As the term draws to a close, we have the chance to reflect on the past year.
The Modern Languages Department has been fortunate to have had a wonderful team of five foreign Language Assistants, who have worked with staff, pupils and members of the local community to share their languages and cultures with us. Their presence has brought us real pleasure, new friendships and a link with native speakers which is invaluable to all who learn languages.
We are delighted that Demi, our Mandarin Assistant, will be returning to spend another year with us. She says that she loves the Dollar community and was glad to see the pupils high engagement in learning activities and also their progress throughout lockdown, which motivated her too. Demi says –
Carolin, our German Assistant, has known about Dollar Academy for years, as she is from Ulmen, the destination of our FI and FII German trips. She enjoyed her stay in Scotland so much that she has decided to come back next year to embark on a Politics degree at Stirling University. Dollar wishes her all the best in her studies.
Our three other assistants, Robin from France, Irene from Spain and Giulia from Italy, have stayed in Dollar throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, spending an unusual summer term far away from their families. All have adapted smoothly to the demands of online teaching, bringing energy, enthusiasm and huge commitment to their classes. We are immensely grateful for their contributions to the Department and we know that their pupils will miss their dedicated support and good humour.
The staff have loved working with this team of exceptional language assistants, and we hope that they will all return to Dollar one day to visit us and to realise their dreams of exploring Scotland properly.
Robin, Irene and Giulia have made a short film where they reflect on their experiences over the past year. To view the film, click here.
We hope that this might encourage some of our pupils to spend a future year abroad as an English Assistant – who knows where they might end up and what adventures they might have . . .we wish our assistants a safe journey home and they leave with our warmest good wishes for the future.
