Welcome to our January newsletter. This month marks the beginning of a New Year. We all hope that this year will bring some nice events, success and happiness. In terms of weather, we start the year with good but unusual weather. We had temperature, above 0 C which is very surprising. You better enjoy the winter activities like sledding, outdoor ice skating, snowshoeing and skiing before the snow melts.
We are welcoming a former member to our staff of teachers, Marc Berube who just came back from his trip to Europe. He teaches our English level 1 afternoon class.
In terms of activities, our students enjoyed some outdoor winter activities offered in Montreal. The first weekend, they went sledding on the Mont-Royal. This activity is so much fun that even few of our teachers decided to go as well. Then, they went outdoor ice skating in Old Montreal. The port is a really nice location to skate as you can have a beautiful view of the city at night with all its building and illumination. The ice skating rink is not that big but big enough to have fun, especially for people who were skating for the first time.
We actually went to another skating rink location in Parc Lafontaine. We feel that it is important for our students to discover different areas in Montreal and not always visit to the same places. Parc Lafontaine is in a good location to skate as there is no admission fee. You just have to pay for the skate rental if you do not have your own pair. In order to be informed on our activities, you can always check our calendars on our website http://www.geosmontreal.com/activities.
What is happening in February in Montreal?
In January, we have two great events in Montreal: Igloofest and “la Fete des Neiges”. Igloofest occurs at the Old Port, from Thursday to Saturday till the end of January. For techno fans, Igloofest will make them happy. La fete des Neiges is for everyone. This is actually the major winter festival in Montreal, where the entire population is invited to enjoy a wide range of activities such as tube sliding, ice or boot hockey, kick sledding, or skating along Saint Lawrence River, in the magical setting of Parc Jean-Drapeau. The event finishes on February 7th. If you have not been there by now, you can still go. What is happening in February in Montreal? • “Le festival du cinema Québécois” from February 17th to 27th and • Montreal all-lights festival, starting on February 18th which is an urban winter festival featuring gastronomy, culture and festivities. These will be the two interesting events not to be missed.
Marc Berube, one of our English teachers tells us about his music tour through Europe.
"We did a 3 week tour in France and Switzerland in late November, early December 2009. We started things in the south of France, with old GEOS French Language teacher Antoni Rossignol-Ripert joining us on bass for the tour. Every show as amazing, and for such a diverse variety of reasons each time. Overall, we were treated very warmly by all the venues, organizers, audience members, and gas attendants along the autoroutes. Damn they feed you well down there!! Just to highlight a few things: we drove through the Swiss Alps, played an old slaughterhouse turned into a bar, probably got 3 speeding tickets, played the Olympia in Paris with great French artist Emily Loizeau in front of 1800 people, played on French National radio and Swiss National Television, got stuck in 2 hours of traffic in Paris (horrible), and enjoyed some lovely home cooked meals with my wife's family in Switzerland. It was a great tour. Nothing better than making a living doing what you love. There is not a greater gift one can have."
“When I decided to come to Montreal I never thought that I was going to have such an amazing experience as I had. Since the day I arrived here I met people from all over the world, people like me, wanting to live in a new way and learn a new language. In Geos Montreal you’ll find kind, patient and helpful people, who will be happy to make your stay in the city an unbelievable experience. Choosing Montreal to study not only English but also French, was the best choice I could ever made. I’m so happy now that I’m going back to Colombia full of great memories and lots of good friends. Thanks to everybody for making me fall in love with Montreal. I’ll miss you so much!! Au Revoir!!!”
The next English and French beginner evening classes will start on the week of February 22nd. For 2010, French evening starting dates for beginners will be the same as the ones in the daytime: February 22, March 22, May 17, June 14, July 12, August 9, September 7, October 4 and November 1, 2010. The next Japanese beginner evening classes will start on the week of March 15th. For 2010, Japanese beginner classes are set to begin on the following weeks: March 15, May 10, July 19, September 13 and November 22. The next IELTS class starting session is set to begin on February 1st. If you are interested in taking the IELTS preparation class, feel free to contact us at info@geosmontreal.com. Concerning our elective classes, we offer the TOEFL preparation class, the Business English class, academic writing skills class, and “communication française” for our French students.
We also offer seasonal study tours/holiday group courses that students can join individually for one or two weeks.
Furthermore you can send your own group. Please fill out the study tour analysis form that you can find on our website and we will then design a program and prepare a quote for you based on the activities and accommodations requested.
You can download our 2010 School Brochure here.If you have any questions regarding the programs or the starting dates, just send us an email by CLICKING HERE
Mark Berube and The Patriotic Few are a group based in Montreal, Quebec. For the last 4 years, they've been playing approximately 100 shows a year across Canada and Europe, playing shows and festivals, sometimes in front of 30 people or up to 3,000. They released their second album in Fall 2008 titled What the Boat Gave the River and are currently working on the next album which should be out in late 2010 or early 2011. The group consists of Mark Berube (piano, voice, accordion, guitar), Patrick Dugas (drums, percussion, voice) and Kristina Koropecki (cello, voice). They'll be playing many festivals in the upcoming year in Canada, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and possible Scandinavia, Germany, and The Netherlands. You can listen to some of their music at www.myspace.com/markberubemusic”
Bonjour! Je m'appelle Irina. Je suis très contente d'avoir passé ici 6 mois. Quand je suis arrivée à Montréal, je ne pouvais pas dire un mot en Français, je ne connaissais presque personne. C'est ici, à l'école GEOS ou j'ai appris le Français, et rencontré mes premiers amis ainsi que beaucoup d'autres choses grâce à mes professeurs et les amis de ma classe. L'école GEOS: c'est une très bonne chance de passer le meilleurs temps, perfectionner la langue et connaître les autres cultures.
.jpg)
