Congratulations to Chantal Lafargue, an educator with
Anglophone West School District, who is a recipient of a Certificate of
Achievement from the 2017 Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence.
The Prime Minister’s Awards website
had this to say about Lafargue who is currently a teacher at the district’s
Newcomer Support Centre:
A passion for language and
culture fuels Chantal Lafargue to spearhead partnerships with community and
outside agencies to develop countless opportunities for her students and
provide support for incoming Syrian refugees and their families and all
newcomers to Canada. She is a pioneer in Canadian language education and a true
hero in celebrating our national multicultural identity.
Lafargue ensures that each class
is packed in relevant content delivered in very personal ways. Her lessons are
supported by “Can Do” statements that help students with self-assessment as
they learn a new language.
“Anglophone West School District has many great teachers
like Chantal Lafargue who make a difference in our children’s lives every day,”
said Superintendent David McTimoney. “Students greatly benefit from Chantal’s passion
for education and her commitment to student success.”
Among Lafargue’s outstanding achievements:
• Working with colleagues to create a unique
language portfolio. This project was nationally recognized and put their school
on the map for language education. Lafargue also developed assessment tools,
workshops, professional development sessions, curriculum and co-authored books
focused on language instruction and cultural competency with partners at the
Second Language Research Institute of Canada at the University of New
Brunswick.
• Securing a grant and worked with students and
colleagues to create an online welcome booklet for newcomers for the school’s
website. The eBook was recorded in 12 different languages over a six-month
period.
• Spearheading the use of a new intake assessment
for English proficiency at her high school, which enabled better placement of
new Syrian and all newcomers into English support classes. The assessment was
adopted by other schools in the district.