Today is the French Rentrée, the start of the school
year, but also the start of the fall season with its accompanying political
activities, art festivals and fashion shows. Since there is still a very strong
tradition of taking at least some vacation in August, people are returning to
work with memories of relaxing or adventurous vacations still fresh in their
minds. The beginning of September is a time when friends start to reconnect after the holidays, perhaps fitting in an after
work verre
or drink to catch up.
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Paris Manif’ Rentrée
2010
© Isabelle Vianu
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For parents of school-age children, today is the rentrée scolaire. For those who have not yet braved Carrefour, BHV or their local papeterie for back-to-school supplies, they will get their chance at mass befuddlement alongside other harried parents, wrinkled list in hand, no doubt fished out from their child’s sac à dos or cartable. The French Ministry of Education has published the list below of 30 essential school supplies (my English translations). These are the basics, but teachers have their own terminology. I remember searching in vain for a lutin. For me, and for my dictionary, un lutin was a gnome or a goblin, or a sprite, but not something you’d find on a school supply list. Unfortunately, the young salesman had no idea what a lutin was either. So, I asked a mom, a French mom, not one of the other confused ex-pat moms. Life Lesson #1: Ask (a) Mom. A lutin is a plastic notebook (it can be small or large) filled with plastic sleeves. You slip a document or sheet of paper in the plastic sleeve. You can put class notes in these sleeves which facilitates review and preserves the pages so they don’t rip from frequent turning as happens when you put loose paper in a three-ring binder, for example. The trade name for a lutin is a porte-document. The folder will also list the number of views, for example, avec 60 vues, which would be 30 sheets since you have two views per sheet. They can also be called porte-vues or protège-vues.
It seems odd for American parents that their elementary
school child needs a fountain pen and a special re-write pen to go with it, but
that’s how they learn to write in school here. Those four colored pens (and
yes, you have to have blue, black, red and green, ALWAYS) will be used for underlining,
boxing and otherwise organizing their writing. Be prepared to be either dazzled
by the orderliness of your child’s work, or baffled by the teacher’s utter
conviction that your child will be a failure in life if he or she is unable to
write clear copy by the Toussaint holiday (more on vacations
and the school calendar later).
30 fournitures scolaires essentielles/ 30 Essential School Supplies
o Petit cahier de 96 pages (17 x 22 cm) /Small 96-page notebook
o Feuillets mobiles perforés (21
x 29,7 cm) / Perforated loose leaf paper
o Copies doubles perforées (21 x 29,7 cm) / Perforated double sheets
o Cahier de musique de 48 pages (17 x 22
cm) / 48-page music
notebook
o Agenda
/ Planner
o Classeur rigide (21
x 29,7 cm) / Hard cover binder
o Classeur souple (21
x 29,7 cm) / Soft cover binder
o Protège-cahier
/ notebook cover
o Pochettes
transparentes (21 x 29,7 cm) / plastic sheet protectors
o Rouleau de
plastique pour couvrir les livres / Roll of plastic for covering books
o Stylos à bille (4 couleurs) / Ballpoint pens (4 colors)
o Crayons à papier / pencils
o Stylo plume / fountain pen
o Cartouches d’encre (bleu et/ou noir) / ink cartridges
(blue and/or black)
o Pochette de 12 crayons/feutres de couleurs / packet of 12 colored
pencils/felt-tip pens
o Effaceurs-réécriveurs / eraser-rewriters
o Boite de gouaches – 10 tubes / box of gouache paints – 10 tubes
o Pinceaux de tailles différentes – lot de
3 / set of 3 paintbrushes
– varying sizes
o Trousse / Pencil case
o Gomme / Eraser
o Bâton de colle / Glue stick
o Taille-crayon
/ Pencil sharpener
o Rouleau de ruban
adhésif / Roll of
adhesive tape
o Règle plate en plastique – 30 cm / Flat Plastic Ruler – 30 cm
o Rapporteur en plastique – 12 cm / Plastic protractor
o Equerre en plastique – 21 cm – 60° / Plastic square – 21 cm - 60°
o Compas / Compass
o Paires de ciseaux de 15 à 17 cm en acier / Stainless steel scissors – 15-17 cm
o Calculatrice pour collégien (6ème à 3ème) / Calculator for middle schoolers
The school calendar also influences the beginning of the
political, art, fashion and literary seasons. The first political demonstration
of the season was held on September 1st to commemorate the expulsion
of 300 undocumented immigrants from the Saint Bernard church in Paris. As
budget discussions get underway, more political marches will be organized. The 41st Festival
d’Automne with offerings in visual arts, theater, dance, music and film,
begins on September 13th and wraps up just before Christmas. The
Invalides is host to the outdoor opera festival this year with performances of Aïda
beginning Friday, September 7th and running for a week. See my September calendar
for more ideas for enjoying la rentrée and remember to take advantage of the
new weekend Navigo dézonage.
On Saturdays and Sundays, you can now travel anywhere in the Ile de France
region on your Navigo pass. Versailles and Eurodisney just got cheaper.
