27 May 2016

A report on the 2nd year French Exchange 2016 by Sophie Innes and Blathnaid Duignan :

We departed from Loreto at 12:00pm on  7 May. Twenty one Irish students took part in the exchange. We took a bus up to Dublin Airport and arrived there at 2:00pm.Once we had passed through the infamous stress of airport security we browsed around the duty-free. We managed to board the plane without too many hiccups. We arrived in Nantes airport at around 19:00.We took a typical French school bus to the school in Pacé, where we were warmly greeted by our host families. After our long day traveling we were all relieved to be able to unpack and relax.

Sunday was a family day. I went ice skating in Rennes, a beautiful city close by, with my correspondent. Later that day we went to a barbeque with all the French and Irish students hosted by one of the French girls.

On Monday morning we gathered in the school canteen and had a wonderful French style buffet breakfast with foods such as croissants, pain au choclat,coffee,cereals,bread and orange juice.The principal welcomed us with a lovely speech. We visited the Breton cultural centre in Rennes with the French students. There we learned more about Brittany’s rich heritage and interesting culture. We learned a song in the Breton language and also traditional dances.

On Tuesday we had a big day , we travelled for two hours to St. Michel.It is a cathedral that was built on an island. We walked up  thousands of steps and narrow cobbled streets to get to the top. We shopped for a while in the souvenir shops and then we got back in the bus and went to St. Malo, a beautiful French town that had cobbled streets and huge walls surrounding the it. We browsed around the shops, ate crêpes and bought presents to bring back to Ireland.

On Wednesday we visited a castle in Dinan and there we were given an interesting talk on the heritage of the castle. After the trip I went to Rennes with my correspondent and his friends. We had a lovely afternoon and there was a party in the evening with all the Irish and French students. We all really enjoyed it and had a great time.

Thursday was our last day and we were all sad to leave. We were in classes from the start of 8:30am until 12:00pm. I went to a French class  and a Technology class. It was so different from Irish class and much longer. The students seem very interested in performing well in their classes. I was most surprised about the  school  bell, as it had a musical tone. It was very different compared to our sharp, loud bell. When we had to leave it was very emotional,many people cried. Our class knew we were going to miss France and the amazing people there so much.

On behalf of all the students who took part in the exchange, we would like to say a huge thank you to Ms. Lordan for organising and putting so much effort into the trip for us. Also to Ms. Skelton for accompanying us to France. We all thoroughly enjoyed the trip and it was an amazing, unforgettable experience that we are all very grateful to have taken part in.

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All booklists and school calendar for 2016/2017 are now available on www.loretowexford.com. Paper copies are available upon request from Reception.

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Summer examinations will take place for 1st, 2nd and 5th year students next week. We wish all students well.

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The Transition Year Graduation Ceremony takes place in the Talbot Hotel at 6.00 p.m. on Tuesday, 31 May. The event will feature a review of what has been an action-packed year as well as the presentation of certificates to the 120 students.

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Summer holidays begin with the end of school examinations on Friday, 3 June.

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Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations begin on Wednesday, 8 June and continue until Friday, 24 June.

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