In May 2026, 10 Westminster students journeyed to France for the inaugural visit of an exchange program with our new partner school, La Salle Sainte Marie Nemours. La Salle Sainte Marie is a private K–12 school located in the beautiful town of Nemours, just an hour south of Paris.

This exciting opportunity was the first trip to France for Westminster students since 2023, and, more importantly, the coming to fruition of a six-year search for a new partner school after the Covid pandemic unfortunately ended a budding relationship with Lycée St. Vincent in Senlis, France.

Since 2015, Westminster's French program and Head of Student Development, Dr. Dani Butler, have sought to make living with a host family and student the first priority and focal point of cross-cultural trips to France. The reason for this is that at Westminster we strongly believe that the host family provides unique and exceptional avenues to develop relationships, experience firsthand more of the richness of God's cultural creation, and gain proficiency in the French language. The direct personal exchanges between our students and their host families and wider host school community truly give Westminster students the opportunity to engage the world and change it for Jesus Christ.

 

"This first trip to Nemours fulfilled, and indeed overflowed, our hopes and prayers for this new exchange with La Salle Sainte Marie Nemours," says Upper School French teacher Peter Barrs. "We received abundant and even overwhelming hospitality from our host families: French food, group events like pool parties organized by the host families, outings to restaurants, the Louvre, EuroDisney, more French food, long conversations, and even more French food. It was a welcome engagement from the wider school community and student body that made us feel like royalty, including a barbecue in our honor the last Friday evening to which the entire junior and senior classes were invited, and even an entire morning time of learning and exchange prepared and hosted personally by the Mayor of Nemours, followed, of course, by a sumptuous lunch reception!"

In addition to their time with their host families and at La Salle Sainte Marie, our students took three full-day trips to Paris to visit cultural sites, ascend the Eiffel Tower, walk the avenues of Paris, learn to navigate the wonderful Paris Metro, and browse the famous Galéries Lafayette.

 

We are incredibly grateful to M. Vincent Devulder, the Head of School of La Salle Sainte Marie Nemours, and to the host families who so richly blessed our students and faculty. And we are excited to have the opportunity to return that blessing with the arrival of La Salle Sainte Marie Nemours at Westminster this fall, including 15 French students, M. Devulder, and a colleague.

 

HR

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