Visit from Poet James Carter

10 December 2019, 3:10 pm
Published in Blog EN

Our primary students from Sartoux and Trois Collines got to meet and discuss poetry with Author & Poet, James Carter. In a general assembly he put on a show to share his newly published poem on the theme of space. He then ran a creative writing workshop in each of the classes. With his expert tips and advice, each student got the chance to produce their own poems and proudly share them.

 

Video: Poetry by Heart competition

12 June 2019, 6:17 pm
Published in Blog EN

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

 

Poetry Contest... and the winner is...

6 April 2019, 12:05 pm
Published in Blog EN

The 5th Annual France edition of the ELSA Poetry by Heart Contest took place this last month, on March 23rd. After our own in-house Aseica contest in December, two level winners were discerned: 3e candidate Emily Cart-Grandjean from César, and 2e candidate Lemba Soldini from the LIV. Both candidates were invited to Paris to compete in the France finals.The finals took place at Ecole Jeannine Manuel. The contest this year was graced with the high profile presence of the UK organisers, Tim Shortis and Julie Blake, who were extremely supportive, and thankful for international support of the project. Over 40 candidates from 15 OIB, IB and bilingual schools from across France performed their poems, many of which were outstanding. Both of our contestants, Lemba and Emily, gave superb performances, full of maturity and sensitivity. The competition was extremely tough… despite this, ASEICA is very proud to report that this year’s overall winner was Emily!! 

An immense BRAVO to her!

 

 

Stay tuned at the rentrée in September for news about next year’s contest!

G Bethell

Coordinating Teacher, ELSA Poetry Contest

 

Poetry-by-heart contest

19 December 2018, 12:00 pm
Published in Blog EN

This is the first year our students had the opportunity to enter the Poetry-By-Heart international poetry recitation contest, with our school competition taking place on November 30th. Congratulations to all students who participated. They were completely absorbed in their poetry and the afternoon was a compelling mix of academic understanding and theatrical performance. A special congratulations to our two winners will attend the national finals in Paris in March:  

  • Lemba Soldini in 2nde for her performance of "Song of the Smoke" by W.E.B. Dubois
    Emily Cart-Grandjean in 3ème at César for her performance of "The Stretcher Bearer" by Tommy Crawford.  
  • Runners-up were Louis Browne in 2nde for "The Chimney Sweeper" by William Blake and Aurélie Gallet in 3ème in ColIV for "The Song of the Mud" by Mary Borden.

Students were awarded points for Voice, Understanding, Performance, and Accuracy. The judges were Mrs. Collord, Mrs. Defrasne, Mr. P. Jackson, and Mrs. Massé. Many thanks to Mrs. Bethell for organizing the project and to Mrs. Yuill for coaching. The contest will be renewed in September 2019.

Kristi Defrasne, Head of Lycée English