French Fest 2025

School council would like to thank all our external guest speakers, Principal Gage for her support, Alisa Takabe-French for her leadership and all the French teachers who attended, our wonderful Tech Crew who worked so seamlessly, our parent volunteers who made it possible, our custodians who also helped to set-up. Thanks to everyone who attended – your support gave us enthusiasm to plan these types of events. For those who missed our event, please find below links to some of the presentations from our esteemed speakers.

Event Program

• Guests check-in; Welcome drinks and appetizers

• Welcome and Opening Remarks

Lesley Gage, Principal, York Mills Collegiate Institute

Young Lee-Bartlett, Event Committee, YMCI School Council. Presentation

• YMCI French Immersion Programs

Summary of F.I. programs and courses at YMCI

Grade 12 French language test and Certificate of Bilingual Studies

Thinking ahead: Post-secondary bilingual education and career opportunities

Alisa Takabe-French, Teacher, Language Department, YMCI. Presentation

• YMCI F.I. Alumni Testimonials

Megdelyn Jang-Naruse, Bilingual Learning Specialist, CIBC

Ali Elhor Mechatronics Engineering Student, University of Waterloo. Video

Kenneth Tan, Medical Student, McGill University. Video

Najva Amin, Chief of Staff to Mayor Del Duca, City of Vaughan. Video

Paula Varvaro, Corporate Coach and Professional Artist

• Glendon Campus, York University

Overview of Undergraduate and Graduate programs

Mara Petrovsky, Antoine Ste-Marie, Recruitment Department. Presentation

Research Study: The Power of Bilingualism

Dr Josée Rivest, Associate Professor, Psychology. Presentation 

• The Alliance française of Toronto

Courses, DELF/DALF exams

Esra Findik, Educational Assistant/Teacher, North York Campus. Presentation

• Official Languages Programs

Leorrianne Lim, English-French Explore Programs. Presentation

• Toronto Francophone Community

Cinéfranco Jeunesse Festival 2025

Cécile Robertson, Co-Director of the Cinéfranco. Presentation

Francophonie Day and digest of francophone organizations across the GTA

Daniel Du Bellay, YMCI School Council. Resource wallboard

• Networking / Mingling / Tasting

Connect with YMCI teachers, alumni, and our esteemed guest speakers 

Stop by the tables set up by York U, Explore Programs, and Alliance française

Sample French food and drinks

Participate in the French book exchange

Meet members of the YMCI School Council

• Thank you and Closing remarks

Megan Tran-Vuong, Co-Chair, YMCI School Council