Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
School room becomes French cafe for a day
A TOUCH of Parisian cafe culture came to Dens Road Primary School thanks to a special event held by pupils.
Parents and carers of pupils in class P2/3 were invited to the school’s very own French Cafe where they were treated to food and entertainment from the young entrepreneurs.
The cafe was the idea of class teacher Harry Murphy, who wanted his pupils to show off their knowledge of healthy eating – as well as their French skills.
He said: “I was keen to think of some sort of event where they could put all of that knowledge together into something that could give them a real-life, meaningful learning experience.
“The last two and bit years we’ve not been allowed to do events like these so we want to get the parents and carers in to show them what we do and how brilliant their children are.”
Pupils became waiters and waitresses for the day, taking orders from the parents and carers and even putting on a performance of a French song they had learned for the occasion.
Mr Murphy added: “They will be taking orders from the grown-ups in their best French and it’s lovely to see them all having a go.
“Even at this young age we are trying to encourage them to use that second language.
“Some of these children have been of school age for two years but have spent so little time in school because of various closures, and opportunities like this have not come around. I love joining in”
Among those invited to the event was Siobhan Robertson, whose daughter Jodie is in primary two.
And the afternoon was made even more special for Siobhan due to the fact Covid has meant such opportunities have been few and far between in recent years.
She said: “It’s brilliant.
“I love joining in with what they are doing because I’ve missed everything (with my daughter).
“She’s the one out of the four that have not been able to do it.
“They need that experience and it brings them out of their shell again. I get more when I come out here.
“Everyday I’ll ask them what have you been learning and doing and they’ll say ‘oh I don’t know’ but when you come in here, they tell you everything.”
Fellow parent Norah Grubb was full of praise for the French Cafe idea and the benefits it gave to the pupils.
She said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be invited, I’ve been really excited. It’s been a big build up and we’ve had a formal invitation through the post.
“Our wee lad is our foster child and his education has come on in leaps and bounds.
“To hear him drop in some French at the tea table, it’s really rewarding and a delight to hear.
“It’s lovely to see all the parents here and the children working hard.”