Although the summer is coming to an end, no one seems to have told the weather.  The skies are clear and sunny, and the temperature is pleasantly summer-like.  We suffered from a bit too much rain in July but recent sunshine has definitely made up for that.  As well, although our busiest months are in the summertime, the school has also kept our hight summer numbers.  Our English classes, and especially our French classes are still are still happily busy.  Our Holiday Groups have left for now, but great activities remain in Montreal in the autumn time.

Andrea Di Stefano, our Summer Holiday Group Coordinator, is off to Japan for a year of university, but we look forward to welcoming our newest admin staff addtion, Noureddine Saleh, who will be starting mid-September as Marketing Coordinator.  Noureddine speaks 6 languages, has great experience in education, and we welcome him on board.

Again, we love hearing from former students and the post-cards are the best.  Let us know what's new and we'll be happy to print it in a new 'where are they now' section of the newsletter to begin next month.

	Uri Carnat School Manager		Sayaka Sakakibara Homestay Coordinator
	Billy Barbier Program Coordinator		Jérôme Commun Head Teacher - French
	Ian Orti Head Teacher - English		Andrea Di Stefano Summer Activity Coordinator

Summer has hit its peak, and after having inhaled more than our share of sunscreen fumes and warm breezes, the craziness of Montreal is starting to slow back down to a more relaxed pace.

With August coming to a close, there is a lot to discuss, and some fond memories to mull over as we wrap up another fantastic summer! GEOS saw an amazing variety of students pass through its halls, including a group of 27 exuberant Milanese who won’t soon be forgotten, and we have been happy to show them all around this great city and the wonders it has to offer!

Here are the highlights from this past month: the Osheaga Music Festival, the FestiBlues, Italian Week 2008, and the World Film Festival have all had a part in upholding Montreal’s great reputation for summer fun. GEOS was there, on top of a bunch of trips to Mount Royal, the Tam-Tams, soccer games, movies, day trips to Quebec City, Ottawa, Niagara Falls, and more!

First off, the Osheaga Festival put on some great shows throughout the weekend! GEOS students joined in on the Sunday to catch the famous rock group “The Killers” live on stage, as well as many, many others for the energized outdoor concert!

The FestiBlues offered some great sounds to accompany the week’s lousy weather, and Montrealers really felt the Blues. There was some amazing energy at the Ahuntsic Park when we visited on Friday, August 8^th, and we enjoyed great Canadian artists (Slim Wood, who won the OFQJ/Blues-sur-seine grant & 3^rd place in the Relève en Blues Contest) and some from France for some truly amazing shows!

Montreal got a taste of “la bella vita” during this year’s Italian Week! Italian communities across the island, spearheaded by Little Italy, showcased Italian culture for the whole city to enjoy! There were art & fashion exhibits, wine tastings, sports tournaments, music concerts, comedy shows, and, of course, mountains of food; GEOS had a great time on Friday the 15^th when they took in the activities on and around St. Laurent street, had an espresso and a bite at one of the cafés, and listened to outdoor concerts of authentic Italian music!

We took advantage of fantastic weather on the weekend of the 16^th by joining the festivities that take place at Montreal’s summer heart and soul, Mont-Royal & the Park. On Saturday, we kicked around the soccer ball before submitting to the heat, and then just enjoyed the breeze and relaxed, Montreal style! On Sunday, we followed irresistible beats to the weekly Tam-Tams in front of the mountain; every gathering is a spiritual experience and a great opportunity to meet new and interesting people from all over the city.

Last but definitely not least, the World Film Festival rocked our worlds with great movies from all over! This event highlights the end of August and will continue to offer us laughs, smiles, scares and tears up until September 1, and we took in a couple of shows last Friday with “Poe: Last Days of the Raven” from Canada, and the appropriately named “After School” from Japan; both were extremely well-received. There are still so many films to see, as well as competitions, outdoor showings, tributes, and more continuing right up until the end of the month!

On top of all this, these streets have seen the NASCAR Busch Series, the Children’s Festival, the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu Hot Air Balloon Festival, and the 18^th century public market, and we’ve opened up the month with an amazing Potluck with students, teachers, staff members, and even host families. This has been another amazing month, and we owe it all to our students for brightening these days and really showing us how much summer in Montreal really rocks!

This has been another summer for the books, and things are only getting better! Fall, here we come!

These summer months GEOS’ halls and classrooms saw a huge surge of students pouring in from all over the world, and every teacher and staff member was loaded with just about as much fun and excitement as their enthusiastic little arms could hold. These high-pressure times tend to bring out the best in people; and through the hustle and bustle of our busiest months, we were able to distinguish the super-stars from the regular stars. Sporting a brand new job title, our Head French Teacher, Jérôme Commun, shone brighter than the rest.

Born in Versailles, France, some (including Jérôme himself) believe he is descended from Louis XIV, one of a long line of venerated French kings. Today, Jérôme is academic coordinating the entire French department at GEOS on top of teaching some very happy students! His hobbies include writing poetry and literature, tennis, bike-riding, and “découvrir le monde”. He has also been very greatly influenced by his son, who is a big part of his inspiration to teach.

Teaching, for Jérôme, is more than just the sharing of knowledge; he also sees it as a way of better understanding oneself, and through that, becoming more tolerant and open-minded. GEOS has been like a big family to Jérôme (a feeling reciprocated by many of his peers) and he enjoys his fellow professors and the generosity of his students and their joie-de-vivre.

He’s been at GEOS for about a year now, and his work has been very much appreciated and enthusiastically received. We are very sad to inform our students and staff, however, that our Head French Teacher Jérôme will be leaving the school in a few months to satisfy his adventurer’s spirit and possibly conquer more hearts in the name of France.

We wish you all the best in your ventures, and thank you Jérôme for brightening our school and your truly amazing work!

We are very proud of our Nationality mix for this month. Currently we have 24 Nationalities represented in the school among our 145 students

Take a look where our students are coming from:

This month’s featured student is this month’s winner of the least distance travelled from home award: here from Toronto, Mr. Anthony Lau.

We are flattered that Anthony has chosen our wonderful city to improve his French skills! We welcome Anthony with open arms, and as great a city as Toronto is, he agrees that for French immersion we’ve got them beat! He is also enjoying Montreal’s night-time atmosphere, the variety of different people and the interesting events. Our “inefficient subway system”, on the other hand, made him think back to his hometown with longing.

Anthony’s hobbies include swimming, ice skating, chatting, watching TV, and the classical piano; our school printer has been lucky enough to have seen some of the sublime allegrettos and fantaisies that he’s been practicing these days, and some of us at the school have entertained the idea of knocking down one of the classroom’s dividing walls so we might be able to fit a baby grand piano. Given that he’s only here for another week, and to the manager’s relief, however, we’ve held the urge at bay.

Anthony has travelled through most of Canada, as well as to the U.S.A. and China, and now finds himself in Montreal for the 3^rd time and at GEOS for the 1^st! The thing he enjoys most about the school is the teachers, and he said that thanks to them he was learning things quickly and his classes have been fun. Thanks for the kind words, Anthony!

It’s been a pleasure having you here, and with our time together coming to a close, we hope that you’ll visit us again someday soon! Best of luck with your studies, and send our love to Toronto!

Montreal is a charming and elegant city in which many different cultures join and become one. Just by living in it you get a new perspective of the world around you and a better understanding of your own culture. GEOS has also been an important part of my experience here. I’ve learned a lot, not only from my amazing teachers but also from my classmates. I’ve made a lot of friends, and even though I haven’t been here long, my English has improved so much. I think that coming to Montreal and studying here is one of the best decitions I have ever made.

New Course Offering for 2009:  We just want to let everyone know that we will be offering a full-time TOEFL iBT preparation course starting in January 2009.  Students will still have the option of doing their TOEFL iBT preparation as an elective class, but the full-time option will soon be available.

Don’t forget!! Full-time students studying English or French receive a 50% discount on any of these courses. On top of the elective, we have a full-time TOEFL Preparation Course beginning in January, 2009. Here are some of the most popular elective classes at the moment:

If you have any questions regarding the programs or the starting dates, just send us an email by CLICKING HERE

You can download our 2008 School Brochure here.

Usually I wake up in the morning and I don’t want to get out of bed, but as soon as I remember that I have a lot of things to do I get up and take a relaxing shower.

Then I take the bus and the metro to get to Guy Concordia metro station, and then walk to get to GEOS, and start my day with new things to learn in a funny way.

My first class is with Scott who’s always teaching grammar and “Real English”, his classes are always interesting. Then I go to the lunch room and enjoy my breakfast with my friends while Ian says “NO SPEAKING SPANISH” (so we stop speaking Spanish and start to speak English)

At the second class my teacher is Amit, and we call him Amito! He’s always trying to teach us in a relaxing way, so I really love his classes.

After 2^nd class I go to TOEFL class that is also taught by Amit.

When my day at GEOS finishes, I usually go out with the other students and we enjoy the city, that, by the way is amazing!

Then I go home, study a little bit, and go to bed, waiting for the next day.

Xaira Rivera – Colombia / Mexico