| PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Chers collègues,
September is here, and we are all back in school. We hope you have enjoyed a very
productive and rejuvenating summer. As we begin the new school year, we wish you
continued success and growth.
As usual, the officers and members of the Executive Council have been busy. Some
attended the Congrès in Liège; some presented programs that they will share with our
chapter members this year. All have been busy planning the AATF 2008-2009 program of
activities. We hope that you will find something of interest to you personally and
professionally. Please plan to join us on September 27 for our first program of the new
school year.
We are in our final year as your chapter officers. A call for nominations will appear in
the winter newsletter. We encourage you to consider running for office. If you would like
to know about the duties of officers, we will be happy to discuss them with you at the fall
meeting.
We look forward to working with all of you and wish you bon courage and a bonne année
scolaire.
Amitiés,
Kim Marucci
Elaine Danford
Listserv
Our listserv is exclusively for members of both National and Philadelphia Chapter AATF.
We send reminders of meetings and other events, as well as news that has not been included
in the most recent newsletter. The complete Listserv Policy is on our site,
www.aatfphila.org. The listserv complements the website, and sometimes reinforces it.
Members can request that open French positions be posted. If you are not on the listserv
and would like to be included, please send a message toBEACHLLOYD@erols.com . And of
course, if you would like to be removed or have your e-mail changed, you have that option.
— Joanne Silver, Secretary-Treasurer AATF Philadelphia
Fall events
The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers
of French invites you to its fall conference:
GIRL IN THE BELGIAN RESISTANCE:
A Wakeful Eye in the Underground
Speaking out on “the way it was”
This expanded presentation of the highly acclaimed session at the July, 2008, AATF
Congrès in Liège, Belgium, will feature the author of this compelling memoir who will
recount, en français, her experiences in the Belgian underground during World War II.
Emily Wagner will offer suggestions on how to adapt the story for use in the French
classroom. A book signing will follow. (The special conference price for the book will be
$20.00, and the book/dvd combo will be $28.00)
Saturday, September 27, 2008
9:30 a.m. to noon
Braun Study Hall
Germantown Academy
presenters:
Fernande Davis, former résistante and former French teacher;
Emily Wagner, French teacher at Germantown Academy;
Joanne Silver, former French teacher and manager of Beach Lloyd Publishers LLC
2 Act 48 credits available
To help us prepare (and take a chance on winning the door prize –
an autographed copy of Girl in the Belgian Resistance),
R.s.v.p. by September 15 to Emily.Wagner@germantownacademy.org
This presentation may be of interest to others (e.g. history teachers) as well, and they are most welcome.
While this conference is free to members of the Philadelphia AATF Chapter, we ask that non-members>
contribute $10.00 to attend.
The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French is pleased to
announce that tickets are now available for
THE ARDEN THEATRE COMPANY’S PRODUCTION
OF
THE FRENCH SATIRE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, PHILOSOPHER VOLTAIRE’S
CANDIDE
For area students at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Haas Stage of the Arden Theatre
40 North Second Street, Philadelphia
Adapted from Voltaire’s classic and featuring one of Leonard Bernstein’s most legendary
scores, the Arden’s bold production will star three of Philadelphia’s finest musical theater
talents: Ben Dibble as Candide, Scott Greer as Dr. Pangloss, and Mary Martello as The Old
Woman (with one buttock) in a musical satire with a wicked sense of comedy, a palpable
sense of danger, and a daring set and unique seating configuration that places the audience
in the middle of the action.
Additional information:
Length: The show will last about 2 ½ hours, with a post-show question and answer session.
Age appropriateness: The show is adapted very heavily from the Voltaire original (including the sections that deal with rape and the loss of appendages due to sexually transmitted
diseases, etc.). The production maintains the satire but it will be best for high school
students familiar with the source material.
Ticket price: $15.00 per attendee
Show run: If you cannot make the student show, you may purchase tickets for other
performances: September 11 - October 12, 2008
Reservations and further information: Sally Wojcik, Education Director
swojcik@ardentheatre.org (215-922-8900)
MAKE YOUR ARRANGEMENTS SOON! SEATING IS LIMITED!
www.ardentheatre.org
National French Week, November 5-11
Wednesday, November 5.
Celebrate National French Week with family, friends and French teacher colleagues! We will
host a French dinner with cheese and wine at Spring Mill Café in Conshohocken. The
projected cost will be $40 (AATF members) or $50 (non-members). Please watch for
further information.
Le Grand Concours
Have you been a supporter of the National French Contest for many years? Or have you
abandoned it for one reason or another? Or have you never heard of the Grand Concours?
Are you a French teacher K-12? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, this article
is for you. Read on…
Over 100,000 American students in the US and abroad take this test. About 10,000 are
national winners, and some 30,000 more receive honors in their local chapters. The
Philadelphia Chapter has 3,000 participants, and about 50% have received honors. The
National French Contest helps to prepare students for the AP, for college placement exams,
and for DELF/DALF. Did you know that:
- The French Contest is reworked every year, to make it compatible with current
pedagogy. Grammar items now appear in context, not in isolated sentences. The
oral comprehension uses short exchanges, with age-appropriate voices. Culture is
imbedded in context, not in random questions.
- The French Contest is not an elitist activity. Every student can receive an honor.
There is now a new certificate, le certificat de réussite, for students in the top
50th percentiles. You do not need to drill your students after school; your class
instruction is sufficient. All students of French are eligible, although AATF members have several advantages. The Concours provides for all levels and
schedules.
- The Contest helps to publicize success in French, thus contributing to higher
enrollments.
Would you like more information?
- Call Sister Mary Helen Kashuba, Local Administrator, at 215-248-7124, or e-mail
kashubam@chc.edu.
- Consult the AATF website: www.frenchteachers.org/concours or www.aatfphila.org
for more information
- Talk to any of the AATF Executive Board Members, or to a colleague who has
participated in Le Grand Concours. We hope to hear from you soon!
Teacher Tips
DISH Network is launching Radio France International, the leading French international
radio news network broadcasting nonstop 24 hours a day and 7 days a week in French,
throughout the world. Its programs are built around news bulletins giving a complete
panorama of international news, providing a French and European analysis of events,
together with general subjects and specific focus about politics, economy, culture, sport,
education and linguistic topics especially concerning the French language. RFI | DISH |
Network.
Marie Barrillon, a French English (ESL) teacher in a high school in Rueil-Malmaison in the
suburbs of Paris, wishes to participate in a Fulbright exchange program for the academic
year 2009-2010. She is looking for a high school teacher of French who would be
interested in exchanging jobs for a year.
For further information, please contact:
Marie Barrillon
Lycée Richelieu
62, rue George Sand
92500 Rueil Malmaison
FRANCE
AATF Dues
For 2009 AATF national membership dues will be $55 for regular members and local dues
will be $8. Membership renewal invoices and national election ballots will be mailed in
September. Remember, membership is from Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 of each year. |
Calendar of Events
Saturday, September 27, 9:30 to 12:00
GIRL IN THE BELGIAN RESISTANCE: a Wakeful Eye in the Underground, a presentation by the author Fernande
Davis and French teacher Emily Wagner. Braun Study Hall, Germantown Academy. 2 Act 48 Credits available. |
Tuesday, October 7, 10:00 a.m.
CANDIDE performance for students at the Arden Theater |
Friday and Saturday, October 17-18
World Languages: Stronger than Steel, PSMLA, Radisson Hotel Greentree, Pittsburgh. Deadline for Registration:
September 26. |
November 5-11
National French Week. |
Wednesday, November 5
Celebrate National French Week with family, friends and French teacher colleagues! Dinner with wine and cheese
tasting at Spring Mill Café in Conshohocken. |
November 21–23
ACTFL in Orlando. |
January 24, 2009 ( snow date January 31), 10 a.m.
Immigration conference, Michael Kline, Immaculata University. |
April 16-18, 2009
NECTFL in New York City. |
July 2-5, 2009
AATF Congrès Annuel in San Jose, California |
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