Upper St. Clair Says Bonjour To French Exchange Students

UPPER ST. CLAIR, PA - Seventeen students from a private school in Lyon, France, recently completed a two-week stay in Upper St. Clair as part of the school district’s annual exchange program. Twenty-one Upper St. Clair students will spend 10 days in France in June to complete the exchange.

Since 2006, Upper St. Clair High School and Lycée Saint-Marc have biennially participated in the French-American Cultural Exchange. The program objectives are to develop communication skills in multiple languages; foster lifelong global connections with students and their families and create positive international relations; gain international perspectives; grow as global leaders; and increase intercultural competency.

“By taking part in the exchange students are able to apply their learning of language and culture that has been studied since their first introduction to French in 5th grade,” Upper St. Clair High School Bethany Chase said in a district. “The exchange allows kids the chance to go beyond the perspective of a tourist and see life through the eyes of a high school student, it's like getting to go backstage.”

The visiting French students are 10th grade girls. They had the opportunity to select which classes to attend at the high school and the most popular choices were 2D Art, American Law & Justice, Ceramics, Chorus and Foods. Other course selections included Chinese, Japanese, Sociology and Speech.

In addition, the exchange students participated in a walking tour of Pittsburgh; visited the Andy Warhol Museum; took a day-trip to Washington, D.C.; met with Boyce Middle School students who are studying French; and enjoyed a farewell pizza party at the high school.

“Our host families also took them to places like Mt. Washington, the Nationality Rooms at the Cathedral of Learning, Phipps Conservatory, hiking and kayaking at Raccoon Creek State Park, the Strip District, Carnegie Museum of Art and National History and the outdoor viewing of a Pens playoff game,” Chase said.

What’s on tap for Upper St. Clair students in June? After exploring the history, culture, art and architecture of Lyon, they will travel to St. Malo in Brittany, visit the abbey of Mont St. Michel and then conclude the visit with four nights in Paris.

Photo via Upper St. Clair School District.