During the October school holidays, REC students Jaida D, Caden B, Reece R and Madi K joined 8 students from Glenunga International High School to venture to Reunion Island. Located in the Indian Ocean. Reunion Island is a French territory and these students were there to attend an International Youth Summit, joining schools from Finland, Spain, Italy and France. It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to showcase 麻豆社madou East College, Australia and to practise their French speaking skills.
The trip was a combination of school days at Lyc茅e Antione de Saint-Exup茅ry plus excursions and time with home stay families. School days in France are long; 7.30am until 5.10pm every day except Wednesdays, when students finish at midday.
Students from all schools were asked to share with the partnering schools a natural or cultural artefact from their homeland. REC students presented a boomerang. The Boomerang given was a gift from the Narungga people of the Yorke Peninsula and were neighbours of the Kaurna people which is the region we are from. They blessed the making of the boomerang from their people and gave the school the design to use. Other schools shared cheese and balsamic vinegar from Italy, a water vessel from Spain and Santa Claus from Finland.
On European Day of Languages, our students gave a presentation to a Lyc茅e class about Australia: what makes it unique, sustainability and ecosystems, our animals, and Aussie foods. They also detailed the school system in Australia as it is vastly different to that in European schools. One particular aspect that all students and teachers noticed was our requirement to wear uniforms; our students wore theirs and Reunionese students and teachers were very impressed.
Other activities involved looking at the multiculturalism of R茅union Island that contributes to the Creole culture, with students engaging in a Maloya music and dance workshop and visit to a Tamil temple. They also saw the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, had a guided tour of the Kelonia turtle conservation centre and visited the Portail Esclavage which pays tribute to the slave uprising. Other activities included ultimate frisbee, beach picnics, paddle boarding a kayaking.
None of our students had been overseas prior to this trip, so if you would like to experience a world outside of Australia, then we encourage you to get on board the next overseas trip that that REC offers. This was a fantastic way to experience French culture, way of life and make new friends from not only the French school but other parts of Europe.
Karen Pearce –聽Student Wellbeing Leader & Ashleigh Tohl – French Teacher
