Tower-Times-Winter-2..

Academic year 2013/2014– First Semester. The Anglophone Section Newspaper of the Institut de la Tour n°47
A.S. TAKES
A TRIP TO
BALTIMORE
IN THIS EDITION
AS EVENTS & TRIPS
Australia
7
Baltimore 1, 10-12
Bayeux
8
Irish Pub/J.A.
5
PAMUN
9
PTA Picnic
4
Pulitzer Center
12
Step Programs
5
Students
6
Teachers
1-3
Thanksgiving
4
By Léa Sabaté
In the Anglophone Section, the
10th graders are given the opportunity to go to the United States, in
Baltimore. However, 11th and 12th
graders have also participated in this
incredible opportunity. This trip is an
exchange with another school near
Baltimore: The Park School. The exchange traditionally takes place dur-
ing the Toussaint vacation and lasts
10 days. The students each have a
partner at Park school that then
comes to Paris in March, this year
from March 15-23.
At Baltimore, the Latourians are
given the chance to visit Baltimore,
Washington, and Annapolis. They
also see how an American school
works. This trip is very appreciated
by the students of La
Tour who are able to discover a new culture and
new people. (continued
on pages 10-12)
THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD
literature teacher. Today, we miss
her captivating British history lesSCHOOL NEWS
Building Project 14-16 By Thalia Marot-Achillas
sons in our book decorated with
Mrs. Brown, THE British AngloLanguage Classes 6
blood puddles, or more often the
School Mass
17 phone teacher, left La Tour this past blood lava flows, as well as her little
Tri-Château
13 summer. A multi-subject teacher,
greeting “hellouww everyboowdiiii”
we have known her as a tenacious
while entering in the classroom and
EXTRAS
FCE teacher who never abandoned her sweet “byeiiiiiiiii!” in her unforEntertainment
20 her students for better or worse, an
gettable Yorkshire accent. Not beOpinions
20 enthralling history teacher doing
ing able to bear her absence, The
Polls
18
her best to make us memorize
Tower Times has decided to contact
Reviews
19
which one of Henry VIII’s wives has her.
been either beheaded or divorced,
(Find the complete interview
Front Page designed by
and as a terrific “fake American” AE and follow-up article on pages 2-3)
Iris Glaser
MRS. BROWN
1
(Continued from Front Page)
able to come up with solutions, lend a hand or
Tower Times: Thank you, Mrs. Brown, for taking attentive ear – and they’re such good fun to be
the time to talk to us about your life now that
with too.
you’ve retired.
I miss meeting parents. Be it at PTA
meetings, AS events or just in the street for a
Chris Brown: I’m very flattered and moved to
quick chat, the warm smiles and words added
have been asked to answer your questions for to that now very much missed sense of belongthe Tower Times. I hope my answers aren’t too ing.
disappointing.
And last but far from least, I miss you, my
dear students. The relationships formed, the
TT: Are you still living in Paris or did you move lovely welcome, the exchange and sharing of
back to England?
knowledge and experiences, the moans and
groans over homework, tests, and summer
CB: Yes, we’re still living in the suburbs near
reading.
Paris. We’ve been here for almost forty years so
Watching you slowly come to life (or not) at
naturally it has become our home in the true
8:25 and watching your heads slowly sinking
sense of the word. Our sons live in
Paris and we have lovely friends
here too, so there’s absolutely no
reason to move. Of course, we do
go back to England quite frequently to see family and friends.
TT: What do you miss most about
La Tour and teaching?
CB: Where do I begin? Generally
speaking, I miss being part of the
La Tour community, the feeling of
belonging, of having the same
aims, of caring and sharing and
playing a role, however small, in
helping young people to achieve
their educational goals and grow in
confidence and maturity.
On a daily basis, I miss the excellent company of my good friends
in the Anglophone Section. From
the dynamic, unfaltering leadership of Mrs Gerbeau, right down to
the never-ending supply of chocolate and other such goodies, there
can be no better place to work.
Through the ups and downs of the
school year, through thick and
thin, in times of achievement and
celebration or difficulty, disapMrs. Brown and Mr. Slade together at the Anglophone Secpointment and sadness, the team
tion’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner on Tuesday,
is there – ready, willing and very
November 19, 2013
2
onto your desks or desperately clock-watching
during the last lesson of the day. Watching your
eyes light up in History or on learning you’ve
passed the FCE/CAE/CPE exams, and so many
more wonderful memories. Yes, I miss being
with you very much indeed.
opinion of the school.
Tower Times: Where were you before coming
to La Tour?
Benjamin Slade: I was living in London and last
year I spent a lot of time travelling: India, New
TT: Are you still in contact with La Tour teachers Zealand, Indonesia. This summer, I spent some
and students?
time giving tours of Versailles Palace and the
Eiffel Tour. It was a great experience.
CB: I’m still in contact with the AS teachers but
you’re the first student I’ve had any contact
TT: Why did you come to La Tour?
with.
BS: I wanted to live in Paris and I already spoke
TT:What are your plans for the future? Your
French. I love history and it’s a great oppotunity
hobbies, your activities?
for me to teach this subject. I also like teaching
literature and global issues.
CB: For the moment I’m just taking it easy, going to see exhibitions and on long walks and of TT: What studies did you do?
course lots of reading. I’m looking into various
charitable organisations in need of volunteers, BS: I’ve got a degree in History and a Masters in
yoga and dance classes to join, and (my poor
Middle-Eastern studies.
husband) I’m trying to learn to play the piano.
TT: What was your first impression of La Tour?
TT: Are there any messages you would like to
have passed along?
BS: I’m really impressed how the students are
working hard and the amount of building work
CB: The more you give, the more you get, so
going on.
always give your best. Never give up, and more
than anything, enjoy, especially in your lessons TT: What are your hobbies and interests outside
with the Anglophone Section. It’s a rare experi- of your work?
ence.
BS: One of my favourite sports is football, in
TT: Overall, are you happy to have retired?
fact I’m playing for a team. I also play the guitar
and I love hiking.
CB: It’s early days yet, I still feel on an extended
holiday. I’m enjoying the sense of freedom and TT: Is everything fine with the other teachers?
time is sailing by. I’ve told you how much I miss
La Tour, it’s normal, but sometimes wonder
BS: The other teachers are really friendly with
how I ever found the time to work.
me and they make me feel welcome, part of the
Lots of love to you all and take good care.
team. It can be difficult to be the only English
teacher in an office full of Americans (joke).
MR. SLADE
By Alexandre Fabry
TT: Did you know someone in France before
coming?
Mr Slade is a new teacher in the Anglophone
Section of la Tour. I interviewed him to know a
little bit more about him and know his global
BS: My partner is French and one of my best
friends who I studied with in London is living in
Paris.
3
PTA PICNIC: THE PLACE TO BE...
this wonderful celebration.
For this occasion, Mrs. Chollet usually makes a quiche; however, this year she
baked zucchini cupcakes, mmm! These cupcakes were shared among the AS teachers
like every year.
As for meeting new people, Mrs. Chollet
was able to get acquainted with the new
families in the Anglophone Section and the
students who were not in her prep class in
6ème. With her there to share this fantastic
experience were her two sons and husband.
One of the highlights of the event was the
spontaneous soccer game in which her husband and elder son participated! Mr. SuzziValli also played in the soccer game teaming
up with Mr. Slade and many students.
To wrap up, the PTA picnic was a great
occasion to meet new people and enjoy the
afternoon with them.
By Arcadi Dmitrieff, Iris Glaser & Emma Gunasena
This year, Mrs. Chollet was exclusively interviewed on the PTA’s annual start-of-theyear Anglophone Section picnic:
“It’s been at least 7 years of picnicking delight,” declares Mrs. Chollet at the beginning of the interview. Indeed, Mrs. Chollet
would never miss such an event, except one
year when thunder and rain broke out ruining the traditional event in 2010. This year
of 2013, sun and butterflies accompanied
salle Rossini of Notre Dame de
AS THANKSGIVING EVENT the
Grâce de Passy, a beautiful church,
By Arcardi Dmitrieff, Emma Gunasena, and Iris
Glaser
WHAT & WHY? Thanksgiving is a national
holiday celebrated in the United States and
Canada. This event is a way of thanking “the
blessing of harvest of preceding
year” (Wikipedia).
It is traditionally celebrated on the fourth
Thursday of November in the United States and
on the second
Monday of October
in Canada.
WHEN? The Anglophone Section
Thanksgiving theoretically started at
6:30p.m but the
party really started
at 7:00p.m on the
19th of November
2013.
WHERE? This
event took place in
very well known by La Tour and La Providence, in the 16th district of Paris.
HOW? Thanks to fifty people approximately,
there was a lot of food such as: the traditional
turkey offered by the PTA, salad, quiches,
cheese, devil eggs, sandwiches and many other savory dishes ! Finally came the moment for
deserts: sweets, cakes, DELICIOUS cookies,
cupcakes and OF COURSE James Chambault’s
INEVITABLE crispy cakes !
This event gave the Anglophone section the
occasion to present a humanitarian project:
Ecole de Félix , a school in Madagascar to
which we will send school supplies such as
school bags,
pencils, and
notebooks.
Below is a
picture of
the thirteen
boxes of
items collected.
4
JOURNÉES D’AMITIÉES: COMING TOGETHER AT CHRISTMAS
By Arcadi Dmitrieff and Emma Gunasena
On the 29th of November to the 1st of December at La Providence, rue de la Pompe, students from the whole school as well as their
friends, family, and neighbors were welcomed
for a weekend celebration. This festival
brought together the students and prepared
everyone for the Christmas season! It was a lot
of fun, and there were many different types of
stands such as games, jewelry, food and knick
knacks.
People volunteered to help out
and take care of the
stands and make
sure everything ran
smoothly!!!
The PTA’s Irish
Pub, the only heated
place at the festival☺, was
chock-full of goodies and
drinks! We felt transported to Ireland. There was
an AMAZING carrot cake and fabulous jazz music played by Mrs. Gentil. Magali Morin participed in the Dictée and only made twenty errors!
Two students tied for the first place for the dictée with only three mistakes. They were Natalie
Tcherdakoff and Jasmine
Dinari.
The dictation was followed by the annual
Christmas caroling in English. A wonderful time was
had by all.
STEP INTO CHRISTMAS CHEER!
hard and it was nice to see them enjoying this
moment !
By Charlotte Cornu
TT: Was it difficult to organize the show?
Miss G.: Well, the teachers did the biggest part! They chose songs they wanted,
which obviously fit with the theme:
Christmas, and I make sure that teachers
don’t choose the same songs. Then it was
a little bit difficult to manage the pupils
on stage because there are so many of
them and holes in the
timing were inevitable,
The 11th of December, the parents of the
which is a little annoying. But
Step Ahead pupils were invited to the Christmas in the end, parents forget
Choral organized by Miss Gerbeau and the nine them and enjoyed seeing their
Step Ahead teachers. The children sang Christ- children singing. I’m pleased
mas songs , which was a very enjoyable mowith their performance and
ment for all: parents, teachers, and pupils!
with the Step Ahead teachers!
At the end of the show, Santa Claus (Tristan
Vigoureux) came to give out candies to reward
STEP ONE: NINTH ANNUAL NATIVITY PLAY
the hard work of the children. He said he loved
playing Santa Claus, and it was quite funny to
make them believe that he was really Santa!
I had the opportunity to ask some questions
to Miss Gerbeau . Let’s read the interview!
Tower Times: Are you proud of the pupils?
Miss Gerbeau: Of course I am! They worked
5
TT: Was it hard adapting to La Tour and more generally to Paris ?
LL: Not really because in Hong Kong I was at the
Lycée Français, so my friends were mostly French
and came from Paris. But, at the beginning of the
year, some students mocked me because I came
from China. I largely prefer Paris because it is much
quieter. In Hong Kong, it was hard sleeping late on
Sundays as there was so much noise in the streets!
NEW STUDENTS AT LA TOUR
By Thalia Marot-Achillas
Liliane Lee, a 4ème student, has arrived at La Tour
this year from an exotic city : Hong Kong. Smiling
and full of life, she directly accepted our interview
and opened herself up to us :
TT: Liliane, had you always lived in Hong Kong?
LL: No, I was born in Korea but three months later
my parents decided to move to China because
they did not like the Korean lifestyle or the mentality.
TT: What do you prefer, La Tour or your school in
Hong Kong ?
LL: I prefer La Tour because the school is much
more competitive. The classes back in China were
easier, I had less homework. The La Tour teachers
are more serious and make you work more, which I
think is good. But I miss the fact that I could use my
music player at recess !
TT: Why did you move to Paris ?
LL: My mother had a new job opportunity in Paris,
so we jumped at the occasion and moved to
France. Also, the very high rate of pollution pushed
us to move.
TT: Did you notice a major change due to this
move ?
LL: Actually, yes. My life is practically the same, but
it is I who changed. Indeed, La Tour was a new experience for me. Before, I had never been to mass
or even been introduced to religion. Attending religious class has taught me modesty, tolerance, and
made me a better person. I may ask to be baptized
in the future…
TT: And out of so many schools, why La Tour ?
LL: It is a funny story. My mother who is Korean
knows this school well as she graduated from La
Tour. When we knew we were moving to Paris, we
directly thought of La Tour and that's the reason I
am here today!
it. The Chinese teacher’s very nice, but our grades
aren’t significant. I wish it became a real second language to take in 4ème, just as Spanish or Russian.” –
Orence Kansau, 5ème 2
ITALIAN AND CHINESE CLASSES
By Charlotte Cornu, Robin de Lacroix, and Gabrielle
Selnet
Since the beginning of this year, La Tour has introduced two new language classes : Italian, taught by
Mrs. Cippoleschi, and Chinese with Mrs. Methivier.
They are still considered as an educational experiment to see if they should be integrated as a second
or third language. Even though they take up oneand-a-half hours per week to the students concerned, the grades are not counted in their general
average. We met several Italian and Chinese students to know more about their feelings about this
innovation:
“I LOVE Chinese! I already can present myself, and
the teacher’s really cool!” – Alexandra Giovanidis,
3ème5
“Chinese is great, but what I like is that we don’t
have this pressure about being marked. I don’t want
it to become a second language class ” – Thomas
Bénard,3ème5
“We have a good teacher, and it would be great to
be able to go to Italy one day.” – Elodie Bourdié &
Laure Gonzalez, 3ème5
“I decided by myself to come to the new Italian
class. We don’t have too much homework and the
In general, students are satisfied with these courses.
teacher’s nice. I’m looking forward to speaking ItalMost of them would definitely take it as a second
ian fluently.” – Marguerite Charmetant, 5ème2
language if they could! Mrs. Chardon, if you ever
“My parents wanted me to take this class, and I like read this, you know what to do!
6
A.S. STUDENTS GO DOWN UNDER
By Magali Morin
Australia is a country located in the southern part of the globe. Every year a few Seconde students have the chance to participate in an exchange with students from two Australian schools
and one school in New Zealand.
This trip gives many opportunities, such as discovering a new culture or viewing new landscapes, and seeing impressive buildings we would never see anywhere else, like the Sydney Opera House. Indeed, the students stay in an Australian family for five weeks during which they have
plenty of time to come back to France full of unforgettable memories .
For example, Caroline Arnaud Meyson was happy to
tell us qbout her experience. Her pen-friend was a boarder, so she spent two weeks with her at the Ascham
school for girls. The students there had a uniform. She
found this trip interesting, discovered lots of new things
like food and animals, and made a friend for life.
FROM THE AUSTRALIANS’ POINT OF VIEW
By Léa Sabaté
Anthony Shumsky, 16 years old, housed Latourian Adrien Haye and is currently being welcomed here in Paris by the Haye family.
Tower Times—Why did you want to come to
Paris?
A.S.—I wanted to visit Paris, but not for more
than a month and a half because I didn’t want
to stop playing tennis.
think that it is a great experience.
T.T.—How was it when Adrien came to Sydney?
A.S.—It was good. I liked having him there. I
took him out a lot to see my friends in Sydney. I
took time out of my normal schedule and
thought that we got along well.
T.T.—What are the differences between your
school and ours?
A.S.—I find it strange that the teachers lecture
students and they just take notes the whole
time. In Sydney, there is a lot more open discussion throughout the class and less note-taking
for most subjects. A lot of our learning is done
through discussion.
T.T.—Have you been to Paris before?
A.S.—Yes, this is my third time.
T.T.—Do you like it here?
A.S.—It’s amazing! I love it here; it’s such a
beautiful city.
T.T.—What do you like best about this exchange?
A.S.—I like that it was so easy to make friends
and that it is a holiday for me. I get to do basically what I want and meet new people.
T.T.—Do you like the family here?
A.S.—They’re all very nice, but it’s a big family,
so I’m not completely used to it yet.
T.T.—Thank you for the interview, I hope you
enjoy the rest of your time in Paris!
A.S.—Thank you very much .
T.T.—Would you recommend this exchange?
A.S.—Yes, I would recommend this exchange. I
7
NEW STUDENTS TRAVEL TO
BAYEUX FOR A DAY OF
HISTORY AND BONDING
By Maya Delègue-Montauban & Léa Sabaté
On Saturday, October 5th, all the kids from
6ème Anglophone Studies and Prep classes left
Paris for Bayeux. They spent three hours in the
bus, going to Normandy to see this city and its
wellknown
tapestry.
When
they arrived in
Bayeux,
they
played
games to
meet each
other and all the Anglophone Section teachers a
little more. Then, they made their way to the
cathedral where Mr. Slade gave them a quick
history lesson on the building itself. During the
visit inside the monument, they got into groups
and did some activities with questions on the
accompanied them had a picnic outside. They
played games where they had to reconstruct
different objects from the Middle Ages. After
having fun with this, they finally went to see the
Bayeux Tapestry, which they visited with the
help of an audio guide.
After, the children watched a movie about
the day of the Battle of Hastings itself. This
helped to inspire them for their next project:
acting out some of the scenes they had seen in
the tapestry. Those little theater plays were extremely funny and the children loved doing
those activities.
The kids spent an exceptional day and won’t
ever forget their experience there!
“It was a magnificent day for everybody. I will
never forget it.” -Nicolas Gandon, 6ème1
statues and
the paintings
they could
see all around
them.
The children and the
adults who
8
PAMUN: LEARNING TO CHANGE THE FUTURE
By Maya DelègueMontauban
A little less than
fifteen 10th and
11th graders
attended the
PAMUN on November 29, 30, and December 1, 2013.
PAMUN stands for PAris Model United Nations. It is a conference in which the students
take the role of a representative of any country in the United Nations. This year, it took
ONE OF THE COMMITTEE ROOMS
CO, two were dedicated to debating in smaller committees of approximately 100/150
people. Each committee had to work on crisis
clauses, like the “Bombing of Malta.” The
subjects in a same committee were always
linked. For example, the Disarmament Committee worked on Child Soldiers, Bioterrorism
and Chemical and Biological weapons.
On the last day, everyone went to the General Assembly where all the delegates from
all the committees and representing all the
countries talked about crisis and global issues. The delegates (as the students are called) were about 1000 in the same room!
Every student was very happy with his or
her experience in PAMUN. They said it was
extremely nice and a unique experience,
even if it
was very
stressful because they
were not
used to talking in front
of so many
people! But
they all
agreed it
was a remarkable
experience. ANOTHER COMMITTEE ROOM
THE THREE DELEGATES OF ANGOLA: Laura
de Minvielle, Aliette Poplu, & James Chambault
place at the UNESCO building in Paris.
La Tour students represented the countries of Venezuela, Angola, and Nigeria . They
also did not all debate in the same issues.
Countries sent delegates to discuss different
topics in the Disarmament, Political, Human
Rights, and Environmental Committees, the
Security Council, or ECOSOC, amongst
others .
This type of conference is very hard and
requires a lot of preparation. The students
had to take the Global Issues Elective with
Mr. Slade in which they worked on debating,
on preparing their speeches and their propositions (called a clause in this type of debate),
and on background knowledge of their country.
During the three days spent at the UNES9
BALTIMORE: HISTORICAL INFORMATION AND VISITS
By Maya Delègue-Montauban
During our trip to Baltimore, we had the opportunity to visit a variety of places, in Baltimore, Washington, and Annapolis.
We spent a day in Baltimore, seeing two major places: one in the area of art, the Visionary
Art Museum and one in the field of American
History, Fort Mc Henry.
The Visionary Art Museum lets the visitors
see art pieces that were not created by trained
and schooled artists, so most of them are very
original. We also did a workshop about creating
collages, which was interesting to learn. In Fort
Mc Henry, we learned a lot about the National
Anthem and the American flag. The anthem
was written there during the bombing of this
fort during the War of 1812. We also visited
some places in the fort where we could see a
reconstruction of places in the Fort at the time
of the war.
In Washington, we were able to see a variety
of memorials, mostly about wars and and important people. We went to the World War II
Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War
Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and Martin Luther
King Memorial. They all taught us a lot about
American history, having been made to remember and commemorate either important people
in American history, like Abraham Lincoln who
ratified the 13th Amendment and abolished sla-
very and Martin Luther King who led the Civil
Rights movement, or important historical
events like World War II, the Korean War, or
the Vietnam War that, though in different
ways, all impacted the United States a lot. We
also visited the Air and Space Museum in which
we could see many different objects and reconstructions to learn about space and aviation. Learning about this was quite interesting
for everyone and was a very fun moment! The
last museum we went to was the American History Museum in which we had the opportunity
Above: La Tour students in front of the White
House. Left: The Lincoln Memorial
to learn a lot about the American flag, in continuation to what was learned at Fort McHenry
and to see both interesting exhibits, like the
one on the First Ladies.
In Annapolis, finally, we went to an exhibition on slaves who escaped and learned about
their stories. Some were taken back; some managed to escape to freedom; some were slaves
subjected to manual labor; others were servants. The time periods varied and the places
too, but everything was extremely emotional
and fascinating.
Our trip to Baltimore led all of us to learn a
lot about American history !
10
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FRENCH
AND THE AMERICAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS
By Victor-Emmanuel Bertrand
During our trip we were able to see how the
American system differs from the French one
throughout days at school and upon reflection
in groups.
On the first day we had a class with an American teacher, Howard, discussing about the
American education system. In fact, we discovered that Americans in school learn to develop
their opinion and thinking skills. They are very
often asked what they think about subjects like
movies, books, or even about what happened in
the past in history class and they usually have
to do essays from these reflections . Another
characteristic is the fact that the students have
the possibility to do their tests or essays again
as often as needed for it to be perfect. Indeed,
their policy is that you can’ t do something perfect on the first try, you have to start again five
or six times so that you have your final result .
In France , the education in school is stricter
and much more traditional than in US . We
must have knowledge and must be able to learn
by heart . This is only later that we have to use
this information to then organize and use it in
analytical questions or essays . Also we cannot
do our test again; we have to develop our ability to be perfect on the first try. This point really
differs
from the
American
way of
thinking.
Another thing is
the relationship
between
the students and
the professors
which is
very
different
in the two
countries.
In Ameri- Facade of Institut de la Tour, Paris.
ca, teachers in general try to understand student’s difficulties and help them. They don’t consider
themselves at a higher level than their students
whereas in France it seems like the complete
opposite as the teachers are more severe and
are not so close to the kids . We also don’t
have as much liberty as in America and we are
taught to make decisions at a much
later age .
As you can imagine it was a fantastic
and unique experience for us to be
able to go to Baltimore. We were all
very surprised to see how different the
French and American education systems are. However, we can’t say which
one is better. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and both
educational systems can learn from the
other. In any case, a lot of French students absolutely loved Park School.
A pond on the Park School campus, Baltimore, MD.
11
THE BALTIMORE EXPERIENCE
by Magali Morin
The exchange we had with Park School
in Baltimore was amazing. Everybody was
really nice. The best moments were on
the week-end when we went to a farm
and then we had a pool party. It was really fun, and we all had a great time, Also
we celebrated the birthday of VictorEmmanuel who was really surprised. I assisted
in one of the soccer games of Isabel, my pen
friend, which was really interesting. On the last
day for Halloween, we did Pumpkin carving,
which was so much fun. Goldsoundz was also
one of my favorite moments. It was a concert
where the students performed music and art.
American students are very talented. They also
proposed for me to play and I performed
“Skyfall” on the piano.
Top of page: Arial view of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Left: Map of U.S.A.
Above: Sign at the Park School in MD.
PULITZER CENTER JOURNALISTS SHARE THEIR STORIES
For the third semester in a row, Pulitzer
Center journalists have come to La Tour to talk
about their work and spread information about
world issues and events which are under represented in the current day news media. Students in the Anglophone Section lycée classes
were given a one-hour presentation on Monday, November 25. During the presentation,
led by Mark Schultz, the European Pulitzer Crisis Center educational organizer, students
heard two journalists present their work.
One journalist, Esha Chhabra, talked about
her research and articles on how India is vaccinating its population against polio. The simple yet effective methods the country has taken to eradicate this horrible disease from
spreading to the younger population is something Ms. Chhabra is hoping can be mirrored in
other vaccinations across the world.
The second journalist, Susan Schmickle, presented the issue of food insecurity in rural Tanzania and the need to empower the local popu-
lation to increase their farming productivity
and bettering the lives of the people in the region.
All the speakers were very informative and
their topics interesting.
MEET OUR JOURNALISTS: (from left to right)
Standing: Victor-Emmanuel Bertrand, Alexandre
Fabry, Charlotte Cornu, Gabrielle Selnet, Magali
Morin, Emma Gunasena, Eglé Malbois, Maya
Delègue-Montauban, Iris Glaser, Hanna Dupichot.
Middle: Claire Zutterling, Arcadi Dmitrieff, Thalia
Marot-Achillas. Front: Léa Sabaté, Robin de Lacroix.
12
TRIE-CHÂTEAU:
« Centre Missionnaire de la Vie »
Domaine Sainte Marguerite
By Eglé Malbois
On Tuesday,
September 24,
2013, La Tour’s
five seconde
classes visited
Trie- Château’s
“school of life,”
a Missionary
Center of Life
hosting yearlong seminars to
help young graduates to manage the responsibilities of their
future adult life. The center offers counseling
and guidance for future life choices as well as
focus groups on specific subjects they wish to
attend.
I remember exactly how all of us felt on the
morning of our trip: drowsy yet keen to start
the day. The other classes’ presence somehow
turned getting up at six o'clock in the morning
and leaving Trocadéro at quarter past seven
into a pleasant experience. Each class bore its
team colors and all were thrilled to be away
from school. Everyone chatted, laughed, took
pictures on the bus... We discussed the different activities awaiting us, plotting and planning
against our adversaries as how to bring our own
classes to victory in every trial. All of us were
away of the bustle of school
for an entire day and the
thought of it had us all cheerful and carefree.
Traffic having slowed us,
we made our belated arrival
at Trie-Chateau at half past
nine. We promptly traded
our clothes for our corresponding team uniforms and
prepared ourselves for the
big day. Our preparations
over, we headed to the center’s main classroom where
Mrs. Philouze and her col-
leagues gave a
short speech.
The activities
started immediately afterwards
and “Tug of
War” was first
on the list. Of all
the five classes
that participated
in the event, the
class of seconde
1 took first
place. The following activity had a rather entertaining one: four boys and four girls were selected by their teammates to compete in a race
where one of their feet was tied to that of another person. Our cheering was unanimous and
wild: the victors were the seconde 2 girls and
the seconde 5 boys. The next activity was a relay, with again a female and male participant
from each class. Victory was attributed to my
own class: seconde 2! The activity that concluded our morning was theatre. Each team was
handed at list of twelve seemingly unrelated
words and tasked to create a story derived from
them. Our respective short plays were then to
be performed in front of our classmates. Of all
the performances we saw, the seconde 2 class
earned first place again!
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When arriving back from Christmas vacation, the only thing left
to do in the new building will be
to move in. The Tower Times pays
tribute to the last months of construction through
LA TOUR BUILDING PROGRESS: NEARING THE END
by Charlotte Cornu and Gabrielle Selnet
September 2013
What students
saw at the start
of the school
year, and the
progress made
up until Toussaint
October 2013
November 2013
When we came back from the Toussaint vacation, we could go through
a little part of the new building, particularly the new stairs. We rediscovered our playground without the construction pathway. The 1ère
and terminal classrooms were reorganized but still on the same floor.
We can now go into
the school by the main
entrance, which is definitely easier and faster
for everyone than the
little door to the right
of the main entrance!
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The building progress is almost done! Most
parts of the building are built. Now we can
really see what the building will look like! Our
new building is handicap accessible. That will
allow us to welcome handiDecember 2013
capped people in the future. Everyone hopes
the construction will be finished by the end of
December so we may move into the new
building after Christmas break. Read the architect’s interview on the next page !
15
January 2014 Left: A new room in the basement.
Below: The new exit in the cafeteria.
Right: View of the finished façade.
Left: New entrance to the
3ème hallway.
Right: A new
room on terminal
floor.
Far Right: The
new terrace for
the terminals.
MR. DE CAZENOVE: THE ARCHITECT’S VOICE
By Charlotte Cornu and Robin de Lacroix
The Tower Times: One question many people
are asking is when will the construction be finished?
Mr. de Cazenove: The construction will be finished by the end of December and the students
will be able to use the new classes in January.
TT: Are there any things you are particularly
proud about?
Mr. de C.: I enjoyed the challenge of finding
ways to shorten the delay while managing the
security of an occupied and functional school.
TT: Have you re-thought any of the plans of the
building?
Mr. de C.: No other than the optimization of
some parts of the chapel.
TT: Why was the building delayed and how did
you resolve the problem?
Mr. de C.: Because of security problems with
asbestos in the old 6ème building, we were
forced to find a new company to work with during the demolition process. This caused a delay
of four months. We also had complications
linked to the difficult weather last winter, which
pushed us a total of six months behind schedule. To resolve the delay, I decided to hire a
specialist to motivate the builders working on
the different projects. Thanks to this person, we
were able to gain back two months of the delay
and are now only four months behind again.
TT: Have you modified either the pavilion and
the music classrooms?
Mr. de C.: There is a second part to the building
project where the present day music classroom
and pavilion are rebuilt.
The project exists, however, it won’t be for
right now because the school must find the financial resources to complete this project.
TT: How do you feel about the end of this project?
Mr. de C.: It is always wonderful to see a project accomplished. We were able to have a
good visual idea of what the final product
would look like thanks to the amazing software
now available to architects. However, seeing a
building in real life is much more amazing. We
are equally excited to see how the students and
staff react to the completed project and move
into the new parts of the school.
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NOTRE-DAME de PARIS: BRINGING LA TOUR TOGETHER
church in Paris, and it is also very well known in
the whole world. About 14 million visitors go
into this church each year to pray or simply to
visit. It’s situated in the 4th district of Paris on
the Ile-de-la-Cité in the center of Paris. It contains several relics of the Passion including a
piece of the Cross, a nail of the Passion, and the
Portal of the La Tour students Front view of
in Notre-Dame
Last Judgment
Notre-Dame precious Holy Crown of Thorns. In the towers
there are five bells, the biggest weighing over
By Hanna Dupichot
thirteen tons. There is also a very big organ in
the church. So this cathedral is very important
On the 17th of October, all the students of La for several reasons: it’s very well-known and
Tour from the 6th grade to Terminale and many counts many visitors each year; it also is a reteachers went to Nôtre-Dame de Paris for the
markably old church and plays a very important
back-to-school mass.
role with the Archdiocese of Paris.
All the students took the RER with their
teachers and finally arrived at Notre Dame. We
One of Notre-Dame’s
waited in front of Notre Dame talking; we were
Gargoyle Statues
very impressed by the size and beauty of this
cathedral. Then we finally entered into the
church and sat by class; on every chair we had a
bag with a pencil and religious magazines in it
to keep as a souvenir. Then the mass started; it
was very beautiful and touching.
At the end of the mass, we were all ready to
start a great year all together and return to
The Crown of Thorns
school or home to have a good lunch.
THE MASS:
THE
CHURCH :
Notre-Dame’s organ
The construction of this
wonderful cathedral started
in 1163 and
ended in 1345.
in 2013 it is celebrating its 850th
anniversary. It is
one of the most
famous Catholic
The Statue of Virgin
and Child
The new bells
of Notre-Dame
de Paris
Cathedral on
public display
in the nave
in February
2013.
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What the Secondes Think…by Thalia Marot-Achillas and Iris Glaser
Would the French students agree to
have less vacation as in the United
States? The answer to this question by
the students of seconde was either
black or white. Some were completely
willing to sacrifice their summer holiday in order to shorten their busy
school days and have time for activities such as sports.
On the other hand, many students
would never consider life differently:
their vacation is sacred!
A very interesting answer here :
it seems that almost one out of
two students prefers mathematics.
This poll shows that the secondes clearly prefer the scientific subjects.
But what about French and languages? We do not know!
Why do you like a teacher?
Here, nobody likes their teacher because he/she has no
authority. But the majority
of the students appreciates
the fact that their teacher
explains well or is dynamic.
Their humor or beauty
seems to not count in the
students’opinion.
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REVIEWS TO CHASE AWAY THE BLUES
the case of its first exhibition: Pixar 25 Years of
Animation. After its great success in the MOMA
By Gabrielle Selnet
of New York, and its world tour, the famous
On November 26th, a brand new museum
dream makers’ team artwork is finally exposed
opened in the Cité de la Mode et du Design of in France, to the delight of young and old. Bethe 13th Arrondissement of Paris: Le Musée des cause not only computers are used to make
Arts Ludiques. Settled on the border of the
these 3D movies, drawings, paintings. and
Seine, it is the very first museum dedicated to
sculptures, essential to the films’ construction,
the Art of entertainment. It presents comics,
are displayed so you can discover the recipe of
mangas, video games, and animated movies in the Pixar movies that enhanced you or your
children’s childhood, from the very first Toy Story to the latest Cars movie. And let’s not forget
the zootrope, a mysterious artistic installation
that will bring your favorite animated characters to life!
This event is a great immersion into the world
of animation that will change your view on
these magical productions… Don’t miss it !
MUSEE DES ARTS LUDIQUE
Art Ludique-Le Musée Adresse :
34, quai d'Austerlitz, 75013 Paris
Renseignements, presse et privatisations :
[email protected]
GRAVITY: FAVORITE OR FLOP
By Claire Zutterling
Gravity is a film produced and written by
Alfonso Cuaron. And we can say that he
didn’t lose three years of his life for nothing!
His new movie is a real success and has been
welcomed by journalists with very good reviews. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
are the principal actors in this movie and do
a great job. This is very hard because the
film taks place in space and Sandra had to
train a lot to be able to play in a space suit.
After $400,000,000 in sales, people are still
attracted by this movie in 3D that made the
film even more impressive.
Even if special effects were extraordinary,
not everybody liked this movie. Some think
that too many problems affect Sandra’s
character and it gets annoying at the end …
Others do not understand the purpose of
this film and think that the scenario is
inconsistent.
But as all movies, some people will call it a
“masterpiece” whereas others will say that it
is nothing more than a “deception.”
19
OPINIONS.
With the work on the new building coming to
an end, many people have been reflecting on
the importance of this change. Parents, teachers, and students are all excited about the new
classrooms as they will allow for a clean, bright,
and state-of-the-art educational environment.
Still, in an era where students are continually
bombarded with information and increasingly
distracted by technology, it is easy for students
to lose focus on why education is so important.
Victor-Emmanuel Bertrand, shares his thoughts:
Some of you wonder why school is so important. First of all, though some find school
useless, it is very good preparation for our future because we learn about many interesting
things which makes us more knowledgeable. It
also teaches us to make decisions, organizing
our work and having responsibilities. It is also a
great and unique social experience because it is
a place where we learn to make friends, to be
with a lot of people and to discover others’
opinions. We are taught to develop many abilities such as our thinking skills, accumulating
knowledge or arguing about a subject. In conclusion, people who don’t go to school, are
missing this amazing experience, and it’s definitely harder for them to find a job later or
think precisely about their future. Therefore, I
would say that working well in school is essential because it will later permit you to choose
the university and then the job you most likely
want to do.
BE ENTERTAINED...
By Alexandre Fabry, Léa Sabaté, Robin de Lacroix, and
Maya Delègue-Montauban
WORD BANK
ACTRESS
COACH
FIREFIGHTER
POLICEMAN
TEACHER
ARTIST
DENTIST
HAIRDRESSER
PRESIDENT
VETERINARIAN
BANKER
DOCTOR
LAWYER
PSYCHOLOGIST
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