Coláiste na Trócaire Rathkeale celebrates European Day of Languages in style

European Day of Languages 2011 was celebrated on Monday 26th September last. It was a particularly significant celebration as this year saw the 10th anniversary of the event. The annual event endeavours to promote linguistic diversity across Europe and an opportunity for intercultural appreciation. Languages have always been an important part of education at Coláiste na Trócaire and there is a long history of school exchange programmes with schools in both France and Germany. This was an ideal occasion for students to become creative and use their language in a practical way. The event began with first year students making a poster envisaged to incorporate aspects of EDL. Each first year French student designed a letter and coloured it with a flag from a European country. Students enjoyed making this together and appreciated the fact that each student got an input into the poster. As part of their double classes, students, along with their teacher Ms. Kearney, organised a fancy dress picnic. This involved students putting an outfit together, which they consider truly ‘French’. The imagination and creativity shown on this task was truly commendable. Students arrived to school with handmade t-shirts, French beret style hats, not to mention mime artists and Tour de France contestants with the maillot jaune. Following this, they had a French picnic which was designed for students to appreciate la cuisine Francaise. Again their efforts were fantastic in making this really enjoyable. Food items such as: croissants, baguettes, cheeses, grapes and hand-made French baking were produced by the students. They also got the opportunity to appreciate French cinema through a series of movies chosen by the students. These appealed greatly to students. Thanks to the efforts they made, the excitement around the school and French classroom was truly amazing. Coláiste na Trócaire is committed to providing authentic language and cultural experiences for its students.