COVID-19 FAQs

Updated 12 February 2021

UPDATE | Following the State Government's announcement that Victoria will enter a 5-day lockdown as of 11.59pm on 12 February:

No children's classes will be held at our St Kilda premises on Saturday 13 February or Wednesday 17 February and replacement classes will be scheduled at the end of the current term. All impacted students have been contacted.
Vin et Fromage on Tuesday 16 February and Café et Conversation on Wednesday 17 February have been cancelled and all participants with bookings have been contacted. Conversation groups from 23 March onwards are scheduled to continue as planned.

We will keep this page updated with any further information as it arises.

Are your premises open? For the time being, our St Kilda and CBD premises will only be open at specific times when classes are taking place. Please note that the Eildon Mansion (main St Kilda building), including the library and the gallery, remains closed to the public until further notice. Any St Kilda in-person courses will take place in our secondary building (The Stables), located to the right as you enter the front gate. Our team is continuing to work remotely and you can contact us by phone on (03) 9525 3463 or by email at reception@afmelbourne.com.au during business hours.

Are your French courses taking place in person or online? Children's courses will recommence at St Kilda from February; Adult & High School courses are continuing online at this stage. We hope to be able to begin running some courses and masterclasses in-person for Adults from late February.

What measures will be put in place to ensure that the premises will be safe for everyone? The health and safety of our students and staff remains our primary concern. To support this:

All classrooms and common areas are being fully cleaned after each day of classes.
Antibacterial wipes and hand sanitiser will be available in all classrooms. On arrival, we ask that all students sanitise their hands before entering the building.
Classrooms will be set up to help students maintain appropriate physical distancing.

My child is starting a Term 1 course at St Kilda. Is there are new drop-off/pick-up procedure? Yes. We thank you in advance for helping us maintain a COVID Safe environment for our students and staff.

Our small carpark is currently closed. For transport and parking options around the school, please click here. You will need to enter the premises by the pedestrian gate on Grey St.
We kindly ask you to drop your child(ren) off at the internal gate, to the right of the main building, without entering the premises. Our teachers will be waiting by the internal gate to direct students to their allocated classroom. In the event that you (parent or guardian) need to enter the premises - only if absolutely necessary - then we kindly ask you to check in using the QR code at the entrance and wear a mask at all times. If this is the case, please limit entrance to one adult only.
You are welcome to wait in the carpark area for your children to finish class, however, there are plenty of cafés and restaurants available around our premises where you can also wait for your children to finish class. We can suggest Miss Jackson Café, Rye and Dough and Fitzrovia which are located just a short walk from our school.
If you have already purchased textbooks, your child’s teacher will have them available for them in class. If you haven’t purchased them yet, you can do so from our reception desk. Please note that our book provider is currently experiencing delays in book shipments due to international postal issues. While we do have a few copies of children books in stock, we are currently awaiting the shipment of the rest of the order. In the meantime, if you have already purchased a book (or do so on the day), your child will be provided with a coloured booklet with copies of the pages they will be using in class for the first 4 weeks of the term.
We kindly ask you to enter the reception area wearing a mask. If there is already a client at reception, please wait outside to ensure there is a maximum of 1 client and 1 staff member at the same time.
If you or your child feels unwell or is experiencing any cold or flu-like symptoms, even if they are very mild, please stay at home.

What will happen to my in-person course if restrictions are heightened again? If restrictions return, we are prepared to transition all in-person courses online.

How can I purchase the required books for my course? Until our premises reopen, we suggest that the most effective way to get your books is by purchasing them directly from Language International Bookshop online or over the phone (03) 9857-0030. Hard copies and digital books are available.

Can I come to Reception at AFM St Kilda or AFM CBD to ask questions, organise my enrolment or purchase books? Please contact us first by phone/email for assistance. Our reception in St Kilda and in the CBD will only be operating during times when classes are taking place on site.

I still have resources that I have borrowed from the library. What do I do with these? If you currently have any resources from the library, please continue to look after them for us and you can return them when we reopen fully. No fines will be added to your account.

In the meantime, all AFM members and current students have access to the Culturethèque (the IF/AF digital library) where you will find thousands of French-language resources that you can enjoy from home - books, magazines, videos, comics, audio books and more! You can find further support for our online courses and suggestions for digital resources on our #EnsembleEnLigne page. Follow us on Facebook & Instagram too for regular recommendations on tools, language resources and French language & culture inspiration!

I requested access to Culturethèque, what do I do now? Hold tight! Please allow a couple of days to have this service activated.

I am interested in joining your book club. Is it still taking place? Our Book Club will be starting again soon! More details to come.

I recently took the DELF/DALF, TEF, TCF or TEFAQ and I have a diploma/certificate to pick up. When can I collect it? If you took an exam in 2019, please contact reception@afmelbourne.com.au to organise a time to collect your documents from our premises in St Kilda. If you took an exam in 2020, diplomas should arrive in Australia in early March – we will be in touch with you once they are available for collection.

Je suis un.e citoyen.ne français.e et je cherche des renseignements. Si vous êtes un.e citoyen.ne français.e et vous désirez des informations sur la situation actuelle du Coronavirus, merci de contacter directement French Assist ou le Consulat au (03) 9690 6075.

If the above information does not answer your question, please send us an email at info@afmelbourne.com.au or call us on 9525 3463 and our team will be happy to assist.

Merci de votre compréhension / Thank you for your understanding.

Alliance Française de Melbourne

COVID-19 FAQs

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