Languages Faculty News
Lucie Dickens, Academic Dean of Languages
Kilvington celebrates the Olympic Games
The Kilvington Languages Faculty is thrilled to celebrate the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a series of exciting events for our students to participate in from 26 July to 9 August. Let the games begin!
ARTWORK SENT TO THE OLYMPICS VILLAGE
Kim Mullins, Junior French Teacher
What better way to welcome our athletes to the Paris 2024 Olympics than with some joyful artwork from ‘home’ decorating the walls of their Olympic Village?
Responding to an initiative from The Australian Olympics Committee, AllezAus, our Kilvington French language students created some sporty motifs to inspire our Aussie athletes to achieve their best and let them know we're supporting them.
Since they're in France, we also added some ‘cheering’ expressions and names of the events in French: Allez l’Australie! Tu peux le faire!
Merci to our Prep, Year 2 and Year 5 classes for their enthusiasm and artistic talents.
AFTV OLYMPIC GAMES MASCOT COMPETITION
Design a new mascot for a French-speaking country for the Paris 2024 Olympics? Then create a video about this country? Bien sûr!
Earlier this year, our French Club students rolled up their creative sleeves and got to work inventing a new mascot for the French-speaking African nation of Senegal.
Their hard work paid off as they took both first and second place in the AFTV Mascot Francophonie Competition! A huge congratulations to our 1st prize winners, Arianna Williams (Year 6) and Mona Bachmann (Year 4), and our 2nd prize winners, Kashish Kulkarni (Year 6) and Chelsey Li (Year 6).
Merci beaucoup to Arianna for her fabulous acceptance speech. Here's a short excerpt from it:
'I didn’t realise there were so many French-speaking countries in the world. Taking French this year, and knowing that I can make so much progress in such a short amount of time, has inspired me to continue my French studies into secondary school. I'm keen to visit France in Year 9 and further improve my pronunciation and skills.'
You can watch the design presentations from Ariana and Mona here and from Kashish and Chelsey here. Bravo Kilvington!
JUNIOR SCHOOL OLYMPICS TORCH RACE
Our Junior School students have been getting into the spirit for the Paris Olympic Games. They recently made Olympic torches and took part in an Amazing Race around the School, solving clues in French to collect stickers for their torch.
They had so much fun meeting Year 6 students at different pit stops and interacting in French with them! Thank you to Mrs Mullins and Mrs Neale for organising this fun activity at lunchtime!
Japanese Sushi Train
Sienna Wall, Year 8 Japanese
To immerse students in our Japanese Program, we recently set up a 'sushi train' in the Library, alongside books about Japanese foods.
Years 7, 8, 11 and 12 students have all been enjoying Japanese-themed activities this semester. Year 7s celebrated their first unit assessment with onigiri, Year 8s celebrated their annual Cultural and Languages Day, Year 11s finished their unit on 'Japanese Food and Diet', and Year 12s are exploring sushi train restaurants.
We have much planned for our Japanese Program and hope you can visit the Library to see the sushi train and explore the new books about Japanese cuisine.
Year 8 Cultural and Languages Day
Tim O'Neill, Year 8 French
On Tuesday 23 July, Year 8s had their annual Cultural and Languages Day.
In the morning, we participated in a range of French-themed activities, including Olympic trivia, French dancing and circus tricks. All of the activities were a lot of fun and helped us learn more about the French culture.
Then at midday, we enjoyed a big lunch where students made and brought in French food. There were also competitions for the best food, the best traditional menu and the best decorations. Everyone put in an amazing effort, and I was very pleased with how delicious the food turned out.
Overall, I loved this experience! A big thank you to our teachers for organising it!
Years 10 and 11 French movie excursion
Caleb Mendez, Year 11
On Friday 21 June, the Years 10 and 11 French classes attended the Alliance Française French Film Festival at Palace Como Cinemas. We were all excited to watch the movie Divertimento, knowing only that it was based on a true story.
Before the screening, our group stopped at a nearby French café to enjoy the full French cinema experience — with a French pastry! I chose the classic croissant, and it was délicieux!
The movie was incredible, and both rousing and emotional. I found myself thoroughly invested in the plot, despite it being in French. It followed the story of a fledgling, lower-class female conductor as she fought against sexism and prejudice in the world of music.
The film offered our French classes a wonderful opportunity to immerse ourselves in the language in a fun and engaging way. As a member of the school orchestra, the musical elements of the film also resonated with me.
Overall, it was a fantastic way to develop my French comprehension skills, and I encourage anyone learning French to watch Divertimento! Merci à Monsieur Troitzky et Madame Dickens!
Welcome to the Hiroshima Jogakuin group
We're delighted to welcome 17 students and two staff members from our partner school, Hiroshima Jogakuin, Japan.
Thanks to Kilvington host families for participating in our Global Connections Program and playing such a vital role in strengthening our partnerships with our partner schools.
The group will attend classes at Kilvington until Friday 9 August. The interactions between Hiroshima Jogakuin and Kilvington students will provide valuable opportunities for all involved to develop intercultural understanding and a global mindset. We wish our guests a wonderful time in Australia!