Athboy students enjoy French leave over Easter

Over the Easter period, 17 students from Athboy Community School took part in a French exchange with the Lycee Jean Monnet in Crepy-en-Valois in the Oise Department of the Picardy region of northern France. This is the fifth year of the exchange with the Lycee, which is located close to the Autonne Valley area with which Athboy has been twinned since 2000. On Palm Sunday, the 17 Irish students from tranistion year, fifth year and LCA year 2 flew to Paris to begin the French end of the exchange, along with teachers Mr Anthony Leavy, Mr Tony Magner, Mr Liam McHugh and Ms Louise Byrne. The first day was taken up with school-based activities as the students attended classes in the Lycee Jean Monnet. In the afternoon, the students enjoyed a treasure hunt in the town of Crepy-en-Valois with their French hosts. On the Tuesday, the group travelled north-east through Picardy and over the border into Belgium. The destination was Brussels where the students enjoyed a walking tour that took in the city centre, including Le Grand Place, the Mannequin Pis, St Catherine's Cathedral and the main destination, the European Parliament. At the parliament, the group was given a talk on the EU by a Bulgarian guide and a tour of the parliament chamber itself. They got to see where the Irish translators sit, the areas reserved for Irish MEPs and the press area. Wednesday was a free day to be spent with their host families but, on the Thursday, the busy itinerary continued with a tour of some of the local historical sights, including Pierrefonds with its stunning castle and the Clariere De L'Armistice, a clearing in the forest near the city of Compiegne where the First World War was ended by an armistice signed between the Allies and Germany. Afterwards it was on to Compiegne itself for shopping, bowling and Quaser-Laser. Friday saw a full day trip to Paris. The first sight was the Stade de France in St Denis. There was a lot of good-natured banter between the Irish and the French about a certain 'goal' last November involving the use of a certain hand! The group continued on a bus tour of the city which took in the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysees and Invalides before a stop at the Eiffel Tower. The day out also included some retail therapy on the Champs Elysees and in Roissy. On the final full day, Holy Saturday, the students went to Asterix Park, a theme park just outside the city of Amiens based on the famous French cartoon character 'Asterix The Gaul'. A fun day was had by all on the various roller-coasters and rides. As a final goodbye, the village of Feigneaux, one of those twinned with Athboy, hosted a soirée featuring traditional French cuisine and music. All the students and teachers felt that the trip was very successful and that the pupils got a lot out of it and made some lasting friendships. Some are even heading back to France in the summer to renew acquaintances with their host families. From 21st March until 28th March, 24 students from the French Lycee had visited Athboy, staying with host families in the locality. As well as attending classes with their Irish hosts, they enjoyed many cultural trips to places such as Newgrange, Dublin city centre, the European Parliament offices, Dail Eireann, The Causey Experience and the Croke Park Museum. The students have recorded their sincere thanks to their host families and to Mr Anthony Leavy, principal of Athboy CS, and the French group leader, Ms Corinne Carillon, for all their work in organising the trip.