Let's have a conversation  

A number of opportunities have been offered to our Languages students during Term 1, including a VCE French conversation club, Chinese extension sessions, French Film festival excursions and the pen pal exchange program. 

At the Holloway Road campus, students in Year 11 and 12 French have been attending a conversation club at lunchtime on Tuesdays – thanks to all who have been attending these sessions. There has also been the opportunity for Year 9 Chinese students wishing to extend themselves by working with students in the Year 10 Chinese class afterschool. 

Year 10 French students attended the evening session of ‘Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde’, a comedy-adventure film, on Monday 20th March at the Palace Como cinema, which the students really enjoyed. The Year 11 and 12 classes were invited to attend a screening later that week of ‘Sugar and Stars’, a film based on the true story of an aspiring pastry chef. It was great to see some many students choose to engage with French culture outside of the classroom, and to take part in the annual film festival. 

Finally, we have launched the inaugural pen pal exchange program, where students are allocated a pen pal from France. The students from France write to us in English and our students write back to them in France.  French students both at Bluff Road and Holloway Road are taking part.  It has been great to see the enthusiasm from students to use their French writing skills and to learn more about students from another part of the world. Thanks to Diane Priaud for arranging the program, and our other French teachers for helping make it a success! 

In Term 2, we will be focusing on the Berthe Mouchette poetry competition for our French students and developing a Chinese club where students will be able to practice their language skills, as well as celebrating the Chinese holiday of Dragon Week. 

We are also lucky to be welcoming Marie Castell as a French Language Assistant from April through December and students are looking forward to the opportunity to meet her at the start of Term 2.