A consequence of the global pandemic for our language students at Renmark High School has been the ban on international travel. This has meant that we have not been able to host exchange students in 2020, a situation which will remain unchanged for some time.

It has also meant that our students have been unable to participate in individual exchange programs to countries of choice, nor join school study tours to New Caledonia, France or Spain.

A highlight of our languages programs, student exchanges are often a great motivation for students to continue their pursuit of language studies, however the closure of airports has resulted in a new opportunity for Renmark High School.

Former French student teacher, Olivia Gravier, who completed her practicum at Renmark High School and is now residing in France, has reached out to our school this year and invited us to connect with young French students at the school where she works.

The year 8 French class are the beneficiaries of this initiative where our students all now have ‘French Pen-pals’ who attend Collège Saint-Georges, a middle school in the village of Beaumont-le-Roger, Normandie, 130 kilometres west of Paris.

As a class, we are learning how to read and respond to the students’ questions about our lives here in Australia. With France still in lock down, students describe what it’s like to wear masks to school every day, a scenario that our students have been lucky to avoid until now.

To expand on this idea further, I am working with other English teachers at the college to create pen-pals for French students across all year levels at Renmark High School.

‘It’s a great opportunity to practice our French in a real-life situation’

‘I noticed how neat their handwriting is too’

Fletcher

‘They make mistakes in English, but I didn’t expect them to be so good at it though.’

 ‘I hope we can continue our connection with these students’

Stephen

‘I want to be able to write in cursive like them’

Tyler

Jasmine Sotiroulis - French & Spanish teacher