An unforgettable stay in New Zealand for French high school students

After a year of preparation and fundraising, the twenty first-class students of the French high school in Port Vila (Agha, Chloé, Fiona, Ingrid, Isabelle, Maximiliane, Nikita, Nyantra, Salomé, Sylviae, Anthony, Archie, Charlie, Daniel, Gilbert, Jérémy, Joey, Sergio, Steve and Theo) were able to fly to New Zealand from July 23 to August 2, 2014. In Wellington, the students were warmly welcomed by their three partner schools, namely: Upper Hutt College (UHC), Hutt International Boys School (HIBS) and Wellington Girls ' College (WGC). They lived in New Zealand time with their correspondents and their host families. This exchange, proposed and coordinated by Ms Lo and Ruel, is part of the project of establishment and presents two unifying pedagogical objectives: a linguistic objective (immersion in English daily and continuing in school and Family) and a cultural objective (discovery of another country of the Pacific zone and its cultural richness). The two objectives were met: students were able to consolidate their language skills by communicating and exchanging in English and they continued to discover and enrich themselves throughout their stay. During the educational outings offered, the twenty pupils were able to visit the Parliament of New Zealand (known as ' Beehive '), the National Museum (Te Papa Museum), Old St Paul's Cathedral, Katherine Mansfield's Birthplace, the film Studios (Weta Cellar) and shooting locations of the famous trilogy ' ' The Lord of the Rings ' ' (Rivendel at the Kaitoki National Park). All students, without exception, agree that this experience will remain unforgettable. They are eager to receive their New Zealand correspondents and friends in Port Vila in 2015. This project will definitely be renewed next year.   Students and their professors wish to thank the partner institutions (especially Taylor, McAllister and O'Brien), the directorates of the four schools concerned, the parents of students from Wellington and Port Vila, the ESF of the Lycée French, Georges Cumbo of the Alliance Française, Muriel Leong for his generosity and all the goodwill that allowed the establishment and the success of this exchange between languages and cross-cultures.