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PAGE 8, WEDNESDAY. JULY 15, 198 1, WHITBY FREE PRESS F rench immersion starting inWhi*tby By NIVA ROWAN Since the inception of French Immersion classes in three Durham ichools in 1977, the projeet bas grown from the original 64 students inthree kindergarten classes to a projected 673 student$ for Sep- tember 1981. It will be offered up to grade 4 in the achools where It is presentiy belng taught, in Oshawa, Uxbridge, and Pickering, and will be extended tç schools in Whitby, Ajax, and Port Perry as of this Sep- tember. Federal and provin- a*cial grants amounting to approxlmately $30 per pupil bave enabled this program to become established, and along with ail major bc.ards in Ontario, Durham can now off er the educationai opportunity LAWN INSECT CONTROL Two insect pçsts that can destroy the beauty of your lawn are the chinch bug and the sod webworm. The chinch bug sucks the juices f rom the grass plants until they collapse and die. The sod webworm feeds on leaves and stems by chewing. For effective control THE WEED MAN will identify your insect problern and supply proper treatment. 1EV JOeJ 7a-&-9 CALL 683-9589 of becoming "fun- ctionally bilingual" in our two off iciai languages by the time a student Is in the eighth grade. French Immersion dif fers from cure Fren- ch in that it la the of- ficiai language for al instruction in the classroom, rather than the 20 minutes a day that is normally given to ail grade 6 and up students throughout Durham schools. From the very first moment that students enter a kindeigarten French immersion- class, every instruc- tional word spoken by the teacher is in French,. whether it is a song, a lesson, or a greeting. For several months, this mgy be repeated in English, but usuaily by Christmas the children are able to follow m*ost of the program in Fren- ch only. French immersion teachers foliow iden- tical curriculum guidelines for every subject area as set out by the Durham Board, except that ail instruc- tion is given in French. In a generaily accepted pattern throughout the province, English in- struction is usuaily star- ted in grade three or four, between 40 and 60 minutes a day, established lnternaily in each school as the timetable ailows. From- studies that bave been made of long- standing programs in Ottawa and Toronto, it appears that by grade six the French immer- sion students aire on a par with their English peers in their facility with the English language, and by this time they are at home with the French language as weil. Perhaps some of t.he greatest assets the French immersion programn has had are its dedicated and involved parents. Many must deal with an incon- venient transportation problem, and they are unusually active in parent/teacher groups, as helpers in the classrooms,- and in keeping Up with current issues involving their children's education. It has really been because of the vigorous demands of th"se aggressive parents that the French immersion program bas spread s0 rapidly i Durbam, and this seems to be the case in other boards where the program bas spread with equal rapidity. Because of this ex- piditlous growth there seems to be some con- cern that highly qualified instructors who are fluent in the French language will become lncreasingly scarce, but so far Durham bas been most fortunate in acquiring akilîful and proficlent teachers for their program. In a shrinking and constantly changing world, with more com- plex demands being placed on every in- dividual in society, being fluent in a second language can only be seen as an enrichlng and beneficlal personal resource. In a bilinguai countrY, its benefits are obvlous, but the abillty to comn- municate in French and Engllsh with people from ail over the world is a rewardlng ex- perlence known oniy to those fortunate few f luent in another language. EDITORIS NOTE: Rowan ls a teacher at Glengrove Public Sehool, Pickering and ls a meinher of the teachers' political ac- tion committee of the Durham Elemnentary Teachers' Association (D.E.T.A.). Insulatio n buyer gets. w arning from"CHIP TORONTO - Certain insulation companies and installers are mlsleadlng homeowners into believing they are eligible for Canadian Home Insulation Program (CHIP) assistance even though their homes do not qualify. According to Amnie Rose, CHIP Co- ordinator for Ontario, homeowners are allegedly being told they can get CHIP rebates on insulation for homes NEARLY NEWSIPSI Cle e LE 73 Cetina St Ire (ff-4100 579.99 and THE OPTICAL LAB "1Worklng Together To Serve You Botter"P r Wm chaimInge yo>u to tEndf >ur hlGgh quelity and 10cw prices, anywvhere mine ln *Spcta reir: and Senior Citizen rates SA ME DA YSERVICE- LA B ON SITE TO TAKE GA RE 0F IMMEDIA TE NEEDS ON MOST PRESCRIPTIONS 16 KING ST. E. Ey. Shopp. 571-10 OSHAWA OpticaILab5671-120 MR. BUSINESSMAN: How would you' like to have 22,000 salesmenout working for you each week? YOU CAN! THE FOLLOWING AD YOUR NAME Your rmessage YOUR ADDRESS YOUR PHONE NO. ETC. CAN BE REACHING OVER 22,000 HOUSEHOLDS EACH WEEK FOR LESS THAN 'Ase PER HOUSEHOLD PER MONTH!1 INTERESTED? FOR DETAILS CALL: MARJBURGESS at 668-6111 ITS -ICw-, STAN CLAYTON Sannouncesthe B.re-opening of hîs BOOKKEEPING SERVICE Local - Experienced- Caring 10Ash St., Wtîitby 666-2444 constructed after 1961. Houses bulit after 1961, however, are not currently eligible to. receive the rebates and homeowners are cautioned to be wary of any insulation comkpany or agent who says they; are. This practice is af- fecting potential pur- chasers of home in- sulation in Toronto and Mississauga and is spreading into im- mediate outlylng areas. "The companies are promotlng CHIP benefits in areas which are flot yet eligible," confirms Rose. "The consumer, if unsure of what he's been told, should check out the details with CHIP before proceeding with any transaction. " CHIP officiais are, aware of this situation and it is presentiy being investigated. The resuits of this in- vestigation could entail repayment of grants issued to people whose homes were built after 1961. This is flot the first time the "buyer" has been warned to "beware". Since the program's inception in Sept. 1977, CHIP has selectively issued in- formation kits, newslet- ters and releases to On- tario media and residents on program guidelines, acceptable insulation materials and consumer caution. In keeping with CHIP's mandate, the programn works in stages. The current stage in Ontario in- cludes those dwellings built before, but only before 1961. Residents owning homes built af- ter 1961, but still wlshlng to insulate, should be aware that no financial assistance can be claixned from CHIP, nor is there a guarantee for any retroactive dlaims. CHII> can ho reached by callig 1-800-268-1818. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MASON JARS ALL Fi SIZES - VISIT ] YM Wanda & Tonly Martin at THE COMPLEUE HARDWARE STORE WHUTIy DOINION HARDWARME] 3lgBrockSt.S. 668-3540