She Makes Us Proud
I have three grandchildren, Dylan, Olivia and Travis. They are all excellent students, participants in athletics and lovely young people, a credit to their parents. They all make us very proud often.
This past year. Olivia, graduated from elementary school. Ècole publique Jeunesse-Active, in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. This school is a school in which the language of instruction is in French.
Olivia Robinson
Olivia's accomplishment was quite remarkable. She was the valedictorian of her class. She won numerous awards. She was the top academic student as well as winning the physical education award. She won the history prize and the Français prize.
She was also awarded the Citoyenne Francophone (French citizen award) which is quite remarkable as English is her first language and her family is considered an Anglophone family in Sturgeon although her mother is from a Francophone family
I found out years ago the Government of Ontario considers the ability to speak French as merely a skill. (At the time, I was trying to find out if I was being discriminated against in employment because I was not bilingual.) In Québec, the situation is different. the French language is more than a skill; it is also cultural. To understand this you have to understand Canadian history and politics. Historically, Francophones in Ontario has struggle very hard to keep their language and culture alive. Now they can do so with the blessing of the government and a wider acceptance of bilingualism.
I am very proud that my grandchildren have been raised to be bilingual. It is such a wonderful advantage to speak more than one language in our World, and in Canada, being able to speak both official languages allow one to participate fully in the two founding cultures. As a result, of their education they have extended for another generation the French heritage of their mother's family, the Lajeunesse branch of the Renaud family that first settled in this area of Ontario.
I think it is important to encourage the French culture in this part of Ontario. West Nipissing (which includes both Sturgeon Falls and River Valley,)is the most bilingual community in Ontario
Congratulations Olivia. I hope and expect you will go on to find success in high school and University if you continue on. You make us all proud.
posted by Tossing Pebbles in the Stream @ 11:38 a.m.
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10 Comments:
You have every reason to shout her praises. And I agree about being bilingual -- here too.
Certainly kudos to Olivia.
Being fluent in two languages is becoming more and more desireable--as our world becomes smaller and interaction among countries more frequent.
She should go far in life.
And congrats to her mum and dad, as well--and of course to her grandpa.
Felicitations, Philip! You're absolutely right about the advantages of being bilingual.
I had my disagreements with Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney and Rene Levesque. But I admired them all -- and I particularly admired how each could shift effortlessly from one language to another. Your grandchildren have the same facility. What a gift.
What a sweet post from a proud grandfather. Congratulations. I applaud the use of more than one language when one is able to do so.
Congratulations to Olivia. I can understand why you are so proud of your grandchildren. I also agree being multi-lingual is such an asset.
Something that may interest you Philip. Christophers great grandfather who was shipwrecked here in 1907 was employed by a Lunenburg sealing company. He was a French Canadian and joined his boat in Halifax. He was brought up on Hirtle Island.
Congratulations to her and her proud Grandfather! She is a beautiful young lady.
Congratulations or félicitations ! It is always good to know at least one other language, especially when you live in a country where two languages are a must ! We have the same here with flemish and french as you probably know.
Congratulations to Olivia and her proud family. Yes, being bilingual is very important as our world shrinks.
Our family often mixes languages in the same sentence and we don't even notice. Other folks do, however and think us quite odd... which, of course, we are! LOL!
Hey Grandad! You have three very good reasons to be proud. I'm so pleased for Olivia and your pride shines through every word of this post for all of your grandchildren. I'm sure having a very clever and very interesting Grandad would have helped them too!
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Off subject, I've found a link I think you might enjoy...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2017884/Biggest-dog-world-Meet-George-7ft-long-Great-Dane--whos-terrified-chihuahuas.html
If it soesn't work as a link just paste into your top bar. It's from the Daily Mail so is a safe link.
Congrats again! xxx
You have every reason to be proud and I concur that a bilingual education is a great asset in today's world. I like the idea that we are striving toward "one world" but hope it can be attained without losing the individual personalities of the different ethnicities and countries.
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