​Increasing demand for French-language education will see a French Immersion program offered at Dundonald School beginning this fall.

French Immersion enrolment across the school division has increased significantly during the past few years and to accommodate the demand Saskatoon Public Schools will be offering a new program at Dundonald for September 2017.

"Our school division has seen increasing interest in our French Immersion program. In the past five years, we have welcomed nearly 650 new students into the program,” said Charlene Scrimshaw, superintendent of education responsible for French Immersion. “This new program addresses that demand on the west side of Saskatoon, where we have heard requests from both new and established communities for more French education opportunities for students.”

École Dundonald School will offer Kindergarten through Grade 6 French programming for the 2017-18 school year, alongside the established English program. In 2018, The school will add a Grade 7 French Immersion classroom and will expand its program to Grade 8 in the fall 2019.

The new program will serve the communities of Dundonald, Confederation Park, Hampton Village, Kensington and Westview. More information on French Immersion at Dundonald is available by downloading the program information sheet.

As a result of the continued strong interest in the school, the English program will continue to be available only to current students and new registrants from the Dundonald neighbourhood.

Parents with children entering Kindergarten in September are invited to attend the Kindergarten Open House at École Dundonald School on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. Information will be available regarding the new French program.

Saskatoon Public Schools' French Immersion program is designed for students whose first language is not French. The program uses French as the primary language of instruction and communication in the school setting to enable students to acquire functional language skills. Parents do not need to speak French in order to enroll their children in French Immersion and most parents of French Immersion students have little or no French language skills.

For more information on the Dundonald French Immersion program please contact the school at 306-683-7200. More information about French immersion is also available on the Saskatoon Public Schools’ website.