International School Manosque opens its doors

Un stylo rouge, un stylo bleu. These are the words little Johannes will always remember. Not only are they the first words he saw on his first day in school, written on the blackboard. They are also the first words he heard in a new language.

Johannes comes from Bavaria, Germany. He is one of the 30 or so primary class pupils that attend the new International School in Manosque which opened its doors last week. In total, about one hundred pupils age 3 to 18 will attend the newly opened nursery school, the primary and secondary classes or the nearby lycee. 31 teachers will teach them half time in French. Depending on their origin and mother tongue they can then choose from German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese as their second language.

Besides Johannes, there are children with origins all over the world. There is Maureen from Villeneuve, France. Her mother is French and her father English. Then there is Camille who ´s mother is German, but who grew up in France. And there is six year old Nassim who is already a Cosmopolitan in its true meaning: Born in California, he grew up in France with one part of his family originating from Tunesia. Already capable of speaking three languages, Nassim is now heading for English and Chinese. His comment: "I will have to work hard!"