By Medina Malagić
The French International School CIFS in Sarajevo, in cooperation with the Office For French Culture of the French Embassy in Sarajevo, exhibited its “Garden Francophone” to mark Francophone Day 2013. The exhibition is made up of beautiful words, phrases and poems written in French.
The Director of the French International School BojanaVidaković-Drinić said that the children spent nearly the entire month of March working on their projects that were seen on display today in front of the school. The display of creativity and artistic skills of the students was evident with colorful patterns and shapes and demonstrated their knowledge of French with words, phrases and stories of their own choosing.
Students between the ages of three and six years old made flower shapes out of construction paper with their favorite words in the French language written on them. Students from the first to fifth grade, in addition to a creative display of their own handmade flowers adorned with French words and rhymes, wrote their own poetry and fairy tales.
The older students from sixth to ninth grade made a new edition of the school newspaper that is primarily dedicated to Francophone Days and to the great French writer Albert Camus, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957.
Visitors to the installation with at least a basic knowledge of the French language could come here to learn more about the history of the French language and its influence throughout the world thanks to the older students who put up a visual display with descriptions of “La Francophonie”.
In a statement for ‘Sarajevo Times’, the Director of the school Bojana Vidaković-Drinić said that all the students spent nearly the entire month of March working on these projects together with their professors. The entire school participated.
Drinić explains that the French school is nearly an equal mix of BiH citizens and children of foreigners who live in Sarajevo. The entire school curriculum is in French, and they have a special program that works with children who enter the school with no prior knowledge of French to learn the language quickly so that they could follow the lectures. Most of the students begin in kindergarten and stay, but that is not a requirement and students can enroll in any grade.
The installation of the French International School will be on display for visitors and friends of the school from 21-22 March from 8:30-17:00.
