Ecole lycée bilingue international : SIS Sèvres, France

Choosing classes and options in the first year of high school.

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-06-27T15:49:00Z

With the new goverment mesures being put in place for the 2010-11 school year, all students in the first year of lycée must now chose two exploratory subjects. One of the goals of the reform is also to lighten the course load.

Following the reform, the weekly course load for typical Seconde students is as follows:

Common-core syllabus (maths, French...) = 23.5 hrs (including 3 hours of first foreign language instruction)
Two exploratory subjects = 2 x 1.5 hrs
Personalized counselling = 2 hrs
TOTAL = 28.5 hrs

For SIS students, the two exploratory subjects will automatically be:

SES (Social Sciences and Economy). This is a more general knowledge course and is closer to the SIS culture than the other management option available to other Seconde students.
SIS classes.

Motivated Inter students may add 3 hours of an additional language to their course load if their schedule so allows. They may choose from Italian, Japanese, Latin or Greek. Once begun the class may not be dropped during the school year. In Première, students may choose to continue studying this language, if there are no scheduling conflicts, or drop the option.

The weekly course load of an Inter student is therefore as follows:

Common-core syllabus (maths, French...) = 20.5 hrs (the 3 hours of first foreign language are subtracted)
SES = 1.5 hrs as for non-Inter students
SIS classes = 6 h
Personalized counselling = 2 h
TOTAL = 30 hrs + 3 hours if the 3rd language option is chosen

In practice, on the lycée registration forms that you will receive you will be asked to indicate

the language of the section (English or German)
your child's second foreign language
an optional 3rd language: Italian, Japanese, Latin or Greek [1]

Seconde is a difficult year for a number of students because the requirements at the lycée in terms of personal effort, the detail expected, etc. are much higher than in middle school. Inter students generally manage well, but the additional effort required in the move from 3ème to the lycée should not be underestimated.

For students considering the literature section (the L bac), it can be particularly judicious to take an optional 3rd language in Seconde.

This is because for the bac, students must choose a "specialty". For L students taking the OIB the choices are:

maths or
the student's second foreign language (but to take the oral exam in this subject students must do additional coursework through a distance learning program, the CNED),
the student's third foreign language or a classical language. To do so the student must have taken this subject in Seconde.

[1] Inter students request the option during the registration process. There is no special procedure, even for Greek or Japanese.

Primary Magazine

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-06-23T20:20:31Z

The English Primary magazine, Meganews, was first created many years ago by teacher Olivia Kedzierski as a class writing project. More recently Meganews became the school magazine with contributions from all class levels. This year the magazine has been rebaptized the International Prime Times and published in color. Many thanks to teacher Helen Mangani for organizing this issue and to parent Georgina Marrison for the attractive layout.


International Prime Times pdf

Attention young bilinguals : Boulogne is expecting you !

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-05-29T15:19:00Z

En français :

Our project : to open two Anglophone integrated primary classes (2nd grade/year 3 and 3rd grade/year 4) at the Point du Jour primary school in Boulogne.

Information meeting, Tuesday 18 May, at 18h30 at the Point du Jour primary school, 85 rue du Point du jour in Boulogne.

Following on the success of our bilingual (French-German and French-English) primary classes in Sèvres, the International Sections (SIS) are expanding across the Seine to put down roots in a new primary school in Boulogne-Billancourt. Two new French-English classes (CE1 and CE2) are set to open at the Point du Jour primary school next September. The project has been approved by the schools inspectorate and is still awaiting the green light from the Ministry of Education.

As is the case in Sèvres, the pupils accepted to these classes will be enrolled in the normal French state school system, but will spend two half days a week with a teacher from the international sections. (The international sections are an association which is financed by the parents.) The goal for these children is to learn English as if they were attending an Anglophone school. "The children who attend these classes must already be bilingual either because they speak English at home with one or both of their parents or because they lived for a long time in an Anglophone country. We do not teach English as a second language. In class I speak only in English" explains Jenny Bennitt, the teacher in charge of the Integrated Primary program.

The goal of these classes is to allow bilingual children to maintain contact with the styles and methods of Anglophone pedagogy. "In Year 3/2nd grade they begin writing short stories in English. They will also study history, geography and science in English with English-language teaching materials," adds Jenny Bennitt. "Their bilingualism is consolidated through adapted teaching methods in both French and English." According to Mme Ferrié, the director of the school, "the presence of the SIS will enable us to reinforce the Franco-British partnership that already exists beween our school and the Andrew Ewing School in Hounslow - Greater London - and to develop a greater interest in using the English language within our school . We already use video-conferencing and a Year 6/5th grade class has traveled to London."

To learn more about the integrated primary curriculum, >>

The development of these Franco-English integrated classes will continue in the years to come until a full primary cycle is in place. Thanks to support from the Ministry of Education and from the town council of Boulogne, multiculturalism will be a key word at the Point du Jour primary school !

Admission test : Saturday 29 May

The Great Gatsby, the Great Play 2010

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-04-22T17:08:07Z

The Great Gatsby (Louis Gilbert), jeune, découvrant le monde !	Daisy (Pauline Grosman) et son amie Jordan (Flora Magnan)
Daisy partagée entre ses deux hommes (Gatsby-Paul Barnini et Tom-Thibaut Roujou de Boubée), lequel l'emportera ?	Le salut, c'est plus de 150 élèves qui sont les acteurs, le backstage, les musiciens et les lumières !

To learn more about the play, >>
To read some reactions from our audience, >>

The magic of the roaring 20's and of F. Scott Fitzgerald's book came alive on the stage of the SEL thanks to the talent of SIS teachers Ruairi McCann, Paddy Salmon, Candy Buxton, Lisa Higgins, Vicky Salmon and Pat Short and the talents of the students. In the grand tradition of theater at the SIS put in place by Paddy Salmon, all students in 4ème through terminale can participate in the adventure.

This year the script was written by Ruairi McCann. Despite the fact that the novel contains barely twenty characters, he had to invent enough roles so that any student who wished to participate could have a part. Revisions to the script continued up until almost the last moment so that each and every student could demonstrate their talent.

Students also participate backstage. In order to get 150 actors on and off stage without a hitch, a group of twenty terminale and première students worked in the wings to keep everything flowing smoothly and to maintain calm. Other students were in charge of the music; both composing and performing. Still others oversaw the lighting, sound, scenery and props.

Parent volunteers led by Jacqueline de La Croix, Carole Creteigne and Katarina Pekkanen manned the bar and made and sold sandwiches, and were responsible for ticket sales and security.

And on the night of the performance, for three magical evenings everything is perfect. The audience sees only the end result: perfect, lively and dynamic!

Thanks to all for this marvelous annual adventure.

A souvenir DVD of the play will soon be available !!

The London Trip (October 13th-16th 2009)

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-03-25T14:02:27Z

Photos by Manon Gourlay, Diane Gable and Elvire Moreau.

The London Trip with Premières is a hallowed institution, quite rightly, and although we may from time to time propose other trips to vary the sequence, trips to London remain very special. We start with a philosophy that we have had from the beginning – we aim to see the London that tourists often ignore. We also aim to teach the pupils how to navigate safely around this teeming, throbbing capital and discover with us and for themselves what a wealth of treasures, many free, are on offer. We are very lucky indeed in having London right on our door-step, and although some pupils may feel somewhat blasé, if they have visited London before, they are much less so by the end.

This year we took 52 pupils and stayed as usual at Miss Flannery's “Blue Daws Hotel” in Sussex Gardens, ideally placed for visiting, and by far the cheapest hotel of its kind. She is warm and friendly, likes teenagers (for some reason!) and is always very helpful. Ruairi McCann, Pat Short, Lisa Higgins and Vicki Salmon came with me and provided the 24/24h help that we have to have on any such school journey as well as helping with booking arrangements. Pupils could choose some of the activities. As well as taking in three evening shows (The Government Inspector, an excellent “Endgame” by Samuel Beckett and “Chicago”), we retraced Mrs Dalloway's footsteps in the novel we are studying for the OIB, toured the Docklands and the Docklands Museum with an experienced London Geography teacher, visited the Criminal Courts, the Churchill Cabinet Rooms, the Tate Gallery (discovering the Turners there), Freud's House, Keats' House (where they had been filming “Bright Star” recently, now out in Paris) and the Museums at South Kensington. We also all had an Indian meal together on one of the evenings.

Feeding hungry teenagers is always a problem. We solve it on the trip by giving them a daily allowance and letting them “forage” for food in small groups, at set hours of the day. This allows them to show us that they can be responsible and punctual, giving them the chance, also, to explore and to have a certain amount of independence. If we feel they can be trusted (and this year's group was an exceptionally nice, trustworthy group), we let them go off in small groups on the final day to explore London more fully in their own fashion, with any money we have been able to save. We arm them with a leaflet giving suggestions of free (or nearly free) activities, though many want to shop as well.

With so much to do and see, the Photographic Competition tends to take a back seat, though we do encourage the students to interview and photograph a “London Face” – an activity which many secretly fear, though they often produce lovely photos and write-ups. Engagement with their environment is encouraged to the point where MP3s are forbidden on the trip and pupils are told to open their ears to the world all about them and to reflect on what they see and hear. As usual, it was a great success – we were lucky not to be held up by strikes this year! My thanks go out to the other teachers – trips like this are exhausting and a huge responsibility (something that is not always understood by those who have never taken a trip), but when the pupils are so helpful and appreciative it makes it all worthwhile. Other schools in France have begun to hear about the way we do this trip and it is flattering that many have written to ask me how we go about it!

The pupils write:

I really enjoyed the trip and here are some things I particularly liked:

Visiting Keats' and Freud's houses: I found these particularly interesting.
The Churchill Cabinet Room museum was my favourite museum and I thought it was nice having plenty of time to visit it.
The visit of the Docklands was a good experience because it would have been a part of London I would never have visited. It was a chance to discover it with a guide so that we could have some information on the dock's history.

I am very grateful that you gave us entire freedom and trust throughout the trip and especially on the last day. But the only thing that I regret a little is not having the time to stop for one minute and gaze at Big Ben or other monuments when we passed near them.
I really appreciated the trip and want to thank all the teachers for it!
Diane Gabla

My favourite visit was the Dock museum, because it really retraced the whole story of colonisation and slavery during the last centuries. It was very clear and not too intellectual. I also thought that the system with the different little groups was very good, because it permitted us to choose and we only went to see the things that we were the most interested in. the teacher that was with us could really answer our questions because of the little number of people, so I learnt a lot of things. And it also made us be with different people in the different groups every day, and that way I talked to people I didn't know, and I thought that was nice!
I think all the pupils got on well... I personally met a lot of them (in the rooms, during the visits) and as a new student I really appreciated it! During school days we really are only with the people of our classes, or people we know. It's very hard to meet new people.
I also really loved the fact that we moved around London by underground, because it really made us realize where we were going, and that way we were able on the last day to organize a whole program without any problems. This was a lot of fun! During my other school trip we had a bus that took us everywhere, and it put us less in the "visiting" mood in my opinion.
Manon BONNAL, Cambridge Group

What I liked about our trip to London was the fact that we did not visit the city like tourists. We looked into the British capital in depth and saw it like a real Londoner would. Indeed, we did not visit monuments and "tourist traps" like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben or rode the Eye. Instead, we went to the Art Gallery, the Docklands (and got a tour from a professional) and went to the Courthouse. Of course, we got to see shows at night like Endgame and Chicago. We also got to discover other places without the group on our lunch breaks and on the last day, which left us freedom to do or see what we wanted in the area. Throughout the journey some groups even passed by the working neighbourhood, where we could see all of the working people which was impressive seeing how fast the city moved when working! Altogether, this was inspiring because even though most of us had already visited London or even lived there, we got a whole new view of it which made us feel like real Londoners!
Thank you to all of the teachers for this wonderful trip which was fulfilling and gave us another view on a different European capital. We knew Paris as Parisians and now we know London better as Londoners! Again, many thanks!
Amelie de La Rochefoucauld

Free Things (or nearly free) to do in London

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-03-25T13:04:00Z

Drawing on the experience of countless trips to London, Paddy Salmon has put together an inspiring list of places you can visit and still have money left over for shopping.

NB Nearly all museums and art galleries are free in London. This list is mainly a list of extras. Have fun!

1) Walk along the South Bank to the Tate Modern and visit the Rothko Room. Stare at the huge pictures for ten minutes and you will discover a strange hypnotic force coming from the colours. Get your friends to wake you up if you go into a trance. Then walk on to the Globe Theatre and take a quick peek inside if possible.

2) Visit Hamleys, the world's biggest toy shop. Try out new toys or have a game of table football in the basement. Regent Street Tube and along Regent Street.

3) See the free music and entertainment at Covent Garden. From there you can walk to Somerset House in the Strand and visit the Courtauld Collection which has some magnificent impressionist paintings as well as paintings by some of the Bloomsbury Group - post Impressionism too.

4) Visit some of the universities! You can just walk in and roam around to get a feel of the place. There is Imperial College (near the Science Museum), King's College in the Strand (and LSE just opposite) and University College near the British Museum.

5) Visit the British Museum and see one of the earliest and biggest “bande dessinnée” in stone – the Assyrian Royal Lion Hunt (in Room 10 a) will astound you. Also visit the maunuscripts room and see the handwriting of many very famous people.

6) The Royal Hospital Chelsea: Home of the Chelsea Pensioners See if you can interview one of Britain's elderly retired soldiers in their colourful uniforms. Individual and small groups of visitors are welcome to visit The Royal Hospital. Hours of opening are as shown below.
Museum and Shop - Open to the public daily.
10.00am - 12 noon and 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Entry to The Royal Hospital is FREE.
Visitors are able to see the Great Hall, Octagon and Chapel, walk around Figure, College and Light Horse Courts and visit the Museum and Shop.

7) Harrods. Marvel at the Egyptian Room, the shrine to Diana and Dodi, and the sumptuous Food Hall. But leave your credit card at home.
Harrods, Brompton Rd, SW1 (www.harrods.com). Knightsbridge tube
The owner Mohammed El Fayed is the father of Dodie, who died with Princess Diana. You could then visit the memorial walk in Kensington Gardens (if you REALLY wanted the full Di experience!)

8) Take a walk along the canal from Camden Lock Market (Camden Tube). _ When you are at the lock with your back to the main road, take the path on the right side of the canal. This will lead you on a great walk through the middle of London Zoo (you don't see many animals, but you hear them) and along the towpath until you come out at Regent's Park. Walk down Park Road until you hit Baker Street ( 221B - the “home” of Sherlock Holmes) . There's a museum but it charges £6 for over 16s. If a group of 10 go, they get a 10% reduction. For enthusiasts of Sherlock Holmes. There is a very good gift shop for excellent souvenirs of the Great Detective.

9) Nunhead Cemetery. Creep through 52 acres of Victorian gothic watched over by 1,000 ivy-draped angels, rare butterflies, jays and woodpeckers. Nunhead Cemetery, Linden Grove, SE15 (020 7525 2000). Nunhead rail

10) Or visit Karl Marx's tomb at Highgate Cemetery. Take the Undergound Tube to Archway Station which is on the Northern Line (not Highgate Station) and then either walk up Highgate Hill to Waterlow Park (+/- 10 minutes) or catch a 271, 210 or 143 bus to Lauderdale House. In either case, walk through Waterlow Park for about five minutes. The exit to the Park is adjacent to the Cemetery gates. £3 entrance fee but you can photograph for free.

11) Record shop gigs. Pure Groove records and Rough Trade East regularly invite bands to play in-store – for free. Some are even good.
Pure Groove, 6-7 West Smithfield, EC1 (www.puregroove.co.uk). Barbican tube;
Rough Trade East, Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, E1 (020 7392 7788, www.roughtrade.com). Liverpool Street tube/rail

12) Pose with pelicans at St James's Park. This patch of serene green adjacent to Green Park looks on to Buckingham Palace, where they won't be counting tenners.
St James's Park, SW1 (www.royalparks.org.uk). Green Park tube

13) Free lunch-time concerts often at St Martins-in-the-Fields Church (Trafalgar Square)

14) V&A Museum of Childhood
Cambridge Heath Road
London E2 9PA
Bethnal Green Tube Station

14) For the best view of London (free) go to Hampstead (near Keats' House) and climb Parliament Hill. Wander round Hampstead Heath, but don't get lost.

15) Take a walk down Brick Lane (and read the novel - see the film - after). _ It is a real East End experience.

History
Winding through fields, the street was formerly called Whitechapel Lane, but derives its current name from former brick and tile manufacture, using the local brick earth deposits, that began in the 15th century. By the 17th century, the street was being built up from the south. Successive waves of immigration began with Huguenot refugees spreading from Spitalfields, where the master weavers were based, in the 17th century. They were followed by Irish weavers, Ashkenazi Jews and, in the last century, Bangladeshis. The area became a centre for weaving, tailoring and the clothing industry, due to the abundance of semi- and unskilled immigrant labour.

In 1742, La Neuve Eglise, a Huguenot chapel, was built on the corner of Brick Lane and Fournier Street. By 1809, it had become The Jews' Chapel, for promoting Christianity to the expanding Jewish population, and became a Methodist Chapel in 1819 (John Wesley having preached his first covenant sermon at the nearby Black Eagle Street Chapel). In 1898, the building was consecrated as the Machzikei HaDath, or Spitalfields Great Synagogue. In 1976, it became the London Jamme Masjid mosque to serve the expanding Bangladeshi community.

Brewing came to Brick Lane before 1680, with water drawn from deep wells. One brewer was Joseph Truman, who is first recorded in 1683, but his family, particularly Benjamin Truman, went on to establish the sizeable Black Eagle Brewery on Brick Lane.

The Brick Lane Market, developed in the 17th century for fruit and vegetables, sold outside the city. The Sunday market, like the ones on Petticoat Lane and nearby Columbia Road, dates from a dispensation given to the Jewish community.

Emma Elizabeth Smith was viciously assaulted and robbed in Osborn Street, the part of Brick Lane that meets Whitechapel High Street, in the early hours of 3 April 1888. It was one of the first of the eleven Whitechapel Murders, some of which were attributed to the serial killer, Jack the Ripper.

16) For £1.50 you can visit the home of the man who invented dictionaries, the great Dr Samuel Johnson. It's an amazing house, hidden behind the former Daily Telegraph building in Fleet Street. Find out as much as you can about this strange man – the father of dictionary makers or “lexicographers”.

17) For free – visit the public gallery at the House of Commons. The best is Prime Minister's Question Time on Wednesdays 12h-12h30.

18) Visit the Old Bailey, the Criminal Courts – (St Paul's Tube) 10h-12h & 14h-16h - FREE.

19) FREE SPEECH. Hyde Park Corner is very famous for its mad speakers. Go and listen on a Sunday and better, take a box with you and deliver your own speech. About ANYTHING! (except incitement to hatred)

Creative writing from P6K, spring 2009

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-02-08T11:46:33Z

Pure Nature by Hanna Bonnard and Solène Orliange

From all the windows, nature you can see,
On the top of the mountains in the fresh air,
With the company of him and she,
In the nature where flowers seem so rare.

The moon glowing in the dark dim night,
The sun shining so bright in the blue sky,
Those elements of nature are like a light,
Guiding us through our amazing lives, but why?

While the fishes dive in the clear water,
When you arrive on a magical land,
When the time grows faster and faster,
While the birds pose on a beach of white sand.

Open your eyes, this is not a picture.
Just realize this is pure nature.

The Trio of Life by Jonathan Surridge and Silène Dewaest

The moon is beautiful and so light,
But nothing compares to the sun's might.
When the sun finishes its long day,
He goes down and lets the stars have it their way.

The stars amazingly shine in the dark night sky,
They play hide and seek in the clouds that fly,
They slowly fade into the early dawn,
The early sun rays light the people's lawn.

Artemis by Zoé Drwila and Elisa Jacquet

There was once in the forest a goddess,
Who was beautiful and loved liberty.
In all the forest she was a highness,
Can you guess who is this grand majesty?

When she was born, the moon started shining,
When she was happy the stars came out,
When the moon was crying, she was weeping,
When the clouds arrived she was ready to shout.

Niobe boasted her superiority,
Artemis and her brother were angry,
So they killed her children, some are still weeping,
The river Achelous they are still forming.

However she lives on the Olympus Mount
I think you guessed that she is Artemis.

A Dream? by Alice Gouwy

On a nice June day, on a little farm in the countryside of England, a young man named James was planting potatoes for his father. A few months earlier, James's father, Mike, had just been saved from a heart attack. While James was digging, he suddenly heard a bang. He put his hand through the hole, and took out a beautiful red diamond. It was enormous. He kept digging where he had found the diamond and a few minutes later, he found himself in an underground tunnel. James picked up a stick and lit a fire. He cautiously stepped further. It seemed like the tunnel would never end. After a long walk in this black tunnel, James arrived to some stairs. He could either go up or carry on through the tunnel. But which was which? James finally decided to climb the stairs. It was the same. The dangerous stairs seemed like they would never end. Then, the stair stopped. In front of the little boy was a door. There was something written with blood: Do not enter. That frightened James a lot. He took all his courage and opened the wooden door and took a step. James screamed a scream of horror. It was midnight, the moon was shining bright and there on the soil, were lying four skeletons shining in the moonlight. Again in blood was written: They entered.

James stood there, mouth opened, petrified. Would this happen to him? James did not know if he could go any further. But he did. He entered a big house. Only one room was lit. In that room was a bed, and in that bed was a man sleeping.

Suddenly, James could feel a knife on his throat.
“You entered,” one of the men said.
“I'm only a child,” said James.
“We know but you deserve this,” another man said.
“Oh please! I'll do anything!” cried James.
“Anything?” the third man asked.
“Yes,” replied James calmly, “Anything.”
“Then give us the diamond,” said the second man. _“No!”
“You said anything,” reminded the first one.
“Anything except this!” shouted James and then he ran off as fast as his legs would carry him.

As James had slid away from the knife, it cut his throat badly. He was bleeding a lot, but he didn't care. He kept on running. The top of his shirt was red now. James suddenly stopped as he realised the skeletons had disappeared and there was no longer the wooden door. James was standing nowhere by himself, bleeding.

“Boo!” he heard from behind him. He turned around and found himself facing the four skeletons.
“Aaaagh!” shouted James.
“Shh,” said the skeleton putting his hand on James's mouth.
“We're with you,” said another one. The three strong men were no longer far from James and his team.
“Run!” the skeletons cried to James,” Leave them to us.” To his surprise, the skeletons ha a lot of strength and were very fast running.
“There, we're done,” said a skeleton.
“Aaagh!” James suddenly woke up. Was this a dream? James turned his head every side and there on the shelf, spotted the red diamond. His throat hurt but there was no scar.
“We could sell this,” thought James. And that was what James and his father did. They had a happy life from that day and were very rich. But one question always haunted James until his death: Was this true, or was it only a dream?

Mon expérience en France

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-01-26T15:02:31Z

Paris Hoey, a student from Somerville House, Brisbane, gives her impressions of her stay in Paris in December 2009.

Ça fait un mois que je suis arrivée en France et j'ai passé un moment fantastique. Il n'y a vraiment pas de mots pour décrire l'expérience qu'a été ce mois.

Ma famille d'accueil était très sympa et ils m'ont offert un accueil très chaleureux. Madame Moulai a cuisiné les repas le plus délicieux. Charlotte et sa famille ont organisés beaucoup de sorties qui étaient formidables. Mes préférées sont peut être la Tour Eiffel, Versailles, la Normandie, Villeconin, le Musée D'orsay et le Sacré-Cœur.

Pour les vacances de Noël, nous sommes restés dans le château de mes grands-parents d'accueil ‘Villeconin'. Il était très beau – un manoir du Moyen Âge au sud de l'Ile-de-France. J'ai eus beaucoup de chance d'avoir rencontré les grands-parents de ma sœur d'accueil et de participer aux festivités de leur famille. Pour le réveillon nous avons eu un grand repas ensemble: du fois gras, une dinde aux marrons, beaucoup du fromage et une bûche. Toute la nourriture était absolument fantastique et j'aimerai manger la même chose l'année prochaine. Le jour de Noel nous avons eu un déjeuner avec toute la famille qui était très bon aussi. En général Noel fut un merveilleux moment rempli de rires, de joie, de bonne nourriture et de famille.

Et pour le nouvel an, il y avait une petite fête. Nous avons dansé et parlé toute la nuit – et bien sûr à minuit nous avons compté à rebours jusqu'à 2010. C'était très intéressant de voir combien le nouvel an est célébré en France - je suis contente d'avoir pu participer à cette célébration

J'ai été extrêmement chanceuse qu'il ait neigé pendant mon séjour en France. C'était très bien de voir les élèves faire des batailles de boules de neige - en Australie il n‘y a pas de neige donc c'était une expérience spéciale.

Le Lycée de Sèvres est très différent de l'école en Australie. Premièrement, nous devons toujours porter un uniforme vert. Cependant, en France il n'y a pas d'uniforme donc c'était difficile pour moi de choisir quoi porter. Deuxièmement, il est interdit de sortir l'école entre 8h25 et 15h10, sauf si vous avez une lettre. Ici, les élèves sortent de l'école si ils n'ont pas cours. De plus, ici ils finissent l'école à différentes heures et il n'y a pas école le mercredi après-midi.

La culture est très différente aussi. En Australie, on serre dans nos bras nos amis et les garçons se serrent la main tandis que en France, tout le monde se fait la bise.

Je voudrais dire ‘merci' à ma famille d'accueil – Monsieur Moulai, Madame Moulai, Antoine et Charlotte; Madame Delcour, Madame Higgins, Monsieur Hosni, Madame Parker et Madame Gilmour pour avoir fait de mon séjour en France une expérience inoubliable.

C'était fantastique de vivre l'expérience d'un Noël traditionnel français et j'espère pouvoir séjourner en France de nouveau.

Mon Séjour en France

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-01-26T14:49:01Z

Domi Prince, a student from Somerville House in Brisbane writes about her impressions of her visit to Paris in December 2009.

Le 2 décembre 2009, je suis partie de Brisbane pour Paris pour un échange linguistique. J'étais en France avec une famille d'accueil et je suis restée avec eux pour 4 semaines. Ma correspondante, Alicia Poirot, est super gentille et j'ai eu une expérience fantastique avec elle.

Ensemble, nous avons visité beaucoup de monuments de Paris comme, La Tour Eiffel, L'arc de Triomphe, Le Louvre, Les Champs Elysées, Mont Martre et La Sacre Cœur, Notre Dame, Les Galeries La Fayette et beaucoup d'autre chose. Aussi, nous sommes allées à l'opéra voir l'Opéra National de Paris et Les Ballets Russes. Je fais de la danse classique donc c'était formidable à voir.

J'ai eu bonne chance parce que ma famille d'accueil m'a emmenée aux Alpes pour faire du ski, c'était ma première fois et c'était fantastique !

Pendant 2 semaines je suis allée à l'école et c'était très différent que l'école en Australie. J'ai trouvé l'école plus décontracté en France même si les étudiants travaille très durent. Mon école en Australie est juste pour les filles donc c'était différent d'aller à l'école avec des garçons. J'ai beaucoup aimé la cantine qui n'est pas pareil que le notre. Chez nous, nous achetons un sandwich et au lieu d'être assit à table, nous nous mettons en petits groupes sur le terrain de sport.

Pour fêter Noël nous sommes allé visités les grands parents d'Alicia qui habitent à Toulouse et à Béziers. J'ai pu apprendre beaucoup de choses au sujet de la culture française donc, j'ai trouvé le séjour au sud très intéressant et amusant. Pour le nouvel an nous avons passé une soirée avec beaucoup d'amies et c'était super de fêter le nouvel an en France.

J'ai eu une très bonne expérience en France avec ma famille d'accueille et c'était très triste de quitter Paris. Je recommanderais fortement cet échange pour tout le monde !

Domi Prince : Somerville House, Brisbane, Australie – Echange Australien 2009

Swine flu prevention contest winners

Cynthia Kaiser — 2010-01-21T15:48:38Z

Sally Renier's Wednesday morning P3 class held a contest to design a poster for swine flu prevention.

The winners of the contest are:

Auriane Sauty - 1st place

Philemon Coquet - 2nd place

Julia Waldmann - 3rd place