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Artscene School takes FAME seriously Lang moves closer to her return Sports www.insidehalton.com Electric, Gas & Wood Fireplaces Visit our showrooms in Oakville & Waterdown www. oakvillebeaver .com www.distinctivefiresoakville.com Stay Connected! Wednesday, November 27, 2013 | 52 pages A Publication of Metroland Media Group Connected to your community - $1.00 incl. tax Weather for Oakville, ON Thu Fri Sat Sun M A K I N G H O L I D A Y S B R I G H T Residents earn Peace Medallions by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 0° -5° -2° -6° -1° -8° -2° -9° Public school board launches Grade 1 French in 24 schools by Bob Mitchell Special to the Beaver From Nov. 16-23, the Peter Gilgan Family YMCA in Oakville joined others across Canada in marking YMCA Peace Week. The local YMCA hosted numerous events included the annual headliners, the Community Breakfast, where YMCA Peace Medallions were awarded to a youth, adult and group for their contributions in fostering peace with little or no resources. More than 400 people attended the ceremony Thursday at the Oakville Conference Centre. "Even in countries like Canada, children continue to be threatened by abuse, war, poverty or simply because they are girls," said Kyle Barber, YMCA of Oakville president and CEO. "We can make our local and global community a more peaceful place to live and one where every child has a chance to reach their full potential." see Breakfast on p.5 Acclaim Health volunteers will help brighten the holidays for many seniors by delivering more than 220 poinsettias to its Friendly Visiting, Special Steps and Hospice program clients. The plants were donated by the I.O.D.E. Angela Bruce Chapter, Oakville and Burlington Lions Club. Here are, from left, Acclaim Health client Bruce Anderson, Bette Read, Acclaim Health program co-ordinator, Joyce Bauer, I.O.D.E. and Acclaim Health volunteer, and Jim O'Breza, Burlington Lions Club treasurer. | photo by Chantal Ayotte ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) French will be taught in Grade 1 as a subject in 24 Halton public schools starting in the 2014-15 school year under a modi ed plan passed by Halton District School Board (HDSB) trustees last Wednesday. Staff had recommended the pilot run in 16 schools across Halton, but trustees bumped up that number with the goal of delivering French as a core subject to all Halton public schools over the next four years. Grade 1 will also continue to be the entry point for French Immersion (FI) with students receiving half of their language instruction in English. French, as a subject, has traditionally begun in Grade 4 in all Halton public schools, but students in Grades 1-3 will receive 40 minutes of French instruction each week under the new program. That increases to 120 minutes for Grade 4 students and 160 minutes in Grade 5 with students in Grades 7-8 receiving 200 minutes each week. The program will be reviewed annually so more schools could come on line well before the 2017-18 calendar year. A comprehensive impact study will be done no later than 2017-18. The initial 24 schools will consist of a combination of Kindergarten-Grade 8, K-Grade 6, dual-track, and see Public on p.4 For related stories, see p. 9 MacLachlan College Oakville's only IB World School, proudly offering the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme ALL WHAT'S IT ? T ABOU wag (verb): to move from side to side, forward or backwards, up or down; especially rapidly & repeatedly. Example: The dog wags his tail. jag (noun): a period of unrestrained indulgence in an activity; spree binge. Example: Melissa goes on a shopping jag when she sees a good deal. Pre-school to grade 12 | Call to inquire about applying 905-844-0372 ext. 235 | 337 Trafalgar Road, Oakville | www.maclachlan.ca