French exhange programme: Message from Ms. Chan P Y

Messages from Ms. Chan Pui Yin in France:

January 2010

I arrived in Toulon and our sister school, Externat Saint Joseph - La Cordeille and I was warmly welcomed by the Principal, Mr Yves Ruellan, Vice-Principal, Mme Mireille Vercellion, the teacher in charge of the Chinese subject, Mme Catherine Guivarch, teachers and students of the college. Their hospitality and generous support and assistance enabled me to have a smooth adaptation to the teaching and living in Toulon.

For the past one and a half weeks in the new school term, Catherine and I had been co-teaching 6 Chinese groups of students and remedial classes arranged for newcomers. The students were in general very responsive and highly motivated to learn. They showed great interest in our teaching. I had the chance to observe the lessons of other teachers to familiarize myself with the classroom management. To further enhance my communication with the students and colleagues in La Cordeille, I spared some time after school to attend a short-term French course by Catherine at the Université du Sud Toulon-Var.

The parents had been notified of  the Teacher Exchange Programme between La Cordeille and St. Margaret's. I would make every effort to liaise with Mr Adames, Ms Kwok and Ms Masset to facilitate the preparation for the coming Student Exchange Tour to France in March 2010.

I wish once again to express my deepest gratitude to St. Margaret's for her granting me this extraordinary opportunity and  the Consulat Général de France for the assistance and support accorded to me to enable me to have this exciting experience in France. As a professional teacher, I would take this opportunity to teach the students in France with all my effort, exchange ideas with the students and my counterparts, explore and experience their cultures. Moreover, I would not forget my role as an ambassador of St. Margaret's to strengthen the precious friendship between La Cordeille and St. Margaret's. I would like to attach the photos  taken with Mr Ruellan, Catherine and the students during the Chinese lessons to share with you all the joy and excitement in the Chinese lessons.

February 2010

Bonjour! It had been a month since my arrival in Toulon and our sister school, Externat Saint Joseph - La Cordeille. Besides the daily teaching duties, I also had chances to do class observation and family visits.

To let the students feel the festival atmosphere of the Chinese New Year, Mme Guivarch and I taught the students some traditional Chinese New Year songs and introduced to them the Chinese paper cutting. Well, because of the Year of Tiger, we chose to cut the figure of a tiger. The students enjoyed the activities very much. I am pleased to attach the photos to share with you all the joyful moments of the activities in France.

March 2010

Salut! Our sister school, La Cordielle, invited me to take part in the exchange tour to Spain with the 1ère class (S6) students to Barcelona from 8th to 12th March. It is a marvellous opportunity for me to know more about the students, especially who are not enrolled in the Chinese class. Also, it is a good opportunity for me to learn from my colleagues the skills in tour leading.

On 1st, 2nd, 15th and 18th March, I will assist in teaching in a local secondary school, LYCÉE Marie France as an English teaching assistant for 2 lessons per day. LYCÉE Marie France has a working relationship with La Cordielle. After a brief discussion with the teachers concerned, we decided to include interesting topics like “An Introduction to Hong Kong”, "China Today” and “China in the Coming 25 Years”.

Last Friday, I had an enjoyable night.  I had a wonderful discussion with the parents and students of the college. My student, Stephanie LEON, who visited Hong Kong in the exchange tour 2 years ago, showed me excitedly a souvenir – a uniform given by St. Margaret’s. I am longing for another dinner with the parents and students of the college scheduled on coming Friday before the exchange tour to Spain takes place.