Nadine BIBOLLET SINGLETON 

Since the beginning of the school year, ASEICA has hosted 'Coffee Mornings'  at each of the Colleges, and a Parent-Teacher lunch for the Primary Section. These meet ups are a great way for parents to meet their children's teachers and ASEICA board members in an informal setting. Parents also have the possibility to learn more about what's happening in class or with other extra-curricular academic projects that the teachers support such as the Model United Nations (MUN), the speech contest and various primary social activities. It is especially a great way for new families to connect with the rest of the ASEICA community. The events hosted this fall were:

• Primary Parent-Teacher lunch for both the Sartoux and Trois Collines primary schools at the Ferme Bermond

• Coffee mornings at the Colleges: Niki St Phalle, César, Eganaude.

Feedback from Parents

“The Primary Teacher-Parent lunch, held on the last day of the autumn term, was a great way to connect with the different teachers and all the parents once the school year was off and running. I always appreciate being able to catch up with fellow parents and to touch base with all the teachers. It’s one of the key ways that we all stay connected during the busy school year.” Lucy White, mother of Joe (CM1) and Max (CE1), Ecole Sartoux and Benjamin (5eme), Collège César

"I found the parent-teacher breakfast very informative. As a new ASEICA parent, it was rewarding to meet the teachers of the English section, to learn more about the course work, the setup of the section, extra-curricular activities, and to discuss over a coffee with different parents and my child's teachers. I look forward to another such meet up." Anne Minereau-Gay, mother of Hector (6eme), College Niki de St Phalle.

And the winners are… This is the winning Yearbook cover for next year : a digitally created design by Camille Marchand a LIV  2nde student. The runner up is a watercolor created by Dalen Dautov in 6eme at Collège Niki de St Phalle. Many thanks to all participants and congratulations to the winners!

Nora Louise Syran, Yearbook Coordinator

Primary school students are very happy to share a resumé of their trip to Astrorama in the Col d’Eze. Read the impressions of these budding astronauts!  

"Welcome to our delightful recount of our trip to Astrorama!!! Astrorama is a place where we study the solar system and the stars and that’s exactly what we were studying in class. This place is on top of Monaco and it’s called the Col d’Eze. Mrs Guez, Mrs Ritchie the CM2s and ourselves, the CM1s, went on the 26^th of September. It was a beautiful, sunny day!" Miyu, Mairie, Emma, Nils

"First, we went into a room to learn all about the solar system. We discovered each planet; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. We saw that the planets were made of either gas or rock. For now, Earth is the only planet with life but someday we might also be able to live on Mars. After that, we discovered the moons, the asteroid belts and talked about the sun which is the only star in our solar system. We took notes of this and so much more in our notebooks." Joseph, Adrien, Holly, Erin

"Have you ever done a treasure hunt on the theme ‘Lost on the Moon’? This was our next activity at Astrorama. First of all, we split up in groups of five to choose objects we thought could help us regain the space center.  We needed to remember we were on the moon, not the earth…some objects were useless. If we didn’t have the objects that we needed, our team needed to restart and take new objects. Each group made up their team name and the winning group was “The Galaxies!” We all enjoyed this activity." Joe, Mailys, Maia, Gael

"The planetarium at Astrorama was interesting and fun! We entered the planetarium and looked up at the fake sky. It was filled with a million stars. A guide called Julien showed us the pictures of constellations. We even found the North Star! Incredible! We listened to a story about a young man called Orion who fought a gigantic scorpion. The planetarium was amazing!" Letizia, Ben, Anastasia, Aoibhin

"In the afternoon, we made rockets. Nicolas, our second ‘animateur’, showed us what made an effective rocket. The first model was just a balloon. It flew, but not straight so we tried a water bottle with air pressure. Then water was added to make it go super high.  Finally, we tried a model with wings. That one went the highest and straightest!  After that, we got to make our own rockets. We were in groups of six. First, we had two bottles. We cut one in half and taped them together. Then we cut out the wings in a triangle form and taped three or four on. We placed a small rock at the top, named our rockets and then they were ready. Nicolas launched them one by one as we counted down, “3,2,1 blast off!” It was amazing!" Elise, Monica, Leia, Maxime

"We loved Astrorama! That day, we learned a lot about: The solar system, the stars, rockets and what you need on the moon. We really enjoyed the trip. It was interesting and a lot of fun. As we walked back to the bus, we waved our goodbyes to Astrorama and everyone we crossed. We thought it was a fantastic trip! Bye Bye Astrorama…see you next time!"  Rose, Anabelle, Elodie, Shreya

Our primary students had the special treat of celebrating Halloween at school. Dressed up in scary, funny or cute costumes, the students were happy to show off their Halloween spirit and share this tradition. The goal was to promote openness to other cultures and contribute to the international dimension of our schools. Pumpkin carving contests, apple bobbing, broom stick races, face painting and a thriller dance… were just a few of the activities, and all was wrapped up with a feast of creatively decorated cakes, cupcakes and cookies! Very motivated Trois Collines and Sartoux parents from our anglophone sections volunteered their time and wonderful energy to run these games and bake these treats for all to enjoy. We thank them for all their hard work, generosity, spirit and energy!!!  
Some quotes from children: « This was the best day of my life! », « Our school is so cool! » «  Even the moms danced » !

Thank you to everyone who participated! 

Nathalie Guez

CHAPTER TWO - CIV in Scotland, June 11-19, 2019

Day One: Dollar Academy and Castle Campbell - Our first day at Dollar Academy began, appropriately, with a tour of the school. We could easily have spent half a day visiting the many department buildings, sports fields, auditoriums and halls, but time was limited! Our group was then treated to a special pottery class where students created their own versions of - who else? - Old Nessie. Then on to biology where we were invited to partake in various experiments, most of them involving mini explosions of one kind or another! After lunch we braved strong winds and threatening clouds on our short hike up to Castle Campbell, where we steeped ourselves in over 600 years of history, in all its Scottish splendour.

Day Two: St Andrews - Today we challenged ourselves with some Scottish character building: we spent a day in the rain! Although our visit to St Andrews was a wet one, we enjoyed a walking tour of the famous university (recently ranked 2nd in the UK, thereby breaking the Cambridge/Oxford duo for the first time in many years)... the historical cathedral ruins and the castle.Most appreciated by the group was the free time, the shopping, and the ice cream!

Day Three: Deanston Distillery and Loch Katrine - Today we hopped on the minibus and headed to one of the many renowned single malt whiskey distilleries of Scotland, called Deanston. We enjoyed a tour where we learned all about whiskey-making (no tasting!). We then headed to beautiful Loch Katrine, enjoying the scenery of lush hills and passing sheep – and a couple of highland cows – along the way. After a picnic lunch, we boarded a steamship that is over a century old and took an hour-long ride on the loch, enjoying a bit of sun and a lot of wind, and appreciating the breathtaking views.

Days Four and Five: Host families - Day trips to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, hikes in the countryside, and one or two parties and sleepovers were among the highlights of the weekend! 

Day Six: Dollar Academy - Monday was an in-school day. Our Dollar exchange organiser Mr Young conspired with fellowteachers to provide the CIV students with tailor-made classes. Students went to woodshop and created souvenir Dollar-engraved pencil holders, and learned about bagpiping with the Academy’s outstanding piping band – Dollar Academy is UK Champion again this year! Students also studied the poetry of much-loved Scottish poet Robert Burns in English class…and then ended the day with some excellent Scottish country dancing! Click below to watch them in action: https://photos.app.goo.gl/pC51DwChTtuYtHyj6

Day Seven: Edinburgh - Today the rain took a blissful break and the sun was shining for our day trip to Edinburgh. We took a tram into the city centre and walked up to the fascinating National Museum of Scotland, where we spent the morning and had our lunch. Then on to a walking tour of the city, where we learned much trivia, from Protestant preachers to famous criminals, castles to cathedrals, tartan heritage to celebrity dogs! After some free time for shopping, we boarded the minibus and headed to a bowling alley and restaurant, where the students and their correspondents enjoyed pizza and bowling for their final evening together. Time to go home and pack! 

Day Eight: Back to France - On our final morning at Dollar Academy, students gathered for the much-awaited and feared Scotland quiz, where they and their Dollar correspondents were challenged with questions on Scottish trivia and lore from over the week. Bravo to winners Jamila and Lily! It was then time for farewells ...and off to the airport. All in all the exchange proved to be a resounding success on both sides of the Channel. A warm thank you to Dollar organising teachers Mr Young and Miss Clarke for taking such good care of us, as well as to students and parents, for making our exchange such a positive and memorable experience.

G Bethell

CHAPTER ONE - Dollar Academy in Valbonne / May 29-June 5, 2019

The Scots arrived with perfect timing, bringing the sun and the warm weather with them. Between school days, excursions and time with host families, the week flew by without a hitch. Click here for the Dollar Academy blog: https://www.dollaracademy.org.uk/news-and-events/trips-visits/fiii-french-exchange-to-valbonne

All the students of Trois Collines primary school travelled through various anglophone countries for their very first Anglo Day on May 17^th. More than 40 parent volunteers stepped up and planned this event. 12 classes went through 12 different stands during the day and had a taste of the UK, Ireland, Canada, India, South Africa, USA, New Zealand and Australia. Some of the activities included baseball, aboriginal dot painting, country dance, Irish dance, yoga, totem making, country quiz, haka dance, and all of this with a bit of food tasting and Q&A for each country.

Emilie Sarkissian & Virginie Bernon

In March of this year, two unassuming but hopeful Aseica students went to Paris for a Poetry competition: one of them came back to Valbonne as the competition's overall winner. Emily Cart Grandjean, in 3e at Cesar, probably one of the most unassuming of all the approximately 100 candidates combined, triumphed over candidates from 15 OIB, IB and bilingual schools from around France in 3e, 2e, 1ere and Terminale. She, and we, can be proud! How did she do it? Judges commented on her capacity to make her recitation "all about the poems and not all about her". In her rendition of "The Witch" by M.E. Coleridge, she sent shivers down our spines ... indeed, she was the witch"! She has expressed her thanks to teachers and coaches Karen Jones and Kirsty Yuill. Lembda Soldini, currently in 2e, also gave two powerful poetry recitations.

Click on the video below to see more on the competition, and to get a glimpse of both Emily and Lemba. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DwjjJeaWyrkv9u-GgkrfwE4uKgRn19qG/view

Emily and Lemba's performances, and the participation of the other Aseica candidates back in December, were the first of, hopefully, many Poetry by Heart competitions to come. We hope to see many aspiring poets in next year's competition!

G Bethell

Organizing teacher

Summer is the perfect time to get lost in a great book! Later this month our recommended summer reading lists will be handed out in class and made available on the ASEICA web site. In the meantime, our new Scholastic Book Club (ex Baker Books) is up and running! 

Go to http://eu-schools.scholastic.co.uk/aseica to browse the latest books and order online. For every €1 you spend in the Book Club, our schools will earn ¢20 in Scholastic Rewards which we will spend on reference books for the classrooms or English novels for the school libraries.

Please place your order online by midnight May 22nd, 2019.

Your books will be delivered to your children in the classroom.

If you have any questions, please contact me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Karen Jones

Head of ASEICA Collège English