Thursday, July 31, 2008 - Newsletter “Montreal - The GEOS Insider”

With July just having come to an end, the school is still a busy nest of activity.  We have Holiday Groups from Italy, Mexico, and Colombia, and daily activities to Montreal's summer festivals and best destinations.  Our English classes and French classes (and Japanese classes!) are busy with hard-working and energetic students and our great teachers are meeting the challenge of providing our "Language, Culture, Adventure" experience.  Even more pleasing for the school, more and more students are choosing our elective classes, such as TOEFL preparation, TOEIC, Writing, and French Pronunciation.

With teachers and students working so hard, the Admin team has taken enormous pride in the positive feedback that we continue to receive from students about their classes, teachers, activities and homestay.  There is no greater reward than seeing students come back for a second or a third year, and to see them send their families and friends to study with us.

The school is always growing.  We are taking more rooms in the building and we are looking to continue hiring staff to provide the high level of service that our students have come to expect.

We really do love hearing from all of you, so don't be shy.

	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

Hello everyone! It's a beautiful summer, and everyone here at GEOS Montreal is making the best of the sunshine and excitement that July in Montreal has to offer!

There were loads of activities and events from this year's memorable month of July to explore! GEOS was there, both students and staff, to experience them, and GEOS is here, now, to share those wonderful experiences with you! :)

To name a few: the International Jazz Festival, The Fireworks Festival, Fantasia Film Festival, and a plethora of music festivals have all graced this great city with their amazing sights and top-notch entertainment. There is so much to see and hear that the only problem is finding time to experience it all! There is still lots going on, so let's keep in mind the upcoming festivities!

First of all, the Fireworks Festival has been a beacon of fantastic light in the Montreal's summer night sky. Every Saturday and some Wednesdays, LaRonde Montreal pointed our eyes upwards and put smiles on our faces with some very memorable entries to the yearly competition. Last Wednesday saw Canada's response to some amazing performances by France, Italy, South Korea, Portugal, and Australia. Still to come are Austria, United States, China, and the LaRonde Closing Show. It's sure to be a blast, so come and enjoy the show with the GEOS gang!

The Fantasia Film Festival brought the world's underground and un-hyped-up movies and short films to the forefront - everything from Japanese anime to French film noir. If your fancy is eye-popping horror and gory suspense, you enjoyed a very entertaining two weeks. If you have a thing for bright-eyed pink-haired anime girls and boys in plaid, you were not alone, and maybe even made some friends, at Fantasia. Concordia University hosted a great festival this year, and many featured films received rave reviews and were extremely well-received by the Montreal film-going community. GEOS students and staff made a few outings to some great films, among them "The Most Beautiful Night in the World", and "Adrift in Tokyo", both of which are very highly recommended by those who came along.

The events and festivities at Mont-Royal Park are central to the summer action in Montreal, and they're still going strong! The Tam-Tams are a great release for the pent-up weekday stress, and people of all ages can be found hanging out or banging drums and bongos or just enjoying the ambience. It's like the whole mountain is alive with the beat of Montrealers pumping energy and smiles throughout the city! GEOS soccer games have lost some of their momentum and enthusiasm, so we are working on recruiting some fresh members to replace those who have left us for richer, more fabulous clubs. Sign-up sheets will be awaiting YOU to bring some fresh new talent to the weekly activity!

Some more honourable mentions include the Montreal Comedy Festival, the International Merengue & Latin Music Festival (we danced up a storm), and the FrancoFolies, which is going strong until August 3rd featuring lots of great Francophone artists and outdoor concerts for your enjoyment!

We've also been to Quebec City, Ottawa, Niagara Falls & Toronto, LaRonde Amusement Park, taken a dip at the beach in Jean Drapeau Park, and are expecting a huge Potluck and Talent Show at the school to finish off the month of July with a bang. All in all, it has been an amazing month, and everyone here at GEOS Montreal offers their thanks to our amazing students for being here and making this summer a truly memorable one!

Happy rest of the summer, and 'til next time! Enjoy the sunshine, Montreal!

Bonjour! Je m'appelle Maria Fernanda. Je suis Mexicaine et je vais rester ici a Montréal 4 semaines pour apprendre le francais. Tout le monde ici à GEOS est tres sympa et les professeurs sont excellents.

J'ai rencontré beaucoup de personnes intéressantes de différents pays comme de la Colombie, de la Russie, de l'Australie, de l'Italie, de la France, de l'Allemagne, de l'Espagne et du Zimbabwe. Montréal est une ville tres agréable et multiculturelle et il y a beaucoup de lieux à visiter comme le musée des Beaux-Arts, le Festival FrancoFolies, le concours de feux d'artifice.

C'est une expérience inoubliable.

-Maria Fernanda Maxil Platas

This month's distinguished member of staff has earned the honor of Teacher of the Month after being with us only a month and a half, though he is not a teacher! GEOS Activity Coordinator, Andrea Di Stefano, has exceeded what was expected of him and delivered great quality work with enthusiasm, patience and versatility, and most importantly, a great smile.

Born and bred in Montreal, Andrea comes from an Italian family and grew up speaking Italian before giving in to the pressures of society and adopting English as his primary language. Like all Montreal students, he studied French throughout his youth and enjoys the advantages of being multi-lingual that are so familiar to residents of this international city. 

Though he loves his hometown, he dreams of traveling to other countries and meeting people from all over the world. Andrea got a taste of what the rest of the world has to offer and would like to experience other cultures in more depth and continue to learn languages to bridge communication gaps and, hopefully, someday become a 21st century man.

This is not Andrea's first time at GEOS. He spent two and a half years studying Japanese as a student here, and, having liked the environment and organization of the school and its teachers and staff, he was inspired to pursue a career with the school. Now, he coordinates and chaperones many of the school's activities and events, and provides great help around the office and with student services. If you have a question about what Montreal has to offer, and how to get what you want from the city, he is the man to ask.

He is currently studying full-time at Montreal's Concordia University, and is working at GEOS for the summer to finance his big travel plans. He is planning to complete his studies during the coming academic year, then greatly hopes to return to GEOS, in Montreal or abroad, to continue his much-appreciated work here. 

This looks like the beginning of a wonderful and longstanding friendship! Many thanks for his work and dedication, and we wish him only the best and safe travels.  Once again; thank you.