International & Indigenous Languages – Elementary

The International & Indigenous Languages Program – Elementary helps students learn a new language or maintain and develop the language of their home, promoting cultural and linguistic diversity. It is available to all students (JK-Grade 8), regardless of their language background and the school board they attend, and is FREE for Ontario residents. 

Registration for the 2023 – 2024 school year is now open!

Classes will be offered in-person and/or virtually. In-person classes will depend on the current public health regulations determined by the Ministry of Education and Ottawa Public Health. If in-person classes must be canceled, students will be asked to switch to virtual learning.

9:30 am – 12:00 pm every Saturday In-person and/or Virtual

American Sign Language (ASL), Amharic, Blin, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Creole, Croatian, Dari, Dutch, Farsi, Igbo, Inuktitut, Italian, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Korean, Lingala, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Pashto, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swahili, Tigrinya, Turkish, Ukrainian, Yoruba

1:00 – 3:30 pm Beginner classes Virtual

Beginner classes in American Sign Language, Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, and Ukrainian

Morning classes (9:30 am to 12:00 pm)

We offer the following languages Saturday morning.

Language	Format	Location for In-person
American Sign Language (ASL)	In-Person and Virtual	St. Mother Teresa HS, 440 Longfields Dr., Barrhaven
Amharic	In-Person	St. George School, 130 Keyworth Ave., Ottawa
Blin	In-person	Notre Dame HS, 710 Broadview Ave., Ottawa
Bulgarian	In-person	St. George School, 130 Keyworth Ave., Ottawa
Cantonese	In-person	Notre Dame HS, 710 Broadview Ave., Ottawa
Creole	Virtual	N/A
Croatian	In-Person	Frank Ryan Catholic Int School, 128 Chesterton Dr., Ottawa
Dari	Virtual	N/A
Dutch	Virtual	N/A
Farsi	In-person	– All Saints HS, 5115 Kanata Ave., Kanata
Igbo	Virtual	N/A
Inuktitut	Virtual	N/A
Italian	In-person	Frank Ryan Catholic Int School, 128 Chesterton Dr., Ottawa
Kinyarwanda	Virtual	N/A
Kirundi	Virtual	N/A
Korean	In-person	St. Mother Teresa HS, 440 Longfields Dr., Barrhaven
Lingala	Virtual	N/A
Mandarin (Simplified)	In-person and Virtual	– All Saints HS, 5115 Kanata Ave., Kanata – Notre Dame HS, 710 Broadview Ave., Ottawa – St. Clare School, 2133 Gardenway Dr., Orléans – St. Joseph HS, 3333 Greenbank Rd., Nepean
Mandarin (Traditional)	In-person and/or Virtual	St. George School, 130 Keyworth Ave., Ottawa Note: Location might change
Polish	In-person	St. Nicholas Adult HS, 893 Admiral Ave., Ottawa
Portuguese	In-person	Frank Ryan Catholic Int School, 128 Chesterton Dr., Ottawa
Punjabi	In-Person and/or Virtual	– St. Mother Teresa HS, 440 Longfields Dr., Barrhaven
Romanian	In-person	Frank Ryan Catholic Int School, 128 Chesterton Dr., Ottawa
Russian	In-person	St. George School, 130 Keyworth Ave., Ottawa
Slovak	In-Person	St. George School, 130 Keyworth Ave., Ottawa
Spanish	In-person and Virtual	– Frank Ryan Catholic Int School, 128 Chesterton Dr., Ottawa – All Saints HS, 5115 Kanata Ave., Kanata North – St. Clare School, 2133 Gardenway Dr., Orléans
Swahili	Virtual	N/A
Tigrinya	In-person	– Frank Ryan Catholic Int School, 128 Chesterton Dr., Ottawa
Turkish	In-Person	Notre Dame HS, 710 Broadview Ave., Ottawa
Ukrainian	In-Person	All Saints HS, 5115 Kanata Ave., Kanata
Yoruba	In-Person or Virtual	Frank Ryan Catholic Int School, 128 Chesterton Dr., Ottawa Note: In-person location might change

Sites and Languages at a Glance

Site	Languages
All Saints HS 5115 Kanata Avenue, Kanata North	Farsi Mandarin (Simplified) Punjabi Spanish Ukrainian
Frank Ryan Catholic School 128 Chesterton Dr., Ottawa	Croatian Italian Portuguese Romanian Spanish Tigrinya
Notre Dame HS 710 Broadview Ave., Ottawa	Blin Cantonese Dutch Mandarin (Simplified)
St. Clare School 2133 Gardenway Dr, Orléans	Mandarin (Simplified) Spanish
St. George School, 130 Keyworth Ave., Ottawa	Amharic Bulgarian Mandarin (Traditional) Note: Location might change Russian Slovak
St. Joseph HS 3333 Greenbank Rd, Nepean	Mandarin (Simplified)
St. Mother Teresa HS 440 Longfields Dr., Barrhaven	ASL Korean Punjabi
St. Nicholas Adult HS 893 Admiral Ave., Ottawa	Polish

Afternoon classes (Beginner level only) – 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Afternoon VIRTUAL classes are designed for beginners (Grades 2 – 8). Prior knowledge of the language is not expected or required. All afternoon classes are offered virtually.

• American Sign Language
• Arabic
• Korean
• Mandarin (Simplified)
• Spanish
• Ukrainian

The Ottawa Catholic School Board reserves the right to cancel any program due to low enrolment.

Eligibility and choices

• Students who are in JK to Grade 8 in the 2023 – 2024 school year.
• Students must be available for the full duration of the class time.
• Students from Ontario and Quebec living in the Ottawa area.
• Students may register for one of the following choices:
• one morning class (Grades JK – Grade 8)
• one afternoon class (Grades 2 – Grade 8) (Note: Beginner students only)
• one morning class and one afternoon class (Different languages am/pm)

REGISTER for the 2023 – 2024 school year

No consumable fees will be collected this year (as in the last couple of years).

Students from Quebec or International students residing in Ontario must pay a tuition fee of $165.00 (payable online).

Online payments can be made after June 24, 2023

Note: In case of cancellation, you will receive a prorated refund minus an administrative fee of $15. 

Questions:  Call 613-228-3338.

Required documents

As per the Ontario Ministry of Education guidelines, the following supporting documents of NEW students to our program must be reviewed by the Continuing Education Department prior to confirmation of the registration. We will email parents on the details of this process on receipt of the registration.

Proof of Address (only one required):

• Current Property Tax Bill
• Current Utility Bill
• Home Phone/Cable/Internet Bill
• Please note, Driver’s License is not acceptable

Proof of Citizenship and Status in Canada (only one required):

• Canadian Citizen (Birth Certificate, Passport, Baptismal Certificate)
• Permanent Resident (Permanent Resident Card, Stage One Approval letter, Equivalent Documentation from
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) confirming approval in principle)
• Refugee Status: Documentation from IRCC confirming status, Consideration of eligibility (Convention refugee)
• Diplomat Status / Minister’s Permit
• Student Visa (Study Permit)
• Visitor Visa (Visitor Record)