Mantell - 10 Years Celebration - August 2006

 In the years since Frenz was first established, we have had many events celebrating traditional French Festivals and ceremonies that recognise the great achievements of children in the French Bilingual Unit at Richmond Road School. 

2006 has brought its own unique reason to celebrate. This year we celebrated the French Primary Unit’s 10^th Anniversary!

In recognition of this anniversary, FRENZ organised a cocktail evening held at Mantell on the 16^th August.  Mantells is a venue renowned for its beauty, style and flair.

Copy of the speech from Vincent Commarieu, Frenz President:

"Bonsoir a tous et Bienvenue.

 Firstly, a very warm welcome to you all and special thanks to our guests, Ms Hayley Read, the Principal of Richmond Road School, Mr Dick Hubbard, the mayor of Auckland, and Mr Jean-Michel Marlaud, the French Ambassador to NZ, who all accepted to share this fundraiser evening with us.

 I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the members who have organised this event and offer our thanks to Annie Mantell and her staff for their hospitality and generosity in enabling us to enjoy these extremely convivial surroundings.

 Frenz was created in 1994 so tonight we are celebrating 10 years since the inauguration of the Primary French-English unit, recently renamed “L’Archipel des Enfants”.

 I will fly very briefly over the years, describing how this amazing puzzle has been put together. From the 6 children who attended the first class, the unit has stabilized to between 40 and 50 children for the past few years.

This year, we have established an Intermediate Unit at Kowhai Intermediate School. Coincidently, it also began with 6 children. 

But back to history lessons:

 It all started with a small team of dedicated parents led by Nadine Plet, who despite all adversity was able to put their dreams into practice. Without doubt, we would not be here tonight without these pioneers.

 One of the first steps was to find a suitable school where the unit could be established.

Richmond Road School was chosen for its experience in bilingual education and its central location. It is a school where differences are celebrated and personal identities respected. Since the beginning, Frenz and the school, have worked together to offer the best bilingual education for its students.

 Of course, there would be no class, without teachers. Maryse Varaine, from day one invested much time, skill and energy to develop programs suitable for a wide range of students in terms of age and levels of French comprehension. As the unit grew in number, we were able to create a second class, led by Vesna Nikolic.

We are grateful to all the wonderful French and English teachers who have taught, and are still involved in L’Archipel. They have and continue to impart their great knowledge and enthusiasm for learning to our children.

There would be no unit, without the financial support from the French government. It comes in numerous ways and from various programs: The Senate, FLAM, bursaries, resources from the Embassy to name but a few sources. The list of people involved for the past 12 years is too long to thank, but it has been a constant support…

With everything in place, children were the final ingredient. Whatever the motivation for parents to send their children to this unit, they have given them a treasure to be valued for the rest of their lives. They have given them the possibility to be truly bilingual and to feel confident both in French and in English, to be able to think, feel and talk freely in the language the most appropriate to the circumstances of their life. Bilingualism widens those choices.

For numerous years, we have had support from several sponsors who donated in many different ways. To all of them, we are extremely grateful.

But all the pieces of the puzzle would have not come together without the dedication and hard work of our volunteers and committee members.

I would like to thank all of you who have worked in many areas.

We must never forget that we rely on volunteers to keep such an association as ours functioning efficiently.

I am a great believer that one gets out of life what one puts into it – This is surely true with Frenz.

Finally, there are 2 people I would like to thank in particular for the amount of work and passion they have put into the Association over the years. Nadine and Valerie, could you please join me? 

 So again, thank you all for joining in the celebration and we look forward to the 20 year festivities, moreso because I won’t be implicated in the organization of it!

 Bonsoir"

End of Year Celebration 2004

The teachers of the French/English bilingual unit at Richmond Road School, in conjunction with the Frenz Association, held the annual class prize-giving on Sun 5^th December at the school hall.

We began the afternoon with french Christmas carols, then Vesna presented certificates to her junior students. Each child proudly walked to the front of the stage and was presented with a certificate celebrating their individual achievements and personalities.

After an exhibition by the senior class of their gymnastic prowess, Maryse awarded certificates to her class.

A large amount of effort went into the careful consideration of each child, the reflection of personal abilities and attributes and for this we sincerely thank our wonderful teachers, Maryse, (ruma 12) Vesna (ruma 11), Jenny, and Parehuia who both taught English to the senior class over the past year.

We were also very pleased to welcome Hayley Read, the school Principal to our gathering, and thank her for coming along, even if the proceedings were all in french and may have stumped her momentarily.

The children delighted in a shared afternoon tea, and we parents enjoyed the opportunity to speak together and with the teachers.

Again, a very successful celebration of our children, and an opportunity to feel proud of their successes.

Galette des Rois/Mid Winter Celebration 2004

Our annual winter festivity of La Galette des Rois was celebrated last Sun 12 Sept.

This year it was decided to invite not only the French community, but all others interested or looking for a Sunday activity, and it was great to see many new faces enjoying the fun.

This year’s galettes were the best ever, merci La Tropeziene, and the children enjoyed choosing their splendid crowns.

                                                                                              Apart from the traditional devouring of the galette, the children were decorated by a face painter. The girls were adorned with the most beautiful designs, the boys were very pleased with their superhero masks and there were plenty of “little animals” running around the area as well.

The troupe of Tahitian dancers proved very popular, especially when they included the audience in their show!

We were thrilled to have secured some very generous sponsors who contributed towards our raffles:

Elizabeth Arden donated a beautiful selection of perfume, creams and skincare products, we had dinner vouchers from Villa d’Vine, Tribeca, and Craft restaurants, plus a wonderful ride-on tractor by Smooby. We thank them all for their kind contributions.

We also wish to thank New Caledonia Tourism for their generous efforts and Eiffel en Eden who provided the most delicious food for those needing extra sustenance. Finally, a HUGE merci, to Susan and Vincent who had the sole responsibility of organising and delivering this fantastic event.

As always, it was a great afternoon out, and thank you to all that were there.                                                         

Richmond Road School Production 2004

‘The Flame-Thrower of Old Olympia’ was this years school production title, very apt considering the events of last month in Athens, and given our tenuous links, (Hamish Carter is Theo, Rousseau and Zarina’s uncle).

 Each class represented a ‘nation’ and the universe was well presented with contingents from the Pacific, and France, disabled athletes, water sprits and even representatives from outer space.

 The two commentators, Camille Rees and Sid Dymond  kept us up to date with happenings and the roving reporter interviewed spectators from the audience.

 It has to be said that a large amount of pride swelled within the French bilingual class parents, as their children appeared. Both classes had a selection of athletes competing. Maryse’s seniors included Astérix and Obélix who obviously performed well, but one suspects they may have not been too ‘clean’! The music of Chariots of Fire was an inspired choice and the children’s activities were all mimed in slow motion, from the gymnasts to the shot putters, runners and discus throwers.

Vesna’s junior class also performed exceptionally well and made for delightful entertainment. Their events included Fencing, Equestrian, Weightlifting and Boxing.  Even if things didn’t quite go to plan on the night, it was a fantastic show and the children obviously savoured the experience.

 The amount of work that goes into these spectacles is enormous on the part of the teachers and the children, but their efforts are wholly appreciated.

Art Exhibition 2004

The school’s annual Art Festival was held last Thursday evening, 24th June 2004, and was once again a huge success.

All students in the school produce 4 pieces of art each, of varying styles, and the parents are invited to tour the school where they have been exhibited.

Each year the teachers become more adventurous with their ideas, and this year saw the most fabulous mosaics, weaving of a Pacific flavour, collage plates of humus and pita bread, and tapa cloths to name but a few examples.

The theme of Ancient Civilisations also featured strongly, with masks from the Egyptian period of Pharaohs, and portraits of Gauls.

As always the teachers put an enormous amount of effort into these works of art as do the children.

We wish to thank them all for the most beautiful display. It is great to see the children expanding their learning with many different experiences and we are very proud of the achievements.

The visit of Senator Duvernois

 We were thrilled that Mr Duvernois, a visiting Senator from France, asked to visit our school, and the bilingual unit; it was arranged for Thurs. 18 March 2004.

The senator is very supportive of multilingualism and was very positive of the experience he witnessed at Richmond Road School.

 He was warmly welcomed to the school with the traditional powhiri, which he found very moving, and then met with teachers and parents over morning tea.

 Mr Duvernois was pleased to remark on the excellent relationship that exists between all participants of the school -–parents, teachers and ropus, and delighted to see the different cultures co-existing, working and playing in support of each other.

This was a great honour for our small school and class, and hopefully one which will put the good word out there for us, and bring external support.

End of Year Celebration

The bilingual French unit at the school, Roopu 5, got together at the Grey Lynn library hall on Sunday 7th December to mark the end of the school year. This year we tried a new format of recognizing our childrens' accomplishments over the year and farewelling the year 6 students moving on to new schools.

                                                                 

Michel Casssin's French theatre group performed a piece which they had been practising all year, loosely following the story of `Le Petit Prince' by Antoine de SaintExupéry. The group of about a dozen children from the class displayed great confidence in front of their audience and delighted us all with their abilities and superb performances. The troupe were accompanied by Simone, the French-speaking puppeteer who, with her `friend' Glip, added interest and amusement for all, particularly the younger members of the audience. Thank you for a most enjoyable afternoon's entertainment. It was clear, and much appreciated, that a lot of work had been put into the production.

The Roopu 5 teachers, Vesna Nikolic-Ivanovik, Andrew Dwyer (Andy), Valérie Levergne unfortunately, Maryse Varaine had a prior engagement) then handed out certificates, acknowledging each student's individual contribution to the class. It was very pleasing for the parents to see their children's efforts and talents recognised, and rewarding to see that there had been a lot
of thought gone into this process. We were all extremely proud and wish to thank our dedicated team of teachers who put so much work into helping our children achieve their potential.

Afternoon tea followed, giving parents the opportunity to talk and pass the time in a relaxed atmosphere, rather than the chaos associated with picking up children after school! They also had the occasion to talk with the teachers and the Principal, Hayley Read.

Thank you to all who attended. It was a very successful occasion and we look forward to repeating this event at the same time next year.

The New French Ambassador to NZ visits Richmond Rd School

During mid-October, the french/english bilingual unit at Richmond Road School was lucky enough to receive a visit from the newly appointed French Ambassador to NZ, Jean-Michel Marlaud.

The school performed a ‘powhiri’, a Maori custom of formally welcoming a visitor to the grounds, followed by morning tea. The parents and teachers were given  the opportunity to meet and speak with Mr Marlaud, who proved an interested listener, and charming guest. This was followed by a look at ropu 5 in action and an occasion to interact with the children in the unit.

It was significant for Frenz that the Ambassador saw his visit to our school as important, and we are very grateful to him for this support. We look forward to consolidating this relationship during his tenure here.

Galette des rois 2003                                                                                         

Sunday 7th September, saw 120 of us, adults and children of all ages celebrating la Galette des Rois in the hall at Richmond Road School, where the French-English lingual unit is housed. It was great to see the French community coming together to introduce French festivities to our children, and those new to our culture.

These times are not planned as money-making ventures, as more an opportunity to meet with others from France and continue the traditions that were part of our childhood.

We would like to thank 'La Tropézienne' for the delicious galettes. Thanks also to Elisabeth Le Quilliec from Areva, and L'Oréal for donating the products we were able to raffle. Finally, thanks to the Frenz committee for organizing this enjoyable afternoon. See you next year!

Beware Be Weta Show

“Beware Be-Weta” was the theme of this year’s drama presentation held on 10th Sept  2003.

The story, along the lines of  “Harry Potter”, was of a young boy who is being guided around his new school, one that caters for ‘unearthly’ creatures!

Each roopu performed as a different class within this school for wizards and witches, goblins, fairies, and the like.

In roopu 5, the junior and senior classes were integrated, with the girls portrayed as angels, while the boys imitated (very realistically) the role of devils and demons!

The costumes and skillfully-applied make-up were dramatic, and the children performed competently their parts, with some showing definite talents within this area.

The school production is establishing itself as an event to look forward to, and each year sees the students gaining in confidence.

Art Exhibition 2003

The best masterpieces of each class and age group were displayed in the school hall. Roopu 5 classrooms were also transformed with all the masterpieces on show: collages, chalks, crayons, and dyes.

Christmas 2002 party       

A fun get-together afternoon with shows and surprises took place on Saturday 7th of December, thanks to Michel Cassin. Indeed, Michel was keen on the idea of an end-of-year party – he wanted to see children’s faces blossoming with smiles and their eyes sparkling with pleasure.

Thanks to his initiative, the French Radio in Auckland, Amuse Gueule, and Frenz got together to make this day a successful event. Once again the French community united around their children. Michel and his Richmond Road School Friday drama class students delivered an excellent visual and verbal show at 2 pm on the dot as planned in the programme. Young girls and boys impressed us with their confidence and dynamism. Alone on stage, but accompanied by their professionalism and memory, the show unfolded without fault and with a lot of humour. The guest of honor, Santa Claus, was a tremendous success when he arrived, dancing to a catchy rock tune. He went on to capture children’s hearts, distributing presents to everyone … “Yes!”

Lord of the Lens Show                                                                                        

The highlight of the third term was, without doubt, the school show. What a fun and warm atmosphere, what a burst of shimmering, colorful costumes, of catchy songs and attractive dances!

The stands were swarming with parents and family friends clapping and shouting their approval. As for the participants, what enthusiasm! Thanks to the teaching team and their students for this wonderful and unforgettable evening. You can buy a video tape or CD of the evening at the school office for $20, thanks to work by Isabelle Billon and to the generosity of Olivier Wardecki of Next Technology.

Art Exhibition 2002