Alvirne seeking hosts for French exchange students

Alvirne High School is preparing to welcome French exchange students in a program has been an Alvirne tradition for a long time. The program gives students the opportunity to travel to France and to host students from Alvirne’s sister school, Lycee Les Pierres Vives, which is just outside Paris. In recent years, complications have affected the trip. In 2010, the swine flu epidemic prevented either group from traveling for fear of spreading the disease, and the year after, terrorist threats against France stopped the Alvirne students from going. Both sides participated last year, but this year there weren’t enough students who were interested in going to France, so it’s just the French students who will be traveling this year. The exchange program provides students with an amazing opportunity to learn more about the language and culture of another country outside the classroom. “This program is incredible,” said senior Josh Carter, who went as a junior. “My time in France was awesome, and I got to experience a different way of life firsthand. I would definitely recommend participating to others.” While there is already a strong cultural aspect to the Alvirne curriculum in the foreign language classes, this provides students with a new perspective on the differences between life in America and France. Even without the cost of going to another country, students can benefit from the program by interacting with a native speaker of the language and participating in trips with the exchange students to places such as Boston and New York and Boston. The French students have already purchased their plane tickets, so they will be arriving in late April. Alvirne teachers are seeking accommodations for the French students who are still without host families. The opportunity to host the French students has recently been opened up to all students, regardless of whether someone takes French, in the hopes that it will increase the number of people willing to host. Any Alvirne students who are interested in hosting a French student may contact foreign language teachers Svetlana Stewart or Gilbert LaChance. Gretchen Gamrat is a senior at Alvirne High School in Hudson.