In addition to the bell, the college named the office room after Léon Marchand. A way for the principal to transmit the values of Olympism to the students.
It is a refrain that has punctuated the summer of the French, and which continues to brighten the days of the students of the Jean-Macé college in Villeurbanne (Rhône). This establishment has made the Olympic anthem its new ringtone to mark break times and the end of classes. An initiative that pleases teenagers.
“She brings a bit of a wake-up call, a smile, and I like it,” says Érine, a 5th grade student, to BFM Lyon.
Same opinion for one of his 4th grade classmates who remembers an old ringtone that was less pleasant. “It’s better than the other ringtone where when you arrived you didn’t want to go out, it was a bit aggressive, while this one is quite a nice melody,” Kais thinks.
“It embodies the values that we want to transmit”
In addition to the bell, a duty room has been decorated in the colours of the sports competition and now bears the name of swimmer Léon Marchand. Small adjustments which, according to the head of the establishment, can play on the motivation of the middle school students.
“It embodies the values that we want to transmit to students, those of commitment, perseverance and ambition against social, territorial or gender assignments, to tell students that everything is possible,” explains Vincent Noel, principal of the college.
To continue to keep the spirit of the Olympic Games alive, two other rooms will soon be renamed to pay tribute to Olympic or Paralympic athletes.
And it is the students who will choose their name. Some think of the judoka Teddy Riner, the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif or the Lyon footballer Alexandre Lacazette.
Lauriane Pelao with Emilie Roussey