Sorry folks. Mr. Gelder will be absent from class on Thursday, February 8th. SOSSA swimming championships in St. Catharines.  Here is the in-class work:

1. In-class diagnostic reading assessment: Julie Payette, astronaute canadienne

2. Text: As-tu un esprit créatif, pp. 10 - 11. Complete the quiz and comprehension questions with partner

3. Anthologie: Un Quiz - tes devoirs, pp. 6-8. Again, complete with a partner.

See everyone on Friday!

Good morning and happy Semester Two!!!

Good morning students and paernts of grade nine DVSS French and happy new semester! It's going to rock.

This is where I hope to post frequent updates about assignments and other important information pertaining to your daughter's/son's afternoon class in grade 9 academic French (FSF1D1).  My hope to is to post an update at least twice a week, but I am counting on you to keep me accountable. If I ignore/neglect this space for longer than a week, let me know with an indignant e-mail to: E-mail Mr. Gelder indignantly to remind him to update his homework blog. This page will be exclusviely in English, but our hope is to have students interacting to the greatest extent possible à la langue française. As such, other platforms (such as the Hub/D2L) will be entirely in French.

Grade nine French will cover the entire breadth of the FSL (French as a second language) curriculum, including reading, writing and oral communication; consisting of speaking and listening. A specific emphasis will be placed on oral language skills as there is little point to learning a language if one is not able to use it in every day interactions. Further, we aim to prepare students, by the time they are in grade 12, to challenge the DELF (Diplôme d'études en langue française), a test administered by the government of France that certifies students at varying levels in the French language.  Along the way, we hope to have a lot of fun.

Oh, and we WILL use the iPads so please ensure your student brings hers/his every day, charged as much as can be!

Should you have any questions in the interim, don't hesitate to contact me at the particulars above and to the right (underneath my smiling face).

Encore, bonjour et bienvenue!

Parent-Teacher Interviews

 Parents (and students):

First, let me apologize for having immediately broken my promise to have frequent recourse to this page. We are communicating with students through so many digital platforms that it is sometimes difficult to stay on top of them all.

Parent Teacher Interview night is fast approaching (Thursday, October 26th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.). I would look forward to meeting as many of you as the schedule will allow; there are 12 slots available and they tend to book up fast.  Here are the instructions for accessing the on-line parent-teacher bookoing system:

Should you find yourself unable to book an appointment between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. on October 26th, we can always make alternate arrangements to either meet in the after school hours, or simply speak by telephone.

Looking forward to meeting many of you on the 26th!

Bonjour et bienvenue!

Hello and welcome to another school year! A busy semester, to say the least with a grade nine applied class (FSF1P1-11) and a STACKED grade 11 and grade 12 university section (FSF3U1-12 and FSF4U1-12).

This space is what is called my homework blog; it is intended for communication with parents primarily, but also students. I would encourage you to subscribe, as I hope to update frequently. Also, it will be written entirely in English - the only time students will actually see English in their digital experience in French class.

Students are off to a good start. They are actively engaging in their learning using digital tools, such as the HUB, Google Docs and HWDSB.tv. We will continue to engage in this type of 21st century learning towards making our students better speakers, listeners, readers and writers of the French language.

An important bit of news for grade nine students: iPads will be distributed this week. Forms will be going home on Tuesday and it is critical that they come back, signed, right away. Startup for grade nines is busy, as we are engaged in transferring computer accounts from their middle schools so that the digital tools the HWDSB  is fortunate to have can be enjoyed in full.  Please ensure that these forms make it back to the school either Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

In the mean time, communication lines are always open. Have a look at the top right hand corner of the screen for contact information if you wish to get a hold of me.

Let's have a great semester in French!

Parent-teacher interviews

Hello families of students in FSF1D1-23 and FSF3U1-22.

In case you didn't know, parent-teacher interviews are slated for next Thursday, March 30th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Appointments are required and booked on line.

There are only a few slots left.  Please go here to book:

Parent-teacher interview website

You will need your son's'/daughter's six digit student number to access the appointment schedule.

If you are unable to book an appointment, as they are all filled, please contact Monsieur Gelder so we can make alternate arrangements.

Parent-teacher night or not, you are always welcome to contact me at the school (see the right hand panel) if you have any concerns about the class or your son's/daughter's progress.

Option sheets due now!!!

Parents:

Please ensure that your son/daughter has completed their option sheets on-line and that they have printed and have signed their confirmation form.

That confirmation form should be handed into Mr. Gelder no later than Thursday, March 2nd.

Thank you!

Dialogue/Interview Assignments

Both classes (FSF1D1 - grade nine academic and FSF3U1 - grade 11 university) classes are working on oral assignments to wind up the first unit of the course.

Grade nines are working with irregular adjectives, reflexive verbs and expressions of activity to introduce a partner.  Many groups have chosen to engage with digital tools in the spirit of TLE (Transforming Learning Everywhere) and are recording their interviews using their iPads and uploading them to the HUB via the Board's video hosting site, called HWDSB.tv.  Exciting times.

Grade 11s are employing the futur anterior as well as the imperative with pronouns to put on a fictitious visit to a travel agency.

Next week, preliminary reports will be prepared and going home (I believe) in advance of March Break.  Unlike the mid-semster report and the final report card, these reports will not have a percentage mark but will indicate only whether the student is "Progressing Very Well", "Progressing Well" or "Progressing with Difficulty".

Shortly thereafter, you will be able to go on line to book a parent-teacher interview which will happen on a date I will post here very soon.