L'Archipel
Bienvenue!
L'Archipel is a well established French-English bilingual unit based at Richmond Road School - Te Kura o Ritimana. It was developed in response to a strong desire in the community for education in French over 25 years ago.
L'Archipel is a well established French-English bilingual unit based at Richmond Road School - Te Kura o Ritimana. It was developed in response to a strong desire in the community for education in French over 25 years ago.
The team
Florence Barbas-Voillaume Teacher in L'Envol / Rōpū leader
Béatrice Fesien Teacher in L'Envol
Marie-Laure Houston Teacher in Le Nid
Nicolas Granjon Learning Assistant
Florence Barbas-Voillaume Teacher in L'Envol / Rōpū leader
Béatrice Fesien Teacher in L'Envol
Marie-Laure Houston Teacher in Le Nid
Nicolas Granjon Learning Assistant
Our GoalOur goal is to ensure that students can competently navigate their own culture and language and be equal scholastically to any other child in New Zealand mainstream education beyond primary school.
French-English bilingual education in New Zealand is a unique model. Our bilingual unit follows the New Zealand curriculum and the children are fully integrated into the public school system. L’Archipel has been granted the Label FrancEducation by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2012. It recognises the quality of the education provided by our team of teachers. For more information: https://www.labelfranceducation.fr/en Inside the classroom Full immersion and bilingual NZC delivery
L’Archipel is organised into 3 classes. Students are taught the New Zealand curriculum.
Our language unit currently has three teachers and one learning assistant. We also regularly welcome 'stagiaires' from French speaking countries who volunteer their time to share their expertise of the French language with our students. A typical day in L'Archipel goes something like this 09h00 Karakia et l'appel 09h15 Lecture et écriture 11h00 Récréation 11h20 Mathématiques 12h20 Art / Sport 12h50 Pause déjeuner 13h40 L'appel et lecture à soi 14h00 Thème 15h00 Fin des cours Outside class
L'Archipel participate in a range of French events. These include
In addition to participating in French related events, our students mix with the Samoa, Māori and Kiwi Connections rōpū in wider school activities such as sports, music, our school production, our biannual camp for seniors, Ritimana Matariki events and celebrations of other heritage languages. What parents think“As a French Irish family living in New Zealand, having a bilingual education for our children was very important to us. L'Archipel is an amazing unit with fantastic teachers. Our oldest daughter just finished 6 years in L'Archipel and is a very confident French speaker and reader. We are really lucky to have the opportunity to give our kids a bilingual education”.
“Je suis heureuse que mes enfants soient scolarisés à L'Archipel, qu'ils puissent apprendre le français tout en bénéficiant des méthodes d'enseignement néo-zélandaises, intéractives et ludiques. Un grand merci aux maîtresses!" "I have two daughters at L'Archipel. Bilingual education is very important to me so I was thrilled to be able to send my children to Richmond Road School. L'Archipel is just such a lovely unit. The teachers are very passionate and always find time for parents and children after school hours. And because the teachers are trained in New Zealand, we get the best of both worlds. The teaching environment is nurturing, positive and the kids still get immersed in French culture. "I think it is important for bilingual children to be able to have more than a conversation in the "minor" language. Being in a bilingual unit means they can learn a subject in the minor language. It is important in order to embed the minor language for life. I love the fact that at l'Archipel new kids get buddied up with older kids and that makes the younger kids feel comfortable and build their confidence. Whatsmore, the parent community at l'Archipel is welcoming and fun." "We have felt so fortunate to be have been able to give a bilingual education to our four boys. Our kids are being given a lifelong gift of fluency in another language and culture via a very rich immersion experience, led by teachers who are as passionate as we are about bilingual education. We have also loved that our kids have also managed to experience and learn about the cultures in their sister units - TWW/Maori, MiM/Samoan, and The Hub/Kiwi - it’s a true reflection of the multicultural society we live in, and we feel like this experience prepares our kids well for the world they will enter." |
Whānau CommitmentRichmond Road School acknowledges the need for children to connect with their cultural heritage through language and actively supports the development and growth of L'Archipel and the French language in the school.
Our students benefit from a strong and vibrant community of parents, that are equally supportive of what we do in our Rōpū. You are invited to participate in the bilingual education of your child by:
Kura-Whānau communicationAt L'Archipel teachers use digital platforms such as Seesaw and Google Classroom to communicate and share resources and student learning with whānau.
Our Whānau Open Afternoons are also great opportunities for students to showcase their work and for parents to come along and acknowledge the learning that has taken place in the classrooms. We also recommend attending our termly Whānau Evening Hui (on the second Thursday of each term). These hui offer an opportunity to discuss and understand curriculum initiatives that teachers are undertaking. For school wide news, the school website is the go-to place. There are also regular Richmond Road School newsletters which have important dates and interesting stories about what our tamariki have been up to. School assemblies hosted by a different rōpū every other Friday are another great way to find out what is happening at Ritimana. What children say“J'aime être à l'Archipel car je peux apprendre en français, et je peux parler à mes grand-parents et mes cousins de France quand je les vois.”
"I liked being in a bilingual unit because I was learning to speak, read and write in two languages and it was lots of fun!! I really loved my 6 years at L'Archipel." “I am glad I am in L'Archipel because everybody helps everybody and there are lots of nice people”. "J'aime jouer avec mes copines et faire l'écriture. J'aime apprendre en français. J'aime ma maîtresse parce qu'elle est gentille. Et j'aime les plantes dans l'école." "The thing I valued the most about L’Archipel was that now I can speak French fluently." "It was fun, I got to meet a lot of friends. I learnt a lot and I got to learn another language." VisitsL'Archipel warmly invites any prospective parents and their children to attend an Open Day at our unique kura. Please contact the office to book a tour [email protected]
EnrolmentsThere are limited spaces for 2025. Enrolments close around September each year for entry the following year.
Enrolment process is as follows: 
Email [email protected] for an enrolment pack.
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