ALBEIT COINCIDENTALLY, this week has seen two developments that will at last make Dufferin County a place where it's possible for children to become fluently bilingual.

On Monday night, a school that opened in Orangeville 30 years ago was officially reopened as the first French language school in Dufferin. The former Springbrook Public School became one of 37 in the Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest when it enrolled 30 francophone students last September. The official ribbon cutting saw students and their parents attend along with families hoping to enrol for the 2009-10 academic year.

École élémentaire des Quatre-Riviéres was named in recognition of Dufferin's unique situation as headwaters for the Credit, Humber, Grand and Nottawasaga rivers. But to gain admission, students must have at least one parent who is fluent in French.

No such restriction applies for French immersion schools, and on Tuesday night, the Upper Grand District School Board decided to locate such a school somewhere in Dufferin, making it much more convenient for local kids who now must travel to Brisbane Public School near Erin.

Merveilleux!