergarten for 2017)

4 - St. James

2 - River East

11 - Pembina Trails

11 - Louis Riel

1 - Seven Oaks

2005 (late start grade 7 for 2017)

11- WSD

1 - Pembina Trails

1- Seven Oaks

1 - Louis Riel

The Faces behind the movement

It's fitting on International Women's Day that we congratulate the founders of the Spanish Bilingual program, Kathy Rieder Heppner and Geni Lehmann. These two women have worked, lobbied and advocated tirelessly over the last three years for the community. As a result, Spanish Bilingual now is at Earl Grey School; the first in this province. Kathy and Eugenia, you have brought about change for Winnipeg that will be a lasting impact on this city for years to come.

It's Official!

We just were informed this evening that the board of trustees for Winnipeg School Division has approved the Spanish Bilingual program to start in September at Earl Grey School. There were sufficient registrations!! 

We are grateful for the many families and supporters we have had over the last three years. It couldn't have been accomplished without you all.

New Deadline

Since the trustees are focusing on budget preparation, they have decided to postpone their decision on the new language programs (that includes Spanish) until Monday March 7th.

That means there is more time to register for the program at Earl Grey School. Remember, if you have a child that is born in 2011 or ready for kindergarten, you must call or go in person to the school to register. If you have a child older than kindergarten and are hoping for late entry, please call the school at 474-1441 to inquire. The school is keeping track of all phone calls and will communicate that to the trustees. From there, they will decide if there is enough of a demand to open registration for grade 1 and/or grade 7.

Deadline Extended!!

We are happy to announce that the Board of Trustees for the Winnipeg School Division has extended the registration deadline for new language programs until February 16.

You can call Earl Grey School at (204) 474-1441 and request that a registration form for kindergarten be emailed to you. All you need to do is fill it out, scan it, and email it back. Afterwards, the school will need various documentation to be brought to the school.

If you have a child that is entering grade 1 or grade 7 and are interested in enrolling them into Spanish Bilingual at Earl Grey, please call the school and speak to the principal. The more people that inquire, the better chance that other grades can be opened up for the 2016-2017 school year.

Update on Registration - Deadline Tomorrow

Two members of the board that makes the ultimate decision regarding the Spanish Bilingual program asked how registrations were going because they are very interested and hopeful parents will respond and register their children.

One of the board members informed me that if we could get 20 registrations, whether or not they were in the catchment or not, he would urge the board to move ahead with the program since it is the only one in the province. WSD families would have bussing, out of catchment would not.

So, every child registered, regardless of the division they live in, counts towards the number we need. We do hope that you will register your child tomorrow if you have not done so already; it will make a huge difference.

Don't miss the Registration Deadline!

We can hardly believe that it is only 3 days before the deadline on Friday January 29th to register for Spanish Bilingual at Earl Grey School.  Many of you are on our database, but you must go down and register in person at the school in order to secure your spot. Call the school at (204) 474-1441 if you are unable to make it down during regular school hours and they will be accommodating. 

The division needs a deadline of the end of January in order to have time to approve a budget for the new program. Will they need to have two classes or just one? Do they have to hire one teacher or two? They also need time to renovate the new kindergarten classroom. The school division and the school is eagerly awaiting your registration to make plans!

Maybe you still have questions about transportation and bussing, or wondering if your child is ready for a bilingual program or questions about daycare etc. However we nor the division cannot answer your questions unless you register! Go and hold your spot before it's too late!

1. Bussing routes are figured out in the spring based on those who are already registered.

2. Earl Grey Children's Centre, Dante Day Nursery, and ABC Montessori can only bump families up on their list if they are already registered at EG.

3. Your child's nursery teacher can offer advice on kindergarten placement starting in April.

We have an opportunity to be part of the first Spanish Bilingual Program in all of Manitoba! Earl Grey School is a fabulous N-8 school in a beautiful River Heights neighbourhood, with not only room for your kindergarten children, but your older children who can register for the English program in anticipation for the late entry Spanish in grade 7. It's a win-win situation for your family.

We urge you to go and register your child(ren) before you miss out. Being bilingual has amazing advantages and we have the chance to give that to our children, our community, our city, and our province. 

Upcoming Open Houses

There are two Open Houses coming up.

1. Wednesday January 20 at 6:00 pm. Earl Grey School, 340 Cockburn St N. Specific to those who are or interested in registering their child for kindergarten. Hosted by Earl Grey and WSD.

2. Sunday January 24 at 2:00 pm. Glenwood Community Centre, 27 Overton St. For those interested in knowing more about expanding Spanish Bilingual to include more grades (for example late entry), other schools and divisions across Winnipeg. Registration forms will be available for Earl Grey. Hosted by Kathy Heppner and Eugenia Lehmann.

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. 

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.

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

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.

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

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......