Languages

Term 2 Highlights

Term 2 started with a new arrival from France – Manon Carpentier, who is working at the school as a French Assistant two days a week. While our senior students were a little nervous at first to practise their general conversation skills with Manon, they have made great progress over the term and have enjoyed their one-on-one sessions. Manon has also supported some of the Year 9 and 10 classes and has been collaborating with French staff to create resources and recordings that have been used across all year levels. Additionally, she has been working with students on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Holloway Road library, offering extra French help. It's great to see that some Year 12 students have been meeting with her regularly!

Our Year 8 French students started the term with an incursion from Melbourne Djembe, where they learnt about French connections with Africa, as well as how to play the djembe drum and perform different traditional dances. It was fantastic to see everyone get involved and give it a go. 

Students in Years 7–10 also had the opportunity to participate in the annual Berthe Mouchette Poetry Competition, in which they learnt to recite a poem in French. On Wednesday, 21 May, thirty-two students met with an examiner from the Alliance Française and presented their poems in their best French accents.  

I would like to thank the Association of French Teacher of Victoria (AFTV) for their support  of the Djembe and Poetry Competition, and making these events possible for our students. 

Some of the Year 7 and 8 French classes also had some visitors from the Senior Campus. 

Year 11 English Language students visited the Bluff Road Campus to conduct linguistic fieldwork in beginner French classes. This incursion involved making observations of additional language learning and collecting language data unfolding in a natural setting. The VCE students determined a unique and specific research question related to Unit 1, Area of Study 2: Language acquisition key knowledge and skills, and presented their findings as an investigative report for their SAC. It was wonderful to see the respectful interactions between all students involved and a great opportunity for cross-curricular collaboration. 

Term 2 been a fantastic term in Chinese—full of creativity, cultural exploration, and lots of fun!

Year 8 students enjoyed designing their own menus based on different Chinese cities, inspired by "Chef Fu". We wrapped up the unit by setting up an Asian snacks stall, where students had to place their 'orders' in Chinese and give verbal feedback (in Chinese) on the snacks they tried. It was such an enjoyable and interactive way to practise speaking. A special highlight was having one of our international students sharing cuisine from her hometown with the class—well done!

Meanwhile, Year 7 students celebrated the end of their numbers topic by creating their own “About Me” mini-books. They learned how to fold a single sheet of paper into a six-page booklet and filled it with colourful, creative content in Chinese—sharing their name, age, birthday, family, nationality, favourite things, and reflections on learning Chinese. These mini-books encompassed everything that they have learned throughout the semester. They’ve done a brilliant job and should be proud of their progress!