Starr’s Mill has finished its first leg of the French exchange student program.
26 students and 2 teachers arrived on February 3 and stayed through February 13. They came from Lycee Belmont in Lyon, France.
Senior Delani Gatson is a host for an exchange Yara Ou-Halima. Yara is a 10th grade student in her class.
“I really wanted to experience French culture, and I love travelling so I really wanted to go to France,” Gatson said. “I also wanted to experience the average life of a French teenager, and to see what other people my age experience in other countries.”
“It’s been a dream for me since I was four,” Ou-Halima said. “I’ve always wanted to experience America and its culture, and it’s just always been a dream.
Another pair is junior Claire Vickery and her exchange student Salome Aymard. Salome is also a 10th grade student in her class
“I did this exchange program to expand my experience with France and learn more about the culture,” Vickery said. “I just thought it would be a good experience to learn more French and be able to practice it.”
“I did this exchange to learn English and meet some new people, and I like to discover American culture,” Aymard said.
Along with the students came two teachers. Madame Fayet is the students’ English teacher, and Madame Francoz is their science teacher.
“I like it because we can maintain the friendship between America and France, because of a long story together,” Francoz said.
“An exchange program is so great because you actually connect and make friends,” Fayet said. “You can improve your language and the knowledge of the culture of the US and France”.
French teacher Jill Snelgrove is a huge part in helping with this program. Not only helping the idea really come to fruition, but also helping everyone get to a place where they are able to participate in the program.
“One of the reasons I love doing the exchange is what our students have been able to learn for them is amazing and invaluable,” Snelgrove said. “They get to ask them questions that are interesting to my students, and they have a lot more in common with them than they thought.”
Starr’s Mill students are set to visit France during the week of spring break.