NO uniforms, a shared love of the 6-7 meme, and letters sent with the help of a retired fisherman are bringing together pupils from St Lawrence and Barneville-Carteret in France.
Year 4 pupils from St Lawrence met their French pen pals online this week, having already exchanged letters with them beforehand.
Teacher Victoria Wilderspin said the pupils had already swapped photos and videos with their French counterparts in the grades CE1 and CE2, who are aged 7 to 9.
For several of them, the video call was the first time they met a French person.
“The children were intrigued that the French children weren’t wearing school uniform but quickly settled into answering the questions which the French children had prepared,” she said.
“The questions were in English and our children responded in French, without knowing which question they would be asked.”
This way, they spoke about how many siblings they have, their favourite colour and their love for horses.
She added: “Having worked very hard at learning how to communicate with each other using each other’s home language, the lesson finished with shared laughter as both classes realised they had a shared joke… the ‘6-7’ meme is the same in both languages.”
One student said they were “very nervous actually seeing their faces on the video call”, but soon got used to it.
Another added: “I was really nervous but when it was over I felt proud and relieved. It was one of the first times I’ve ever spoken to a French person.”
“I felt a bit nervous and had butterflies in my tummy,” another added.
Tania La Vaullée, head of the twinning between St Lawrence and Barneville-Carteret, said she delivers the letters personally with the help of Brian Morin, a member of the twinning committee.
Other times, she said, she asks a former French fisherman to carry the letters on his boat.
Ms La Vaullée added: “His wife then keeps them in her shop, Neptune on Gorey Pier, until the teachers come and collect them and they can also drop off letters for delivery when her husband sails to France.”
