13 May 2026
Something wonderful has happened in French class. Our Years 5 and 6 students have been writing to real penpals in Canada.
This semester, students have been learning how to introduce and describe themselves in both French and English, exploring language that goes beyond the classroom to say something genuinely personal: who they are, where they live, what they love. They have used vocabulary about appearance, personality, hobbies, and family to compose letters that feel real rather than rehearsed.
One of the most meaningful parts of this project has been learning how to write an actual postcard. Students discovered that writing for a real audience changes everything. Every word counts when you only have a small rectangle of space and someone on the other side of the world waiting to read it. They addressed their cards, wrote their messages in French and English, and sent them off by mail to their Canadian partners.
Now comes the most exciting part: the wait.
There is something irreplaceable about a physical letter travelling across the world and landing in your hands. Our first card from Canada has arrived, and the excitement in the classroom was genuinely joyful. All the cards came at once, which meant every boy received theirs on the same day. Students are now putting the finishing touches on their replies, written entirely in French, and learning something that no worksheet can teach: how to wait patiently for a response that arrives in its own time.
This project connects beautifully to our broader French program, which anchors language learning in authentic, meaningful experience. What makes this exchange especially special is the mirror image at its heart: our Canadian penpals attend a French-language school where they are learning English, just as our boys are learning French.
Both groups are reaching toward each other across the same linguistic bridge, from opposite sides. For our students, this is a powerful reminder that language learning is not just a school subject. It is something real people do, all over the world, every day.
We cannot wait to see where this correspondence takes us. Ask your son what he wrote back, and keep an eye out for the next update!
Alexandrine Alarie-Desrosiers
French teacher – Years 3 to 6
