CANADA: Salesians open French international school
Don Bosco Halifax is first French school to be part of Catholic education network
(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries have launched the first international school of French, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, after two years of preparation. It is the ninth school of this type in Canada, but the only Salesian school of its kind. Officially named the International French High School of the Atlantic Provinces (LIFPA, in French), it is commonly known as Don Bosco Halifax.
France has a worldwide network of French schools abroad that includes 580 institutes in 139 countries. It is the first time that one of these institutes has been part of the Catholic education network.
“Eight teachers have been working for a long time to prepare for the new school year,” said Sylvain Olivier, director general of LIFP and rector of the Don Bosco Salesian House in Nice, France. “Six of them have been trained in France and already have extensive experience acquired either in mainland France or in the United States. The other two already have a job in Halifax and come to do a few hours of Arabic and physical education.”
Most of the students are immigrants or children of the teaching staff. Some of the older students are French who were living in other parts of Europe. Mélina, who attended a Salesian center in Nice, and Maëlys, who is from Marseilles came to the school with Father Jean-Marie Petitclerc, vice-provincial of Province of France and Southern Belgium. They will be hosted by English-speaking families for three to four months and started the second class on Sept. 10.
The school held its first open day in August, which was attended by close to 100 people who were able to get to know the facilities and talk to the teams. The school belongs to the network of Don Bosco schools in the Salesian Province of France and Southern Belgium.
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ANS – Canada – “LIFPA”, the French international school in Halifax opens its doors… and is Salesian!