July / August 2002 Vol. 34, no. 4

High School Laureates Receive Prizes

Vicky Brazeau, Communications

On May 3, 2002, the National Library of Canada welcomed the participants and organizers of the Concours provincial de français de l’Ontario. The competition, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, took place at the University of Ottawa, while the awards ceremony was held in the auditorium of the National Library of Canada.

National Librarian Roch Carrier gave the first speech of the ceremony. Other guests, notably Robert Major, vice-rector of Academics at the University of Ottawa, and Thomas Blais, president of the board of directors of the Fédération des caisses populaires de l’Ontario, also shared their thoughts. Nicole Bourbonnais, Département des letters françaises, University of Ottawa, acknowledged the many people who were involved in the event, and France Martineau, chair of the competition, handed out participation certificates.

Prizes were awarded to the three strongest students in each of four categories: writing, reading, dictation and summarization. Following this was a reading by Théâtre Catapulte of Élise Gauthier’s play Longs sanglots, a highlight of the ceremony. Prizes were then handed out to the top 11 students in each of the categories. This year, generous cash prizes were awarded thanks to the competition’s financial supporters. La Fédération des caisses populaires de l’Ontario was the principal sponsor.

Organized by the University of Ottawa, Laurentian University and Glendon University, the Concours provincial de français de l’Ontario is open to Grade 12 and OAC students who attend a French-language secondary school in Ontario. This year, a record number of students entered the competition  -  over 40 secondary schools sent representatives. As a result, there were winners from many different parts of the province.

Caroline Fauchon, representing l’École secondaire d’Embrun, took first prize overall. Caroline said that she was very glad to have won, especially since she had not been expecting to win a prize. The Grade 12 student said that she decided to enter the competition because French is one of her strongest subjects. Representing Sudbury and Collège Notre-Dame, Alain Sonier won 11th prize overall. Alain decided to compete following his French teacher’s suggestion. He also mentioned that he was pleased to have won and that his experience has made him interested in becoming more involved in school-related activities.

Also from Northern Ontario and representing l’École secondaire Sainte-Marie in New Liskeard, Sylvain Desmarais, a Grade 12 student, won second place in the writing category. Angèle Gauthier, an OAC student from the same school won in the summarization category. These two students said they were very proud to have won and that the experience had been a positive one.

All those involved, including the participants and the organizers, seemed extremely satisfied with the competition and the awards ceremony. Mrs. Bourbonnais said that "the competition went smoothly," and commented that "France Martineau, the chair of the competition, did a great job." She also stated that the Concours provincial de français de l’Ontario was "warmly welcomed by the National Library of Canada" and that this gave a chance to those who "did not live in Ottawa to discover this place of culture."

The National Library of Canada extends its congratulations to all those involved with the Concours provincial de français de l’Ontario.