Jan Lewandowski

Many are the school visits I’ve run to Normandy and a favourite day trip has always been to the Bayeux Tapestry or as the French call it ‘La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde’. I’m always astounded by the length, skill and detail of the tapestry and how you go round a corner and there’s yet more and more. The children are usually equally interested, especially after they’ve seen the excellent presentation beforehand. One year, a boy in my class wanted a particularly close look at the tapestry as apparently one of his ancestors was in it! He must have had precise instructions from his mum as to where to find the said ancestor but still we managed to miss him (not surprising really as he was one of the many dead and injured scattered around the battlefield.

Anyway, I was allowed to accompany my pupil along the tapestry one more time and this time we found him! It really brought history to life for us and his mum was really pleased that we’d found the ancestor. There’s a fantastic video of the Bayeux Tapestry. It’s in English but would be really good for doing some cross-curricular work. Do take a look!

I’ve been out and about this term doing a series of workshops at Regional Support Groups around the country. The focus of these presentations was Spring and Summer Festivals explored through the medium of French and Spanish; taking in some of the main festivals and celebrations from February to July.

The feedback has been very positive:

Worcestershire RSG - “People found Jan’s session overwhelmingly ‘excellent’ …. ‘She demonstrated how festivals can meet the intercultural understanding objectives through song, dance, design technology, games and tongue-twisters’ …. ‘ Jan’s handouts should be kept in a safe place as they are a valuable repository for her careful research into the best websites, the best YouTube downloads etc’..”

This is the Year of the Rat in Chinese culture and as usual La Poste in France has issued a set of commemorative stamps which are rather fine. Incidentally in any post office in France it is always worthwhile asking for posters and brochures about commemorative stamps throughout the year. Sometimes the material has already been thrown away but often you can get really great posters for the classroom wall.