French students and French Club members plan to go to the Art Institute of Chicago on April 20. The trip will cost $35, and is available for only 20 members, according to French teacher Andrew Yocum. Students will visit the Picasso exhibit to study surrealism and will later go to a French restaurant.

French students are also currently writing to penpals currently at a school in Haiti. The letter exchange started in order to communicate to students in Haiti and to offer aid to their school. Yocum said students are currently looking at the second response given by their pen pals in Haiti.

Yocum said that students write about daily life in their letters and ask questions to students in Haiti. “The main purpose is that students in Carmel are able to learn about Haiti. They are able to see the differences between life, home and school, and realize how lucky they are.” Additionally, as part of the writing, the school will donate money to help the students in Haiti.

Morgan Allen, French IV student and senior, said she enjoys writing to a pen pal. “It’s interesting to see a new culture’s point of view,” Allen said. She also said writing letters was helpful in learning French. “By writing my own letters, it helps me with grammar and writing. The French in Haiti is different than the French we learn in class, so I get to learn a different dialect,” Allen said. According to Allen, her favorite part of writing letters was getting a response back, sometimes with pictures and crafts.