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This qualitative study used focus groups to identify the knowledge about the "Arts du Cirque" Program implemented in a primary school and to explore perceptions of its impacts. Data are based on the discourse of school staff members, parents and other members of the community of an elementary school. The impacts on students are illustrated in terms of prioritized values, academic and skill learning, behavior, self-esteem, sense of belonging and child-adult relationship. Impacts are also reported regarding school staff members, parents and other members of the community. Adequacy is shown between the development and deployment of cross-curricular competencies in the "Arts du Cirque" Program and what is prescribed by the "Quebec School Program." Results show evidence of a rapprochement between parents and teachers and of the support of the community at large mainly as an audience. Work must go in order to develop stronger family-school-community relationships. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.) [This research was made possible thanks to support from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres Family-School-Community and Cross-Curricular Competencies Research Laboratory.]

The aim of the study is to examine family-school collaboration in terms of parents' appreciation of the school report card and their knowledge and understanding of teachers' role and assessment practices. Exactly 125 parents of elementary level students, all members of the Provincial Parents Committee completed the questionnaire and answered a semi-opened question. Results revealed that the more the parents know about the teachers' assessment methods, the more they understand them. The more they are satisfied with the methods and agree with the results, the more they perceive the school report cards as being clear, understandable and useful in monitoring their child's progress. Such findings suggest that parents and teachers need to do more work together in developing workshops on assessments of disciplinary and cross-curricular competencies and on the understanding of report cards and assessment results that are being reported. (Contains 4 tables.) [This research was supported by a grant to the first author from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.]