SAI NTE MARI E
International
Section Chronicle
Edition #13
For the final newsletter of the calendar
year, we are treating
you to some of the
highlights of the academic year so far
along with Mrs Hart’s
popular
‘Cambridge
Corner’ and we meet
a new teacher in the
International Section.
Autumn 2013
Halloween Party
Halloween is a very ancient Celtic festival that now
takes place every year on 31st October. Originally,
the ancient Celts celebrated "Samain", a winter solstice in late Autumn when they lit fires in their villages to keep away evil spirits that they believed
walked the Earth on that day. This symbolism of
With best wishes for
a wonderful holiday
and a successful year
ahead from...
The International
Section team.
"Light against Dark" as "Good against Evil" was continued down the ages, and later the Catholic Church,
to help the transition to their faith, deliberately added the day of "All Hallows", or All Saints' Day, to the
A Jack O Lantern by Mr Yates
calendar the day after the old Celtic festival of Samain. This was to symbolise the evil pagan spirits
being
vanquished
by
the
victorious
Christian
saints. It is thus that Samain was renamed All Hallows' Eve, later contracted to Halloween.
In true Celtic style, but with the modern addition of
cakes, sweets and fizzy drinks, our 6èmes enjoyed a
fun Halloween party on Friday 18 October, just be-
Bienvenue...
A
BIG
French
welcome to our
visiting Irish students. We hope
you have a wonderful time and
make some new
friends here at
our school.
fore the "Toussaint" holiday. Normally well-behaved,
studious pupils transformed into terrifying witches,
vampires, werewolves and worse... However, our
"little monsters" managed to stay sufficiently disciplined to take part in the proposed activities: making
Halloween Monsters
Halloween cards and ghost lollipops with Mrs Guillet
and Mrs Leroy, insect "lucky dip" with Mrs Rablat,
and pumpkin carving with Mr Yates. All in all a very
good time was had by all - teachers and creatures
alike!"
Do you know this witch?
Activities Galore.
Page 2
International Section Chronicle
Coventry University
at Lycée Bossuet
Thanks to a special partnership with Coventry University UK,
Lycée Bossuet now offers an English bachelor degree (license,
Bac +3) in Global Business or Global Marketing. This year the
first class of Global Business graduates will receive their degrees
in London!
The new partnership with Coventry University London Campus’s Top-Up Programme allows students who have already
completed 2 years of post-bac study (for example a BTS, DUT,
LEA) to receive a valid English Bachelor Degree after just oneyear of additional study.
The Coventry programme is a real business experience that
prepares students for the world of international enterprise.
These are the two key components of the programme: its
emphasis on applied learning and developing work-place skills,
rather than exclusively memorization and academic exams, and
its international focus. Coventry adds a unique global vision to
the standard theories and practices of the typical business
school. All this is offered at Meaux at nearly half the price of
the program in London.
Introducing a new teacher…
Australian Flag
Mr Glenn Allen
Mr Allen comes from Australia with a background of many
years as a teacher and administrator. He holds the following
degrees and diplomas: Bachelor of Arts, Diploma in Education,
Master of Education specialising in teaching English to speakers
of other languages. In Australia, Mr Allen was nominated on
three occasions for his excellence in teaching at a national
level.
As a former IT manager for his high school in Australia, Mr
Allen likes to incorporate technology with his teaching and this
is proving popular with his classes. Civilisation students are
using the internet to bring their British studies to life. Others
are practising their grammar online.
In his spare time, Mr Allen likes popular music and plays keyboard. Pronunciation students are certainly enjoying learning
pop songs as part of their course. As well, he has vast experience with staging school musical productions and making
props.
As an animal lover, Mr Allen has brought two dogs with him
from England where he has lived for the past four years. He
also has not long acquired two black kittens who love to sleep
on his laptop while he is doing his school work at home.
Penfriends with Alton Convent School
by Mrs Rablat
(organizer)
For the fifth year,
the '5ème' and
'6ème' classes of
the International Section at St. Marie are participating in an exchange of letters with Alton Convent School (Hampshire, England). By putting pens
to paper, students talk about all sorts of things:
family, friends, pets, school life and subjects
studied, activities in and outside school, occupations and interests. The all-girl school in Alton is
always very willing to participate; the girls have a
real flair for presentation, sending beautifully designed cards with photos and
drawings and even presents!
These contacts have sometimes
blossomed into real friendships
and even exchanges on a personal
level. Students told the Chronicle
that they love having a penfriend.
Mr Allen has said he loves teaching here in France as his students are all so highly motivated and well behaved. He looks
forward to his lessons each week with great enthusiasm.
His students have told the Chronicle that they really love his
classes and are learning so much.
Do say hello to Mr Allen if you pass him in the school and
extend a warm French welcome to him.
Outstanding Results
The BAC
100% of the International Section students who took the
BAC were successful. Congratulations to the 43/45 SI
students (95.5%) who obtained a ‘Mention Europ éenne’.
85% of the students also received a ‘Mention Traditionelle’.
Cambridge Exams
83% of Lycée students taking KET were successful.
91% of Lycée students taking PET were successful.
68% of Lycée students taking FCE were successful.
Congratulations to the 25 Advanced and 5 Proficiency
students who passed their examinations which are
considered to be post-Bac level.
Page 3
International Section Chronicle
Cooking Favourites for Christmas: Mince Pies
Ingredients:
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12 oz/350g all purpose/plain flour
Pinch of salt
8oz/225g butter, cubed or an equal mix of butter and
lard
1 beaten egg + cold water as needed
1 jar of mincemeat, shop bought or home made
2 table spoons icing sugar
Preparation:
Heat the oven to 400°F/205°C/Gas 6
Make the Pastry
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Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.
Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as
quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
Add the egg to the mixture and using a cold knife stir, add cold water a teaspoon at a time until the mixture
binds but don't make it too wet that it is sticky.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.
The dough can also be made in a food processor by mixing the flour, butter and salt in the bowl of the processor
on a pulse setting. When the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add the egg slowly, through the funnel, then add
water a teaspoon at a time until the dough comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill as above.
Assemble the Pies
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Choose a muffin or bun tin for the size of the pie you want. Choose from a standard 12-cup muffin tin down
to small canapé size. The number of pies will depend on the size of cup you choose.
Dust a work surface lightly with a little flour and roll out two-thirds of the pastry to 1/8"/3mm thick. Cut circles to line the cups of your tin, don't worry if the pastry doesn't come to the top.
Fill the pastry lined tins 2/3 full with mincemeat.
Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness and cut smaller circles to fit as lids on the tarts or to be
decorative, cut stars or other fancy shapes.
Dampen the edges of the tart bases with a little cold water and press the lids on. Make a small hole in the
surface of each pie with a small sharp knife to allow the steam to escape (you can omit this if using star-shaped
lids).
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins (15 mins if
making canape size) or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the icing
sugar. Mince pies are delicious served hot or cold
on their own or with Brandy Butter. They will
keep well if placed in an airtight tin - up to seven
days. Sometimes they benefit from a gentle
warming in the oven before serving.
Enjoy
Page 4
International Section Chronicle
Cambridge Corner with Mrs Hart: Answering the question
One of the biggest problems in the Cambridge Exams is that students do not answer the question properly. Students must remember to fully answer the question asked, otherwise they will
lose marks.
An example: “What do you think the difference is between watching TV and going to the cinema?
The answer should be exactly what they have asked you! It does not mean, “Which do you
prefer…?”
Many students make this mistake and give their preference and don’t compare the two. Also
note that the examiner is giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your comparative language
in this case so make sure you use at least some of the following expressions:
“Compared to TV, cinema is a more exciting activity because…”
“TV is much cheaper than the cinema because…”
“While TV and cinema have many similarities, they are also different in many important ways, such
as…”
“Watching a film at the cinema is not nearly as flexible an activity as watching something on
TV. By this I mean that…”
It is absolutely essential that you understand and answer the question asked. You could easily
fail your writing paper if you do not. More advice in the next issue.
Idioms: answers from the last newsletter… and more!
IDIOMS:
1. To rack your brain.
2. To take a leaf out of someone's book.
3. Laughter is the best medicine.
4. To see the elephant.
5. The devil finds work for idle hands.
6. To get the show on the road.
7. To be the icing on the cake.
8. To hold out an olive branch.
9. To be off the beaten track.
10. To have bats in the belfry.
Some Christmas idioms...
MEANINGS:
1. To think hard.
2. To copy someone else.
3. Laughter helps things to go better.
4. You see more than you wish to.
5. Spare time can lead to trouble.
6. To get things moving.
7. To make something special.
8. To make peace.
9. Somewhere not many people go.
10. To be mad or stupid.
The Irish Visit
In the next newsletter, you will read all about the visit from
the Irish students from Grosvenor Grammar School who
arrived on Friday, 6th December from Belfast.
Already the Irish Head of the Department of Foreign
Languages has said how impressed he is with the standard
of English and the knowledge of the Terminale students during a History and Geography lesson for the ‘Mention
Européenne’.
Christmas only comes but once a year.
Like Turkeys voting for an early Christmas.
To cancel someone’s Christmas.
It was like Christmas coming early
Meet me under the mistletoe
Bah! Humbug.
Deck the Halls.
Snowing him/her.
International Primary School of Montry
Once again this year, Mrs Hakim is attending the Montry Christmas Party. She
will be congratulating the students of
Montry who have passed their Young
Learners’ exams and received their diploma during the festivities. The International
Sections is always delighted to welcome
Montry students for their exam session.