FRENCH

Bonjour tout le monde,

Aujourd'hui, nous sommes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine. (Today, we are in Nouvelle-Aquitaine)

Located in the southwest of France, it is the country’s biggest and most diverse region. At its heart is the city of Bordeaux, the world’s largest urban UNESCO World Heritage site, surrounded by the world’s finest wine region of the same name.Along its coastline are 750 kilometres of sandy beaches and, in the hinterland, you will find medieval castles, ancient river valleys and prehistoric cave paintings in the Dordogne, the wine region of Cognac, not to mention the high peaks of the Pyrenees that form the border with Spain.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a region more passionate about the game of rugby than Nouvelle-Aquitaine, home to more than 400 clubs and 100-plus players from around the world, including 17 from Australia.Bordeaux will host five games in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, including the running champion South Africa, Samoa and Fiji.

Nouvelle-Aquitaine also offers a host of other active adventures: from surfing, cycling and hiking to golf and skiing. The Pyrénées are home to some of the most challenging mountain stages of the Tour de France. They are popular among amateur cyclists, too. For recreational cycling, Nouvelle-Aquitaine’s has 4,200 km of bike paths.

The waves around Biarritz draw surfers from around the world while the Lacanau Pro and the Quiksilver Pro are popular events on the pro surfing circuit.Meanwhile, Europe’s highest sand dune, Pilat, guards the entrance to the Arcachon Bay, which itself offers terrific sailing, paragliding, kayaking and fishing.

Hikers are spoiled for choice with six different routes of Way of Saint James traversing the region. Each passes through preserved landscapes dotted with historic monuments, many UNESCO World Heritage listed. The Grande Randonnée 10 follows the length of the Pyrenees and hundreds of shorter trails criss-cross its picturesque peaks and valleys. In winter, skiers flock to the Pyrénées’ popular ski resorts. 

Since 2015, the city of Bordeaux has become the favourite European destination, blending its neo-classical architecture with an eco-friendly perspective. 

It is surrounded by superb wine chateaux. There are six major wine routes leading from the UNESCO World Heritage-listed hilltop village of Saint-Émilion and fortress-town of Blaye, through Pomerol and Pessac-Leognan to the Médoc and Sauternes

At Weeden, the students have worked hard in French and most of them were assessed last week.

• The Preps were assessed on colours. After watching a video clip of ‘Trotro’, they listened to my instructions in French to colour Trotro’s clothes.

• In Year 1 and Year 2, the students were assessed on the spelling of numbers 1 to 10. In year 1, they also regularly practice numbers 11 to 20 with Mrs Lee in class. In Year 2, the students are about to start memorising the spelling of colours.
   

• In Year 3 and Year 4, we discussed the rules of ‘Pétanque’ and enjoyed playing some games on the oval. It was a lot of fun.

• Finally, the older students were assessed on the vocabulary learnt in the past few weeks (drinks) and had to translate a full paragraph in French. I was very impressed by some students who managed to translate everything with no mistakes. Well done to those who did their homework and got an excellent mark!

Today, the French song is 'pas toi' (not you) by Marina Kaye. I hope you will enjoy it...

I wish you all a restful Easter break. Bonnes vacances et Joyeuses Pâques! (Happy holiday and happy Easter!),

A bientôt,

Delphine