French Programs
Bastille Day Celebration
On 19th July, our school had the opportunity to come together and celebrate Bastille Day, AKA “Le 14 juillet” in a very festive atmosphere!
Students greatly enjoyed the croissants and pains au chocolat on sale at recess, the music, the photobooth as well as the occasional visit from “Jean Darme”, magicien extraordinaire. Free face painting was also very popular as many croissants and cheese were seen walking around the school for the remainder of the day. A special mention and Merci for our Year 7 choir who performed “Le Lion est mort ce soir” at recess under the guidance of Maestro Beck!
During the day, students and teachers had the opportunity to check their knowledge on Bastille Day and win Kahoots. In some classes, a bit of history was enacted as kings or queens were appointed, only to be swiftly guillotined by the Third State (AKA the rest of the class) by the end of the lesson. Well done to Mrs Zaccaria for winning the first prize of our Staff Kahoot!
We are very grateful for the students on the day who helped with the sale of croissants, the setting up, and supporting us in making this day a memorable and pleasant event!
French Model UN Conference
On Thursday 25 July, Year 11 VCE students participated in the French Model UN Conference organised jointly by the AFTV (Association of French Teachers Victoria) and the United Nations Association of Victoria and sponsored by the Languages Unit, DET. Each participating school was allocated a French-speaking member state; the AHS students were acting as representatives of China, Finland and South Africa. The purpose of the Model UN Conference is to give students the opportunity to learn about the UN system, discuss global issues and practice diplomacy and negotiating skills in an authentic and dynamic environment. The added challenge of the French Model UN is that all this has to be done IN FRENCH! The topic of the resolution being debated was Combating Climate Change : Committing to global actions and our AHS team prepared an opening statement to indicate to their fellow delegates where their country stood on the Draft resolution on the topic of Climate action. They then debated with other countries on the topic before negotiating with other countries in order to form alliances and propose amendments. What a fantastic opportunity to use French learnt in the classroom for such an authentic, and important, communicative purpose. Bravo les élèves!
From Jack P. Year 11:
On Thursday, 12 French VCE 1/2 students went to the city to participate in the French language model UN. We all got into teams of 3-5, and each represented a country from around the world, being Finland, China, and South Africa. We each read aloud our position statements based on the draft resolution, and then participated in moderated and unmoderated caucuses debating on proposed debates. It was a very informative and fun experience, and a great practice of our French speaking skills.
From Léon P. Year 11:
The model UN was an exciting and diverse event that took place in the North of Melbourne. The event consisted of multiple different schools, some with French programs and others without. The event gave students the opportunity to converse in French in multiple different scenarios, such as moderated and unmoderated caucus. Each school separated into multiple groups of up to 5 people, and represented 30 countries or so that are currently part of the United Nations. The council of countries debated about different issues relating to the environment and future of earth's climate, ending by voting on the modification and addition of current and new amendments put into place by the actual UN. Overall, the event was an excellent way to educate the future generation of leaders on climate issues and the reasoning of the foundation of the UN, as well as being really fun and enjoyable.
What’s happening in our French classrooms?
French Binational Program
In French Literature, our Year 7 FBN students have recently learned about the differences between simili and metaphors. They analysed a few poetic metaphors describing animals, created by the famous French naturalist Jules Renard. As an application task, they were asked to imagine their own metaphors, draw an illustration and create in groups a bilingual poster in the form of a guessing game. Well done!