08/12/2024 – 15/12/2024
MONTBRISON
During the week, all exchanges were in English. Despite the many difficulties of this challenge, we succeeded and noticed an improvement in our listening and speaking skills.
We also all welcomed one or more pen pals into our families, showing them our daily lives. We were then obliged to communicate with them, which was great, despite some misgivings.
We also learned words in other languages, which could be quite funny at times. We talked about our traditions, our cultures, our countries and even our culinary specialties, not all of which were appreciated (frogs or snails).
In short, we had a great week and a lot of laughs.
On Monday we welcomed our pen pals, who all arrived by train at Châteaucreux station. They were allocated to their host families.
Tuesday began with a French-style breakfast, followed by a presentation of the week in the amphitheater.
in the amphitheater.
Then we went into the computer rooms to start filling in our schools’ carbon footprints. At lunchtime, we all ate a vegetarian meal together in the canteen. In the afternoon, we went to the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne for a conference on climate change and its consequences. Afterwards, we strolled through the streets of Saint-Étienne to a Christmas market.
On Wednesday, we travelled by bus to Lyon, where we were welcomed at the recently renovated Lycée Charles Mérieux, a forerunner of our region’s future high schools. We then went to the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region offices for a presentation of the region’s objectives for its lycées.
After free time and a meal in the streets of old Lyon, we took a cultural tour of the traboules. St Jean Cathedral dazzled the Danes with its sheer size, far superior to that of Roskilde Cathedral, Denmark’s largest. The Italians, for their part, were not disoriented by this district whose architecture is inspired by the Italian Renaissance.
Italian Renaissance. Our guides told us all about the secrets of the traboules, designed to serve dwellings set back from the street, and to ensure smooth movement in this dense urban space. They made us aware of the need to preserve this heritage and promote it to the public, while respecting the peace and quiet of local residents. Whispers and murmurs are the order of the day between these walls…
On Thursday morning, the students calculated their individual carbon footprints and brainstormed ways of reducing them. They also started work on posters presenting the results. We then attended a conference given by the Loire Forez community of communes, which explained the local challenges of adapting to climate change. The students were able to play a little game and put themselves in the shoes of decision-makers.
In the afternoon, we organized a workshop entitled “Our low-carbon lives”. The aim was for students to understand how to achieve a footprint of just 2 tonnes per person per year. The aim of the workshop was to calculate our average monthly CO2 output using labels. Each label represented a daily need (e.g. clothing, electronics, transport, leisure) and was a different color. The size of the labels varied according to the amount of CO2 emitted: the larger the label, the greater the carbon impact.
To make the most of our unspoilt natural surroundings (and lift our spirits climatically), we took a walk along the roof of the forez: the snow-covered Col du Béal. The view was breathtaking, from the Alps to the Chaîne des Puys and the Monts du Lyonnais, in a sea of clouds! This sporting activity was magical, as the landscape was covered by 50 cm of fresh snow and the sun was setting, assisted by the moon, which was almost full, illuminating the landscape in magnificent light.
Well exhausted from our escapade in the sinking snow, we headed off for a meal at the inn. The pen pals were treated to a taste of French gastronomy. It was great to feel the fresh air, observe the scenery, and avoid lost snowballs!
On Friday morning, the students finished producing documents summarizing everything they had learned during the week. They displayed these documents in the school hall.
We also planted 6 trees in the schoolyard. On December 12, we bought a number of tools, shovels, picks and spades to dig holes. Then, on the 13th, the following day, we received the trees to plant, so we gathered near the porticos, where we had previously dug to plant the trees. You can now see the fruit of our labours by the gantries in Building A. It was an exciting activity that made us realize that nature is a wonderful thing to protect, and helped to create or strengthen strong bonds between the students.
We finished with student presentations in the amphitheatre. The students then enjoyed a free afternoon, with most of them joining us at the bowling alley.
