Rockdale Citizen

Seventeen students and two chaperones from the Lycee de la Communication in Metz, France are part of the program this year. It has been in effect since 2002. The Magnet students visited France in the fall.

CONYERS -- Nearly 20 students from France are visiting Rockdale County this week.

As part of the French Research Exchange program at the Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology, 17 students and two chaperones from the Lycee de la Communication in Metz, France came to the Conyers school this week to finish up a joint research project.

They arrived Friday and participated in a celebration party and dance on Saturday, following by a breakfast reception on Monday.

On Tuesday, the French students took a walking tour of Olde Town Conyers, including the old jail museum, Center and Commercial streets, Evans Pharmacy and the Depot. On Wednesday, they visited the Martin Luther King Center, Underground Atlanta and the Georgia Institute of Technology campus in Atlanta.

They will present their projects with their Magnet partners today and have a farewell luncheon on Friday.

Some of the students and their families are hosting the French students in their homes, said Laura Harris, project manager at the Magnet School.

Students from the Magnet School visited France in the fall, when they teamed up with French students and toured special sites around the country. This week's events will conclude their joint research projects for the year.

The Magnet students, who have to pay for a portion of the trip, work throughout the year at special events and hold fundraisers to help fund the trip. The trip also is funded by proceeds from the Rockdale Magnet Fund, a parent fundraising organization.

The exchange program has been in effect since 2002, when the Magnet School developed a partnership with the French school to give students the opportunity to work together on research projects and experience traveling abroad, Harris said.