For immediate release May 15, 2012

Seven students from win awards at annual French public- speaking competition

MISSISSAUGA – Seven students from Toronto won awards at “le concours/festival d’art oratoire”, the annual French public-speaking event organized by Canadian Parents for French () and the Ontario Modern Language Teachers’ Association. This event took place on Saturday, May 12th, at York University’s bilingual campus, Glendon College, in Toronto.

The winners are:

Name Level Category School Name Placing Prize Jeremy Wang 11-12 Core French Don Mills Collegiate Institute 1st $1,000 Alan Zhou 11-12 Extended French Agincourt Collegiate Institute 1st $1,000 Kathleen O’Brien 9-10 French Immersion Bishop Allen Academy 1st $500 Eleonore Day 9-10 FSL+ Bishop Allen Academy 1st $500 Laura Freel 11-12 French Immersion Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute 2nd $500 Anastasiya Batig 9-10 Core French Michael Power ▪ St. Joseph High School 2nd $250 Diana Dubrovsky 9-10 Toronto DSB York Mills Collegiate Institute 3rd $125

First-place winners from each category in Grades 11-12 each win a $1,000 scholarship to York University in Toronto. Students who placed first in the Grades 11-12 categories will also be advancing to the National Concours, scheduled for May 26th at the University of Ottawa. The “National Concours d’art oratoire 2012” will bring together the top French-speaking students from across the country from Grades 11-12 who have competed and won at the provincial level. National finalists receive a $2,000 entrance scholarship and the first-place winners from each category win a $20,000 scholarship ($5,000 a year) to the University of Ottawa.

“Le concours/festival d’art oratoire” is an annual French public-speaking event for students in Grades 4 through 12, who are studying French as a second language in Ontario schools. A total of 320 students from across Ontario qualified for this year’s event. The Toronto Catholic District School Board sent a total of 16 students and the Toronto District School Board sent a total of 61 students to le concours this year.

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Canadian Parents for French is the national network of volunteers that values French as an integral part of Canada and is dedicated to the promotion and creation of French-second-language learning opportunities for young Canadians.

Information: Betty Gormley, Executive Director, CPF Ontario Tel: 905.366.1012 or 1.800.667.0594 E-mail: [email protected]