Yellowknife (Apr 18/03) - Grade 3 students from all over Yellowknife are test driving the French immersion program at J.H. Sissons.

Over the next month 54 students from Mildred Hall, Range Lake North, J.H. Sissons, St. Joseph's and Weledeh Catholic schools will gather at J.H. Sissons to immerse themselves in French.

Other than kindergarten, Grade 4 is the only point at which students can jump into the French immersion program in Yellowknife, said Paul Bennett, J.H. Sissons principal.

"When they're learning the second language they bring in the skills from the first. It reinforces the skills of the second language," said Bennett of the advantages.

He said by starting later in the program the students tend to do better in English, their first language. But the French development is identical to those who were immersed from the start. Ecole St. Joseph is the only school in Yellowknife offering an early immersion French program.

"They can get to the same level and same goal."

A student perspective

The students are divided into three classes and spend half days for two weeks at Sissons where they experience a French immersion environment. They speak, read, write and do arithmetic all in French. They also shadow a bilingual Grade 4 student.

Most of the students chose to try the pre-immersion program because they had bilingual older siblings.

"My sister has a secret language called French and she plans things with my mom behind my back," said Bram Thiessen of why he's in the class.

But they're divided on whether they'll take the program in September.

"It's sometimes hard when you don't know the words.

"I mix up French and English," said Caitlin McGurk, who intends on taking the program because it's important to know a second language.

Grade 4 immersion started at J.H. Sissons in the 1980s by a group of parents who fought the program, said Bennett.

He said Grade 4 was chosen as an immersion time not because statistics support that as the best time, which is the case, but because the students who wanted the program were at that age level.

The next two sessions run from April 22 to May 2 and May 5 to 15.

After the session, parents and students can choose to enrol in the program for September.