Newsletter

Welcome back!

It’s Week 1 of Term 2 and the Year 8 students have returned with an energy to learn, socialise with their peers, and grow as individuals. As we embark on Term 2, I encourage the Year 8 students to continue to embrace different challenges and topics in their subject classes. It is important to remember that success comes from working in partnership with your teachers and families. Set new goals, explore new ideas and support each other along this learning journey.

Term 1 flew by with several exciting opportunities for the Year 8 cohort and our College community.

I’d like to acknowledge Alizee Bourgault Du Coudray for organising a fantastic Year 8 French Incursion last Term. Below is a description of the incursion and student reflections.

For International Francophonie Week – a celebration of learning and speaking French – the Year 8s had a presentation by Mr Stuart Blair. Mr Blair is a pop culture historian and language specialist who has spent most of his life work researching French comic books. There was therefore no one better to discuss the very well-known book Tintin which is a Franco-Belgium book – a perfect blend of Francophonie! Tintin is a reporter who goes on adventures with his dog Snowy (Milou) and his side kick Capitaine Haddock. Mr Blair discussed his thesis research into Franco-Belgian comics and their impact on global society. The presentation also covered how these works can be used as a communication medium in second-language classrooms. – Alizee Bourgault Du Coudray

Student Reflections on Year 8 French Incursion

Mlle Bourgault organised a French speaker to present in front of the yr 8 French students. Mr Blair came to speak to us about an iconic comic called Tintin. Tintin is a comic character that goes on lots of adventures in all his books. We all enjoyed our time as we got to learn about the history of TinTin and his adventures.
Edie C

We had a guest speaker come to indulge us in the wonderful world of Tintin. He was a very engaging speaker who broadened our knowledge of not only the comic book, but about its creator and France in general. I learnt about the perspective of Herge' and how he influenced history. It was very interesting, and I would love to learn even more about it in the future.
Theodora G

On Tuesday, March 19th, St Aloysius was visited by Mr Blair, a pop culture historian. He informed us about the comic strip 'The Adventures of Tintin' and its significance in French history as well as the importance of comics in worldwide culture. I found the presentation both fascinating and educational since I had no idea comics were such an integral part of French culture until that day. Following the presentation, I became more intrigued and aware of comics, and I wanted to study more about the many comic strips in France. Overall, the presentation prompted me to think more about French culture, which I appreciated learning about.
Holly T

The year 8 French students attended a French presentation about comic books. He taught us about the character Tin Tin and about his history. We learnt about how these comic books are still popular to this day and there are public attractions based around him. Overall, it was a very interesting presentation.
Jemima N

The year 8 French students listened to a presentation by Mr Blair. Mr Blair spoke a lot about French comics specifically about the influence of Tintin comics and how it had a huge impact on French comics. We also watched different Tintin movie trailers to show how it evolved over the years. I learnt a lot about French comics and the impact of it on French culture. After listening to Mr Blair I want to learn more about different French movies and the French comics.
Jessica

The Year 8 students will continue to explore topics related to Respectful Relationships in our Nourish Program. Focusing on strengthening the student’s ability to communicate respectfully in different environments and with different people.

Here’s to a fantastic Term 2, filled with creativity, resilience, and success!