International schools in Mississauga? (private schools, college, live)

[virginiabxl]

Hello,
We are a French family moving from Houston to Toronto this summer.
We'd like our sons (5 and 3 years old) to attend school in english or in english/french.
Which international school would you recommend in Mississauga?
Thanks!

[west_end_don]

The public & Catholic (also publicly funded) school boards both offer french immersion programs. They offer the standard curriculum conducted in french. Check out the Peel Board of Education or the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board for more info. If your looking for private schools I can't offer any suggestions.

[local_02]

Salut!

That's a pretty big coincidence - I just made this account to reply to another post, and your question caught my eye.

I actually attended an "all French" high school (plus junior high).

To be honest, I can't really offer you much help on the specific schools in Mississauga (i.e., I've heard neither good nor bad things about the French programs at any of the schools there).

But, here are some general guidelines.

This is what the Peel District School Board's website has to say about the public "French Immersion":

"The program is open to all students and is designed for students for whom French is a second language."

(http://www.peelschools.org/facts/facts/french.htm)

The key phrase here being "second language." What this (likely) means is that a lot of the kids will be reluctant to fully immerse in the French atmosphere. The amount of French used will likely be minimal. And, every occasion when English can be employed (i.e., right after class is over) will be used.

So, these students will be English speakers first and foremost. French (for some) will just be an extra "burden" forced on them by their parents. The overall quality of the French education (despite what the teachers and principals will have you believe) will not be very comparable to someone growing up in France.

But, there are some real French schools for students with French as a first language. Again, I do not know about Mississauga (and it is normally less cosmopolitan than Toronto). But, Etienne Brule ( http://etiennebrule.csdcso.on.ca/) is a "hardcore" French school. I see these kids on the bus sometimes (I live right next to the school), and even though they will talk in English, they will effortlessly switch to French at times. Their pronounciation is perfect. I.e. : they are not losing the language.

Another two "real" French schools are College Francais and Lycee Francais, both in Toronto. Lycee Francais (I think) has all the grades from kindergarten to baccalaureate. People who go to these schools have good French (due to both the schools and their French speaking families, I suppose).

Another option is TFS (Toronto French School). They have a campus in Mississauga for grades 1-7. It is a good school (I could be biased: I attended it). But, be warned. Its level of French is more similar to regular "french immersion" in public schools than to Etienne Brulee, College and Lycee.

So, that's my experience. Again, there could be excellent FFL (French as First Language) schools in Mississauga, but I haven't heard of any.

(I also wouldn't worry about your kids "not learning" English... my bigger worry would be them losing their French under the Anglophone culture here. Ontario is not really bilingual, you know?)

[Acajack]

I think it’s also worth it to point out that the Lycée Français de Toronto operates on the French system (virtually identical to that of France), whereas places like Étienne-Brûlé and Le Collège Français (which are both high schools only I think) operate on the Canadian (Ontario) system that would be relatively similar to the public school system in Texas.

And of course, Lycée Français is a private school that is part of the "lycées français à l’étranger" network so you have to pay $$$ to send your kids there, whereas the others are just regular free public schools. As with most foreign lycées, the Lycée Français de Toronto offers both elementary and secondary.

Étienne-Brûlé high school is part of a public (non-confessional) French-language school board that covers a large part of southern Ontario, including Mississauga. You can see where their schools are by clicking here:
[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]http://www.csdcso.on.ca/csdcso/ecole/recherche.php[/SIZE][/SIZE]

There are also in Ontario Catholic (parochial) school boards, including some that teach in French. These schools are also publicly-supported so there are no tuition fees. Once again, here is the site for the Toronto area, including Mississauga which is in "Peel" region:
http://www.csdccs.edu.on.ca/ecoles.php

Both of these boards have both elementary and secondary schools.

[Acajack]

Oh yes, I almost forgot. All French schools in the Toronto-Mississauga area teach English as a second language. This may sound insufficient at first glance, but as the saying goes, "le français s’apprend, l’anglais s’attrape", so even if you send your kids to a French-only school in Ontario (no matter which one) that teaches English almost as a "foreign language", your kids will assuredly be fluent in English and may actually speak it much better than French as young adults in spite of a dozen years spent in an Ontario francophone educational environment.

Not meaning to tell you what to do, but as another poster said here it would probably be wisest to boost their French as much as possible if they are growing up in Ontario. English will take care of itself. Don’t worry.

[Mississauga Parent]

i heard from my friend (because she's enrolled her 2 children) that there's a new school opening called Mississauga Christian French School. It's 100% french and is from kindergarten to gr 8. it's located in central Mississauga. their website is Mississauga French Christian school

she said it's reasonable priced school

good luck!

[Fred Derf]

Public with Ontario curriculum:
.: Bienvenue | CSDCCS :. (French Catholic, English starts in Grade 4)
CSDCSO (French Public, English starts in Grade 4)

Private with Mississauga location:
Toronto French School - Home

Private with French (France) curriculum:
Lycée Français de Toronto