By Dee Allison William Monroe Middle School
Published: May 8, 2008

During Spring Break (March 23-31) four William Monroe Middle School students and one William Monroe High School student, accompanied by parents and grandparents enjoyed a nine day trip to Paris, France.  The trip was organized and led by Mrs. Dee Allison, French teacher at WMMS.  The participants were Kelly Crawford, her mother Deana Crawford, her grandmother Margil Coyner, Tyler Lanciano, his mother Dawn Cooper, Samantha Powell, her mother Gloria Yager, Sidney Durham, her father Trey Durham, Kristen Morris, her mother Anita Dunnivan, Teresa Walker, a teacher at WMMS , her husband, Jim Walker, her mother Lucille Flippo, and Roe Allison, Mrs. Allison’s husband.  On the day of arrival the group had lunch in Montmartre , visited the Sacré Coeur church, and dined at a restaurant on the Avenue Champs Elysées.  The following day a local guide led the group on a bus tour to see the city’s most famous monuments including Notre Dame Cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe, and Les Invalides,where Napoleon is buried.  Evening activities included a boat ride down the Seine and an elevator ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  The group took two full-day excursions outside of Paris.  The first was to the Loire Valley to visit the chateaux of Chambord and Chenonceaux, where French kings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance spent their summers.  The group had lunch in the quaint town of Amboise.  The second excursion was to Chartres Cathedral, the best known example of gothic architecture, and Louis XIV’s palace of Versailles.  In Paris the group visited the Louvre Museum, home of the Mona Lisa and the Musee D’Orsay, a former train station which houses Impressionist art.  There were several free afternoons and one entire free day to explore the beautiful and fascinating city of light.  Some members of the group enjoyed a fabulous lunch at the Michelin starred Jules Verne restaurant on the Eiffel Tower.
On the first free afternoon Mrs. Allison, her husband, Tyler Lanciano , a 7th grade student, and his mother took the RER train to the suburb of Igny.  They enjoyed a four hour lunch at the home of Anne-Marie Petillon a recently retired English teacher at the middle school, Collège Saint Nicolas in Igny.  Mrs. Allison and Mrs. Petillon have sponsored a pen pal correspondence for their students since 2002.  When Mrs. Petillon retired last February, a new teacher , Laetitia Compiegne began the pen pal exchange with Mrs. Allison.  Mrs. Compiegen visited the group at Mrs. Petillon’s home along with her 3 year old daughter and new baby, only two weeks old.