CHS Welcomes: French Exchange Students

Bienvenue au lycée CHATTAHOOCHEE

As a continuation of a highly successful exchange program begun in 1994, the Chattahoochee French Department invited three teachers and twenty-five students from the Lycée Philippe LAMOUR in Nîmes, France to visit from October 24 through November 3. The program would enable the students and teachers to discover the differences as well as the similarities in American and French schools and ways of life. The CHS students and teachers will go to Nîmes in March and live with their correspondents.

At CHS, the French students followed the schedule of their hosts and the French teachers observed various classes throughout the school. CHS teachers in other departments gave seminars for the students and teachers. One day, the French students gave talks to the CHS French students on fashion, music, sights to see in the Nîmes area, and French students there and several gave interviews for the Abbotts Hill Elementary French classes.

There were three days of field trips of the guests to find out more about the Atlanta area. They went to The World of Coca Cola, Centennial Park, the Capitol, CNN, Martin Luther King Center and house. With their CHS hosts, they went on a tour of a real underground gold mine in Dahlonega, went panning for gold and shopped at the North Georgia Premium Outlets.

Over the weekend Nîmes students and teachers participated in various activities with their host families. There was a welcoming "junk food" party hosted by the French Club officers and a swimming/ pizza party.

The first week ended with their very first participation in the CHS football spirit of attending the CHS/ Duluth game. Monday night brought the Potluck Going-Away dinner for all of the host families to get together and enjoy a live band and a sad farewell.

The CHS students are looking forward to their March trip to Nîmes and Paris, so that they can practice their French and see all of the sights they have heard about in class.