Every good party needs a special guest. Ours had four paws, a storybook of his own and approximately 1,200 students joining the celebration!
Grizzly the St. Bernard helped bring French learning to life during the OCSB’s first board-wide Franco-Ontarian Day party. Students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 took part in the event, sharing a celebration of language, culture and community with a little canine charm.
Developed by the French as a Second Language (FSL) department, the livestream connected classrooms across the Board. Many students joined live, while others watched the recording the following Monday. There was plenty of room at this party, even for those arriving a little later!
A Big Dog with a Story to Share
The celebration featured Grizzly fête la journée Franco, written by Kelly Nolan-Tam and illustrated by Sophie Beaulne. Created especially for the OCSB, the book has both primary and junior versions so students at different stages of their French learning can enjoy the story.
And the inspiration behind its main character? Sophie’s own St. Bernard, Grizzly. His guest appearance gave students a chance to meet the real dog behind the illustrations, a lovely connection between the pages of a book and the world beyond them.
Grizzly is in good company, too. He and other team members’ pets appear in books created by the Board Elementary FSL team. These familiar, much-loved animals add personality to French learning and give students characters to get to know along the way.
More than a date on the calendar
Every September 25, Franco-Ontarian Day celebrates Ontario’s Francophone community and its history, culture and contributions. For our students, it is a chance to discover the stories and traditions connected to the language they are learning.
The date honours the first raising of the Franco-Ontarian flag at the University of Sudbury in 1975. Franco-Ontarian Day became an official provincial celebration in 2010, but the pride it represents reaches back through generations.
Even the flag tells a story. Its green and white colours represent summer and winter, its trillium symbolizes Ontario, and its fleur-de-lys represents the French language. It is a reminder that language connects us to places, people and a shared sense of belonging.
Celebrating together invites students into that story, whether they speak French at home or are discovering it at school.
Finding connections through French
A shared story and a special guest can give students plenty to be curious about. Experiences like this bring another dimension to French learning at the OCSB, where our goal is to help students feel confident using French in everyday life.
That journey starts in our bilingual Kindergarten program, with equal time spent learning through play in French and English. In Grades 1 to 3, students spend a quarter of their school day learning in French. Starting in Grade 4, families can choose between Core French and French Immersion.
Along the way, celebrations like Franco-Ontarian Day help connect those lessons to a wider community. French becomes part of a story to enjoy, a culture to explore and an experience to share with others.
Thank you to the FSL department, the Board Elementary FSL team and our educators for bringing students together for this first board-wide celebration. And to Grizzly, thank you for lending your considerable charm to the occasion. A very good dog and a very special guest!
