French Plays

Vive le Français!

The French language skills of Junior School students were on full display as they took to the Auditorium stage in October.

French is a specialist subject in the Junior School, with all students introduced to and immersed in the language in highly interactive ways. The girls thrive as they are presented with opportunities to sing, dance, take part in musical games and activities, using French.

The culmination of their learning, and the highlight of the year, is the presentation of their plays, for which students have spent weeks preparing. Groups are required to understand the story they are telling, memorise their lines and staging, choose costumes that reflect their interpretation of the story and characters, and ultimately perform in front of their peers and family.

French and Music teacher Susie Hardie said she was incredibly proud and impressed at what the groups were able to deliver.

“I thought the girls were outstanding. They really engaged with the story and performed with lots of expression. Having to perform in front of an audience really motivates them to memorise their lines! The vocabulary from the story becomes engrained in their minds. I had had a girl, who has now graduated, come up to me recently and recite the entire play for me which she had performed years ago when she was a student in the Junior school!” said Susie.

Year 4 performed ‘Comment Y aller’ “The Year 4 play was called 'Comment Y aller' and told the story of Marie, a girl who lives in Quebec and wants to see her friend in Paris. She tries to use various modes of transport to get there but is thwarted at every turn. Then, an alien comes to the rescue and takes her to Paris, where she discovers her friend went to Quebec to visit her! The Year 5 was called 'Boucles Violettes et les trois ours' – a variation on the story of Goldilocks. The culmination of all the learning that happens in French is in Year 6, where they get to perform 'Louis la grenouille', a story about a frog that loves rock and roll! This is the most challenging play which features much more complicated grammar.

Year 2 and 3 also presented their French plays in early November; however these fell after the publication deadline. Year 2 performed ‘La Poule Maboule’, a version of the story of “Chicken Little”. Year 3 presented ‘Les trois Petits Cochons (The Three Little Pigs)’ .

YEAR 6 PYP EXHIBITION

Year 6 Exhibitions are a significant event in the learning journeys of our girls. These are independent research projects where students are given the opportunity to share their understanding of a real-life issue or topic they've covered during the year.

Exhibitions are the culmination of students' development as inquirers and an important step in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP). Students can reflect on their learning while developing skills of presentation and assessment.

Over ten weeks, students work tirelessly and enthusiastically to plan and create their incredible presentations and performances. Students faced new challenges in 2021 as most of the preparation was done from home as they worked remotely during the Alert Level 4 lockdown. Despite the difficulties this posed, Year 6 Teacher, Mrs Ashleigh Pickering, said the students were a delight throughout the process. Students covered a range of topics this year, spanning environmental challenges and the history of LGBTQI rights in New Zealand to how music can create changes in society and trigger hidden emotions.

Year 6 students Madeline Roberts, Emily Candler and Danielle O'Donovan said they loved working together as they investigated the plight of refugees. "We feel proud of all we've achieved in the past ten weeks. I didn't really even know refugees existed before. But now I'm happy I know about these situations that so many people around the world face because I really want to help them," said Madeline.

““ I was so impressed by the independence and initiative shown by the girls. All were fairly grounded in their online learning after last year, but the way they took to the task of creating such extensive portfolios of work was above what I expected. The collaboration among groups was fantastic, with all students pushing and challenging each other to take their ideas further. I am so proud of them,” said Mrs Pickering.

What an incredible group of adventurous learners these young women are! A big thanks to Mrs Pickering for all the amazing support she provided throughout these projects' development.