Surrey students top national and provincial French language competitions

École Kwantlen Park secondary school French Immersion student Hannah Yang has won the Concours national de poésie en immersion française (national French Immersion poetry contest) presented by the Canadian Association of Immersion Teachers.

Hannah Yang (left) with her teacher Shauna Nero

Hannah’s winning poem “Le père” was judged the best in the country. She wins two years of studies at Collège Laflêche and three weeks at École Internationale de Français in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. She has been invited to present her poem at the 31st annual International Poetry Festival in Trois-Rivières this October, accompanied by her Kwantlen Park teacher Shauna Nero.

In a separate event, two district students won medals in the province for their respective grades in the Concours d'art oratoire; the French public speaking competition.

École Earl Marriott secondary Grade 9 student Julia Albert took first place and École Kwantlen Park secondary Grade 10 student Kyle Boutilier third place in the competition put on by the Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon.

Contestants choose a topic, develop and present a three to five-minute speech in French. Julia’s topic was "La science contre la superstition" and Kyle spoke about "La démocratie".

Twelve of the 240 provincial finalists were from Surrey schools.

(Left) Julia Albert with Patti Holm, President of Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon, and Kyle Boutilier with chief judge Renée Hamilton-Clark (right)