Walls in France: Another milestone

The Wall girls started this school year as 5th and 7th graders in a cabana in Lyon working on Calvert with me. At Christmastime, we all decided that it made sense for them to go to French schools, so they started in January. After getting acclimated to their new environments, both girls flourished! Kathleen was a social butterfly at the Ecole d’Eygalieres and finished CM2 with flying colors. She was promoted to 6eme and is planning to go to College St. Joseph in September with her sister and a few friends. Kathleen enjoyed her teacher, Monsieur Blanchard, and really developed her French language skills. She made lots of friends, and looked forward to going to school every day. For the end of the year celebration, the 106 students who make up the student body presented parents and other guests with a performance of music and dance. The mayor of Eygalieres also presented each student with a certificate of completion and a book as a gift from the town. (Kathleen’s book is about cats!)

Lucie’s semester was equally as successful as she made good friends and applied herself academically in the 5eme level of college. I am very proud to say that we was promoted to the 4eme level with felicitations, which is pretty much like the honor roll in the States. Not an easy feat for an American new to a French middle school! The end of the school year event for Lucie conflicted with visitors and she wasn’t super keen on going anyway, so we skipped it. The plan is for her to head back to St. Joseph in September where she will start studying German (in addition to the other regular classes), and showing her sister the ropes of middle school.

A few weeks ago, someone asked me what it is that I enjoy most about France. Without even thinking, I answered, “The fact that my girls speak French!” I am certainly proud of how Lucie and Kathleen have grown and adjusted during our French adventure. I am a very proud mom!