For Immediate Release
Contact:
Brittany Racca
(337) 365-1540
(888) 942-3742
Iberia Parish School District’s French Immersion
Celebrating 20 Years
NEW IBERIA, La. --- Iberia Parish School District’s French Immersion Program, housed at North Lewis Elementary and Belle Place Middle, is celebrating 20 years of enriching students’ lives while preserving the French language’s place in Louisiana culture and providing students an opportunity to be educated by teachers from around the world.

Picnic in the Park:

The pinnacle of the festivities, a picnic and celebration called Le Grand Pique-Nique d'Immersion en Ibérie, will be held on Sun., March 27 from noon-3 p.m.

Les Amis de L’Immersion Française (the friends of the French Immersion program) organized the event to give teachers, students, and families an opportunity to come together and celebrate the program they all embrace.

In addition, this will be an opportunity to showcase Francophone culture; the picnic will feature musical performances by North Lewis Elementary’s French Immersion teachers and students.

The public is invited and families attending are encouraged to pack their favorite picnic lunch/soft drinks, bring their blankets or lawn chairs and find a perfect spot under the majestic oaks in New Iberia City Park to enjoy the free celebration.

The Cajun/Creole band Poisson Rouge (led by accordion player Kylie Griffin) will open the festivities. Additional musical presentations will be provided by the LeBlanc Fiddlers Club and the Bayou Tigre Steppers, and guests will have the opportunity to enjoy Francophone-themed selfie booths and a display of memorabilia from French-speaking countries.

Ebrar Reaux, president of Les Amis de L’Immersion Française, said “At a time when opportunities to gather together have been scarce and the education system has been tested, honoring this valued part of Iberia Parish’s public school system is uniquely important.”

Reaux continues, “Over the years, French Immersion has impacted students from throughout Iberia Parish, introduced educators from more than 10 Francophone countries to New Iberia, and provided the students and families with rich, extra-curricular opportunities they would not normally have experienced. Isn’t that something we should all celebrate?”

Le Grand Pique-Nique d'Immersion en Ibérie will do just that. Dignitaries from state and local organizations will attend the event. In addition, it will honor the educators who made and make this unique educational opportunity possible. The program will celebrate immersion's first teachers and administrators and showcase the honors received by North Lewis Elementary (Certified World Language Immersion Site and French Government’s LabelFrancÉducation) and by the school's current principal, Tim Rosamond (L’Ordre des Palmes Académiques).


About French Immersion:

In 2002, Iberia Parish launched an innovative new program that aimed to educate, enrich, preserve, and make global connections -- L'Immersion En Ibérie. Iberia Parish School District students were offered an opportunity to learn not just reading, writing, and arithmetic; they would actually gain a second language while in elementary school.

Since its inception, this free program has been available to all kindergarten students entering Iberia Parish public schools each year. Now, as the program completes its 20th year and French Immersion alumni become educators and leaders themselves, it is time to celebrate the years of effort and innovation that are the program’s trademark.

Already, the French Immersion program has celebrated this year with a school parade and numerous musical performances by French Immersion students and teachers in area venues.


Sponsors:
Les Amis is profoundly grateful to the sponsors who are making le Grand Pique-Nique a magnificent celebration of the French language, cultural preservation, and education in Iberia Parish.

Sponsors include:
Gold Level (Merci mille fois)
  • Atchafalaya National Heritage Area
  • City of New Iberia
  • Iberia Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Les Amis de l’ Immersion Française, Inc.
  • Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board

Silver Level (Merci beaucoup)
  • Bayou Teche French Table
  • Capitol One Bank of New Iberia
  • Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel
  • First National Bank of Jeanerette
  • John and Cathy Indest
  • Pipes and Plugs
  • Raising Cane’s

Bronze Level (Merci)
  • City of Jeanerette
  • Iberia Development Foundation
  • Iberia Parish School Board

For additional information, or to become a sponsor, please contact Ebrar Reaux, President of Les Amis de l’ Immersion, at joeroe@att.net or (337) 349-7343 (anytime between 4 pm and 10 pm.). You can also follow their Facebook page and group.
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The Iberia Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official parish marketing agency promoting New Iberia, Avery Island, Jefferson Island, Jeanerette, Loreauville and Delcambre as a destination. Marketing programs target leisure travelers, business travelers, media, entertainment industry, and the travel trade including group tour planners, meeting planners, sports planners and special event planners. The bureau operates a parish welcome center in New Iberia, Louisiana.
For more information on parish events and tourism assets, call the bureau at 337-365-1540 or visit IberiaTravel.com