Day 1 - Saturday 19th November An early start - 6am at the airport. Nous sommes bien arrivés! The children were very excited, and were a pleasure to travel with.
 Lucca – It was exciting when we got to Noumea, everyone was waving and smiling at us. Day 4 - Tuesday 22nd November Adam – Henri’s grandparents have a pineapple plant, coconut tree and a mango tree. Chloe – It’s different living with a host family. I went to the ‘tree adventure’ place with them, and I wasn’t scared. The flying fox was really fun. Fanni – It’s very hot. I’m enjoying it a lot. We are doing lots of fun things. Last night I went with my correspondant to get her ears pierced. David – I really like being in New Caledonia. I’m going fine but I miss my Mum and Dad. I went to a Dumbea River to swim and I jumped off a bridge! Kian – I really liked it when my correspondant and I went to the river. There were little patches of water that were about 2m deep. We followed lots of small spotty fish and we used our nets and tried to catch them with some left over ham. Kenneth - I really liked it when my correspondant and I played 'Dance Central' on X-box. Alice – The school is more like a French school than a NZ school. You have to stay at the table for a longer time to eat your lunch, and they have microwaves, so you don’t need to have sandwiches all the time. Dylan – I like the family because they are very nice, and we do lots of fun things together like going swimming, climbing trees and biking. I really like New Caledonia. Miro – I like my family because they’ve got 5 dogs, and they took me to a forest for a big walk. I liked it at the swimming pool when I went for a birthday party. Liam – I like New Caledonia. My correspondant’s house is good because it has a giant garden. I also like working at school because there are fun things to do and I’ve made new friends. Day 7 - Friday 25th November Another fantastic day. Notice the photo of Fanni, Ben & Logan in the local newspaper, which reports how the number of visitors to NZ for the Rugby World Cup exceeded expectation. The Tjibaou Centre is outstanding - lots to learn about the Kanak culture and amazing architecture. The tutors and guides were exceptional at engaging the children. Day 8 - Saturday 26th November The children have another day with their host family. Day 9 - Sunday 27th November A very early start - meeting at 5am at the school to get on the bus to the airport. | Day 2 - Sunday 20th November The children were with their host family. They got to do all sorts of exciting things - tree climbing, forest walks, swimming pools. Some families visited Ile aux Canards; where the RRS supervisors were. Ben – Loving the warmth! Thomas MB – Mon truc préféré était d'aller a Ile aux Canards. I really liked it because there were heaps of fish to look at. Zane – My favourite part was snorkelling at Ile aux Canards. Karine – I went to Ile aux Canards and I met my friends there. We went snorkelling so many times – we saw sea snakes and really colourful fish. To see what the children could see under the water and to learn more about Ile aux Canards, click here. Day 3 - Monday 21st November The children had a great first day at school. They quickly found their friends and swapped weekend stories. When the bell went at 8:30am they went to class with their correspondant. They coped well with the work, and some even joined in with the tests. At lunchtime, the children all sit outside at benches. It was very interesting to see how many children brought lunch that needed to be heated. Each year group was called to heat their lunch in the school microwave. They have to sit to eat for about half an hour. They then played, or if they were too hot, sat under a tree. In the afternoon, they watched a show put on by some older students - they loved it! After school Thomas & Alice went to Chinese class with their correspondants. The others were picked up at various times and went home with their host family. All children were looking in great form and full of energy after their first school day. Max – It’s really hot, but not in the classrooms because they’ve got air conditioning. Francois – My correspondant is very nice. We have lots of battles with fake guns at his house. The thing I have enjoyed the most so far was the school – it is small but we do lots of fun activities! Thom Thom – I’ve got a big pool at my house and I get to go in it lots of times. The school isn’t very big – there’s no space to play soccer! Day 5 - Wednesday 23rd November The children met again at James Cook, and enjoyed playing until the bus arrived. We travelled through 'rush hour' traffic, in high spirits. The Aquarium was well worth paying for. We had two great tutors that talked to the children about the sea and mangrove life around New Caledonia. At lunchtime we went to the beach, and most of the children had a swim. A few children would have happily spent all their pocket money in the gift shop, but I think most still have a bit left, just in case! Day 6 - Thursday 24th November Today the CM2 class went to Le centre culturel Tjibaou, so because the RRS children are going their tomorrow, some of the children had to stay back at James Cook without their class. They spent the morning writing their diaries. Here are some excerpts: Adam - Le poisson que je pensais était le meilleur était appelée le poisson vache: Il était jaune comme un citron; il avait la taille d ’une balle de ping pong, mais pas si rond. Il restait toujours a la surface et il avait deux petites cornes. David ’aquarium il y avait plein sortes de poisson. Il y avait des tortues, des requins, des hippocampes et beaucoup d ’autres poissons merveilleux. Zane - Un de mes poissons préféré était le poisson vache parce que il a un drôle de visage et une drôle déforme. Thom Thom On a vu des tortues, des poissons, des serpents de mer et des requins. Dylan ! Thomas MB |
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New Caledonia Trip 2011From Saturday 19th November to Sunday 27th November, 18 Year 5 & 6 students from Ruma 13, L'Archipel, their teacher Elisabeth, the principal Stephanie, and four parents, Jane, Diane, Marie-Laure and Veronique went to New Caledonia. The purpose of the trip was for the children to practise their French while attending a French/English bilingual school, Ecole Internationale James Cook, and while living with a French speaking host family. Secondly, the children were to learn about the French-Polynesian culture. Enjoy the photos and blurbs below. |