Accents - supporting bilingualism across Poitou-Charentes

In June 2009, we launched our Parents Support Network. This was in reaction to the many questions and requests for support from families wiith children growing up in an unfamiliar education system.
Our diary of talks and events for this school year is below, and all talks are open to both members and non-members of Accents. A small charge is made for these events to cover costs and places should be reserved by calling Kathryn on 05.49.97.10.17 or e-mailing Accents.

Summer Meeting

(June 7th 2010)

General discussion on bringing up children in a second culture. Suitable for parents of children of all ages. A great opportunity for parents to meet and network before the summer holidays begin!

Click here to reserve a place today!

All About....Primaire

(May 3rd 2010)

A discussion about Primaire / Primary schooling in France - what to expect on entering CP, what is covered during the primary years, how children are prepared for Collège, education in English etc.

All about.... Maternelle

(March 2nd 2010)

Suzanne Barron-Hauwaert (author of Language Strategies for Bilingual Families–OPOL): the schooling system and the latest research into language acquisition with this age group.

Sarah McKeown (British State Registered Speech Therapist): the development of speech - what to expect and what to watch out for when speaking English.

What to expect at Collège 

(Feb 1st 2010)

Want to know what to expect at Collège? What should you look out for when choosing the best Collège for your child? What options are available? What should you do about English lessons and homework? These topics and many others will be covered in this discussion.
 

The joys and pitfalls of bringing up bilingual children in France

(Dec 1st 2009)

We had an enjoyable meeting and lively discussion about the opportunities and challenges facing us and our children. We were lucky to have several participants who had grown up in multilingual families themselves as well as teachers (both English and French) and of course, Suzanne guided us through the research and strategies available on bilingualism. A summary of the discussion points is available here.

We aim to cover the following areas over the year:
  1. Language / Communication between parents and teachers
  2. Bilingualism - how to achieve and the challenges along the way
  3. Basic information on the French education system
  4. Internet forum for exchanging ideas and knowledge
  5. Focus on transition stages - e.g. primaire to collège
  6. Special help for specific needs like dyslexia
  7. Relationship with health and other services (including diet /school meals)
  8. Out of area / home schooling options