Behind every successful school, there are parents who get involved!

Christina Sylvestre, parent volunteer bénévole at école Au-coeur-de-l'île in Comox

 

I have two daughters who attend l’école Au cœur-de-l'île; one is in Grade 10 and the other is in Grade 12.

I am the Board member representing the secondary school level in the APÉ. I often help with the school’s activities, including the APÉ’s hot lunch program, financing activities, fun evenings for the high school, sports days (such as the Terry Fox Run), the cabane à sucre (sugar shack), community garage sale, after-school clubs (Pastry Club), and the Guerre des Chefs (Battle of the Chefs) evening. I am also involved with the climbing wall, the Yaakaar project, fundraising for graduating students, dance costumes, as well as supervising dances held in the school and other activities.

Why I got involved: I got involved at the school and with the committees as President and Board member as soon as my girls were enrolled in pre-school. Being an Anglophone parent, I wanted to participate in their activities and develop my French language level to help them succeed in the Francophone program. I found that participating in the activities gave me the opportunity to share my talents and skills and to learn more about my children’s cultural heritage, while helping improve their environment and quality of life as well as that of their peers.

What I love the most about our Francophone school: it is the spirit of teamwork and sharing. I’ve so often seen moments where families, children, staff, and school administration participated in activities, feeling welcome and working together to set up a new program for our young people. It's great!

A dream that I hold for my children: that they will have fond memories of their school years, and especially that their future will be full of cultural treasures coming from their education and experience!

An achievement of which I am proud: to have played an active role in several community projects in the other provinces where our family lived, and to have set up healthy hot meal programs, sports programs, and scholarships for graduates here in B.C. -- and of course, to have participated in my children’s school life. If I know that my kids have loved their years at school, it’s not because someone sent me a message about this, it’s because I saw it with my own eyes!