PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Spring 2007
Chers collègues,
Heureux printemps à tous! As the school year comes to a close, we have been reflecting on our first two years as your co-presidents. It has been a very exciting time for us and, we hope, for all our members. We are pleased to have organized, with the help of our executive council and our other officers, meaningful events for teachers and Francophiles. These events include a presentation by Roseni Gabrielle speaking about culture and politics in Haiti, the Journée Francophone at Widener University, Lynn Miller’s book signing and lecture on French Philadelphia: The French Cultural & Historical Presence in the Delaware Valley at Rosemont College, Janel Lafond-Paquin’s workshop on teaching Le Petit Prince, and Susan Zeager and Marie-Laure Chemin’s sharing session on Teaching French Through Music at MLAPV. Our special thanks go to members who shared music at MLAPV and to all our presenters who have entertained and inspired us this year. We hope to continue to offer varied opportunities for professional development.
Félicitations to our Grand Concours winners and their teachers who continue to encourage them. We hope to see all of you at the Distribution des Prix at Chestnut Hill College, May 16.
Amitiés,
Elaine Danford
Kim Marucci
Election Results
As a result of the Philadelphia AATF chapter elections held in March, Kim Marucci and Elaine Danford have been re-elected to serve as co-presidents; Susan LeDieu has been elected vice-president; and Joanne Silver has been re-elected to serve as Secretary-Treasurer.
Listserv Notice
Our listserv is intended exclusively for National and Philadelphia Chapter members. If you know somebody who would like to be on the listserv, please “pitch” the benefits of complete membership! The AATF welcomes new members!
We send reminders of meetings and other events, as well as news that has not been included in the most recent newsletter. To read the complete Listserv Policy, go to 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 to josilver@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
A Letter from our Regional Representative
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to congratulate you on a job well done! You have set a new record in Region IV in the number of participants in the Grand Concours. For the third consecutive year, you have had the distinction in placing first, nationally. Out of the 103 and some students who competed on the national level, Region IV accounts for 20,348. Chapeau !
This stellar performance entitles our Region for two STAR awards of $500 each. Please refer to www.teachers.org for eligibility rules and application details. Have your students send their application to me before May 1st at the following address:
Alice K. CATALDI, 59 Alice Drive, Felton, DE 19943
Our thanks go to the Contest Administrators who have invested countless hours to make this activity such a huge success. Merci à Charlene Lambert, Joyce Strojny, Lorna Wingate, Tammy Wubbenhorst, Virginie Gournet, Margaret Corgan, Sister Mary Helen Kashuba, Bonnie Youngs, Connie Mears, and Debbie Bartle as well as the many teachers who succeeded in motivating their students to engage in this competition.
Congratulations are also in order to the teachers who won Summer Study grants. They are: Suzanne Stadnicki and Susan Blackburn from West Chester, PA; Jennifer Ferrence from Ligonier, PA; Seung Yoon from Haworth, NJ; and Maren Herzog from Arlington, VA. The winner of the Walter Jensen scholarship is also from our Region. Nicole Atkinson from Norfolk, VA won $15,000 for Study Abroad.
These positive results are a reflection of your hard work and dedication. Your work is, however, incomplete if you do not publicize the good news. Be sure to hold an award ceremony to let the school community and the community at large know how French is thriving. Make every effort to have the results appear in the local newspapers. Making the success of your students known gets you the support you need to continue your work. It is also a positive step toward counteracting the negative publicity that has been linked with French much like the proverbial albatross. I am confident that the tide will turn soon. I was jubilant to view the segment on nuclear power as a viable source of energy in France on the popular show “60 minutes” last evening! It definitely portrayed France and the French as technologically superior and scientifically creative. It was sweet music to my heart! This leads me to an important point: Let’s make sure to present France as the country of the TGV, Airbus, Ariane, Catnom and so on. The information is available on line. Croissants and confiture don’t seem to cut it anymore!
As we look ahead to the summer months, let me know what your concerns and priorities are so that I may add them to the list to be considered by the Executive Council in July. Also, do make every effort to attend the AATF Conference in Baton Rouge. Although il y fait une chaleur étouffante en juillet, l’accueil des Louisianais est très chaleureux ! I have met many of you in Québec and even many more in Milwaukee. I look forward to visiting with even many more in Baton Rouge.
Once again, félicitations, un grand merci et à bientôt.
Alice K. CATALDI
AATF Region IV Representative
French is alive and well in the Philadelphia area
In conjunction with the 15th anniversary of its founding, the French International School of Philadelphia celebrated the acquisition of its second school building at a dedication ceremony held in the presence of the French Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Jean-David Levitte, on Thursday, January 25. Also in attendance were the Honorable Jean-Pierre Allex-Lyoudi, Consul général de France à Washington; Jean Lachaud, Conseiller à l'Assemblée des Français de l'étranger; and Philippe Sauret, Attaché culturel, Chef du service des Etablissements français.
Following a selection of songs performed in French and English by the students, Head of School Pascale Davidson addressed the gathering, which included many parents of the 264 students currently enrolled. Also present were a portion of the school's 33 faculty members, of whom 22 are French.
With a giant photograph of the new building as a backdrop, she detailed the steps leading up to its purchase and explained that with this new facility the school can look forward to growing to 400 students during the coming years. The new site has been configured as an Upper School and houses grades five through eight. In 1997, the school purchased its first building, which is now the Lower School for students in preschool through eighth grade. The two locations are within walking distance of each other.
Mr. Eric Orts, chairman of the school's Board of Trustees, spoke of the school's preparedness for a second purchase and the support it is receiving from generous corporate, foundation, and individual donors. Named rooms and a donor recognition plaque were unveiled and are now on display at the school. The fund raising campaign for the school's expansion is organized around the theme, "an international school for an international city." So far, more than $325,000 has been raised toward the goal of $500,000 to help offset the costs of renovating the building and to replenish the school's reserve funds.
"It is important to note that this expansion campaign benefits the school at every level," Mr. Orts said. "More space at both locations means we have the ability to accommodate our enrollment growth. This new campus will allow us not only to develop our Middle School, but also to accept a greater number of applicants in preschool and kindergarten." The campaign, which was launched in the spring, will continue through June 30, 2007. "I encourage you to participate in this effort and to be as generous as possible," he concluded.
Mr. Orts' comments were followed by those of Michael E. Scullin, Honorary Consul of France in Philadelphia and Wilmington, who introduced the Ambassador. His Excellency took note of the vision, the strategy, and the need for acquiring this new facility. Speaking in English, he said, "That the Board of this school has decided to expand EFIP with the aim of opening a new Upper School is clear evidence that there is a need for a larger French International School, not only for the 4,000 French people living in Philadelphia but also for the diverse community of this big city." After he spoke, the entire eighth grade class took the stage and joined Mrs. Davidson, Mr. Orts and the Ambassador, who cut the ceremonial red ribbon to officially inaugurate the school.
A reception and tour of the new facility took place immediately following the official program.
Honors
Suzanne Stadnicki and Susan Blackburn have received AATF scholarships for summer study in Quebec. Suzanne will study at the Université de Montréal, and Susan will study at the Université Laval.
Marie-Laure Chemin has received the Professional Development Award from the Philadelphia Chapter of AATF. This award will be used to support her attendance at a professional conference of her choice.
Barbara P. Barnett, Head of Modern Languages at the Agnes Irwin School and member of the Conseil exécutif of the Philadelphia chapter of the AATF, will receive the decoration Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques on May 18. His Excellency Jean-David Levitte, Ambassador of France to the United States and former diplomatic advisor to President of the Republic Jacques Chirac, will do the honors. Ambassador Levitte, a career diplomat and an officer of the Legion of Honor, was France’s permanent representative to the United Nations before becoming French Ambassador to the United States in 2002. He holds a degree in Law and is a graduate of the Institute of Political Science and the National School of Oriental Languages where he studied Chinese and Indonesian.
Mme Barnett, a teacher of French at Agnes Irwin for thirty-five years, has received multiple research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the United States Department of Education. She has interviewed French Holocaust survivors, “hidden children”, historians and members of the Resistance, as well as Christian rescuers, and consulted archival collections at the Centre de Documentation juive contemporaine in Paris and the United State Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. She has shared her work on Vichy France with other language teachers and presented workshops at numerous conferences throughout the United States, including the Northeast Conference, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, the American Association of Teachers of French, the Southern Council of Language Teachers, the Florida Foreign Language Association and the Southwestern Council of Language Teachers. She has co-directed two documentary films on France and World War II and authored the book Visages de la Shoah: Marcel Jabelot (the moving story of one French Holocaust survivor).
The Palmes académiques (Academic Palms), a decoration established in 1808 by Napoléon Bonaparte, recognizes those who have advanced the cause of French culture, education and the arts. Napoléon appreciated the importance of education and established the honorary titles of Chevalier, Officier and Commandeur as awards for devotion and accomplishment in the areas of teaching scholarship, and research. The Palmes académiques are awarded to those who have actively contributed to the expansion of French culture throughout the world. Whether in the arts or the sciences, these distinctions have been a cherished award for almost two hundred years. It is the most prestigious honor a scholar or academician can receive from the French Government.
Félicitations !!!
For your information
AATF Baton Rouge Conference July 12-15, Barbara Barnett and Joanne Silver will present “France Under the German Occupation: Memoirs, Movies and Music.” The presentation will focus on teaching language in an historical context that speaks to today’s current global events, through the use of memoirs, survivor testimonies, films and period music. The AATF Materials Center has seven promotional and teaching VHS/DVDs available for purchase. Details and ordering information are at www.frenchteachers.org and in the National Bulletin.
National AATF advises members to look over the Advocacy information at www.frenchteachers.org. Email Tennessee Bob at bobp@utm.edu for more information.
The Summer Concert Series at St. Thomas' Church in Fort Washington, PA, is happy to announce that French carillonneur, Charles Daitry of Orchies, France, will perform on the 48 cast bell carillon on July 3, 2007. For more information, please call 215-780-1280 or e-mail LLonie@hotmail.com.
The French version of the book French Philadelphia will be published in June 2007. Philadelphie à la française : la présence culturelle et historique des Français dans la vallée de la Delaware by Lynn H. Miller & Annette H. Emgarth, will provide a unique way of teaching language in context, not only through text and color photographs, but actual visits to nearby sites! For further information, contact Beach Lloyd Publishers, LLC (BEACHLLOYD@erols.com) or the Alliance Française de Philadelphie (alliance@afphila.com).
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Calendar of Events
Wednesday, May 16 7 p.m.
Distribution des Prix at Chestnut Hill College, Sorgenti Arena in Martino Hall. Winners in the Grand Concours, their teachers, school administrators and families are welcome.
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July 12-15
AATF Annual Convention in Baton Rouge.
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November 5-11
National French Week.
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November 16-18
ACTFL in San Antonio.
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