Any student entering Grade 6 can enroll in Late French Immersion in the Greater 糖心视频污 School District. Late French Immersion is offered at four dual-track middle schools. No prior knowledge of French is expected or required. Transportation is the responsibility of parents. Our Late French Immersion page provides more information about the program.
Registration for Late French Immersion occurs online from January 29 鈥揊ebruary 2 2024. Families who register during registration week will have priority for placement.
Late French Immersion – Program Overview
For an overview of the program review this video.
For the 2022/2023 school year, Late French Immersion is available at the following schools:
Arbutus, Central, Lansdowne, and Shoreline.
Determining your French Immersion Catchment School
Each home address is associated with an elementary, middle and secondary school. To determine which schools are associated with a home address, visit the School Locator Tool. Type in the address and it will indicate which school students living at the address should attend.
Please note that your English and French Immersion catchments may vary because not all schools offer dual-track programs.
What is needed to register for Late French Immersion?
To register a student in Late French Immersion, a parent or legal guardian must provide proof of residential address.
Any applications missing the required documentation as of 3:30 p.m. on the last day of registration, will not be considered for priority placement. Schools will verify the applicant鈥檚 residential address to ensure students are registered at their French Immersion catchment school.
Call your catchment school if you require assistance.
For more information on the required documentation, click here.
Late French Immersion Alternate Choices
Late French Immersion is a district program and offered at 4 of our 10 middle schools. In the event an in-catchment student is unable to attend their catchment dual track school and French Immersion is a family priority, parents are encouraged to select alternate dual track school choices. More than one choice can be selected. The purpose of offering alternate school choices is to provide SD 61 families the greatest accessibility possible to our French Immersion program at schools where the catchment capacity has not been reached.
Alternate choices must be made during Late French Immersion registration week to be considered.
Student names will be entered into an out of catchment draw for each alternate school chosen.
By selecting an alternate choice, you are committing to registering your child at anyone of the alternates selected should a space become available. Please do not select an alternate choice unless you are willing to send your child to that school.
Students will always remain on their听catchment dual track school鈥檚听waitlist. Should a placement become available, the catchment seat will be offered to you irrespective of having accepted an alternate school placement.
Alternate selections are听NOT听considered transfer requests.
Student Placement
Program placements will be offered according to the following priorities:
French Immersion placements will take place in accordance with Student Enrolment Priorities. Program placements will be offered according to the following priorities:
- Re-enrolling students
- A catchment area sibling
- A new catchment area child
3.5 A non-catchment sibling impacted by a change to a catchment boundary - A non-catchment sibling
- A non-catchment area child
- A non-school District child
Placement Procedures
All Late French Immersion placements are based on the availability of space and facilities. Placement of students will take place in accordance with the student enrolment priorities.
Late French Immersion registration is not based on a first come first served basis. For schools where there are fewer spaces than the number of applicants, a lottery will take place in accordance with the Student Enrolment Priorities. Students will be placed based on the order they are drawn from the lottery.
Waitlists will also be established according to the draw order of the lottery.
Notification of Placement
Families will be notified of the results via email with the email address they provide upon registration. Notification will occur during the week following the communicated registration week.
Students who are not accepted, or do not accept a Late French Immersion placement will be registered at their English catchment middle school.
School Lottery
In the event a school receives more applications for Late French Immersion than the number of seats it can accommodate, the priority order of registrants will be determined by a random school lottery. Due to strong demand, the lottery process is introduced on a school-by-school basis to ensure equitable access to each catchment family wishing to pursue Late Immersion as a District program of choice.
Draw Scenarios
1. Catchment Sibling
- If the number of catchment sibling registrants exceeds the number of available spaces the school can accommodate, priority order will be determined by catchment sibling school lottery.
- All other in-catchment registrants will then be waitlisted in accordance to an in-catchment school draw.
- Students will have the opportunity to be considered for placement at another dual-track middle school provided the Late French Immersion Alternate School Choice form is completed during Late French Immersion Registration week. See # 3 below.
Note: non-catchment siblings are to apply at their catchment school, then apply for transfer should they wish to attend the same non-catchment school as their older sibling.
2. In-catchment
- Once in-catchment siblings have been placed, in-catchment students will be placed.
- If the number of in-catchment registrants exceeds the number of available spaces the school can accommodate, priority order will be determined by an in-catchment school lottery.
- Students not placed will be waitlisted according to draw order.
- Students will have the opportunity to be considered for placement at another dual-track middle school provided the Alternate Late French Immersion School Choice form is completed during Early French Immersion Registration week. See # 3 below.
3. Out of catchment but unable to access catchment school
- In the event an in-catchment student is unable to attend their catchment dual-track school, parents are encouraged to select an alternate dual-track school choice on the Late French Immersion Alternate School Choice form. More than one choice can be selected.
- Alternate choices to a catchment school must be made during registration week to be considered.
- Student names will be entered into an out of catchment draw for the alternate schools indicated on the Late French Immersion Alternate Choice form.
4. Out of catchment
Please register at your catchment late Immersion middle school and apply for transfer during the K 鈥� 12 transfer process in February.
Twins
In the event of a draw, one ballot will be entered into the draw for families with twins. If drawn, both twins will be offered placement in the program at the same school.
Waitlists
Should an opening occur once all available seats have been allocated, it will be offered to parents on the waitlist in accordance with student enrolment priorities.
If a parent accepts a spot for their child at a school, which is not their catchment school, they will be offered the next available space at the original catchment school according to draw order.
Late Applications
All late applications received after the communicated registration deadline will be added to the end of an established waitlist.
Late sibling and late in-catchment registrations will have priority consideration over out of catchment waitlisted students, provided space is available.
Continuing in Secondary French Immersion
Early and Late French Immersion students will be pre-transitioned to the dual-track secondary school connected to their home address. For more information please visit Catchment Pathways & Transitions.
French Immersion is offered at the following Secondary Schools:
Esquimalt High, Oak Bay High, 糖心视频污 High, and Reynolds Secondary