| Printable pdf - WINTER 2012 |
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Presidents’ Message |
Félicitations! As you all probably already know, our own Sister Mary Helen Kashuba has been elected President of the National Chapter of the AATF beginning in 2013. The entire membership of the Philadelphia Chapter wishes her bon courage as she eases herself into her new responsibilities. We are well aware of her extraordinary competence and dedication, and are not surprised that she has been entrusted with such a significant position.On Saturday, January 28 at Germantown Academy we were treated to two engaging presentations by Marie-Catherine Glaser and Pierre-Antoine Chatelain of the Educational Services of the French Embassy. Marie-Catherine Glaser shared the rich and varied Embassy resources available to teachers of French in the U.S. The overall objective of this service is la promotion de la langue française et des cultures francophones. The following are some highlights and web sites that Marie-Catherine shared with us.
Le Grand Concours As you know, the Grand Concours (National French Contest) is coming up and the deadline for registration is upon us. Please see the local chapter website for dates and contact kashubam@chc.edu, our local administrator. If your students have never entered the contest, do look into it. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose except an opportunity to shine and be recognized. The dates for administering the Concours in your respective schools will be from March 1–March 8, 2012. FLES dates are February 15–28, 2012. La Distribution des Prix will be on Thursday, May 17 at 7 p.m. Spring Program Please note that our final program of this academic year is in conjunction with the MLAPV Spring conference on March 24, at Chestnut Hill College. Again we are fortunate to have as our presenter, Rebecca Hoenig from the Philadephia Museum of Art, who will speak to us on Van Gogh Up Close. Awards and Stipends Please check the website for the criteria and eligibility for both of the following:
Outreach in the Community The AATF always strives to be involved with the greater community. Our EC member, Rochelle Ostroff-Weinberg of Friends Central, initiated a program working with residents of the Inglis House of Philadelphia, a home for the disabled. Motivated by an initial contact with one of the home's residents named Peter, Rochelle brought each of her five French classes to Inglis House to perform, sing, and converse with a captivated audience. Mme Ostroff-Weinberg comments: At the end of the performances, each class sings Aux Champs-Elysées, full of joie-de-vivre! And the residents have been singing parts of the song with us! One of her students added: We loved seeing the smiles on everyone's faces and their excitement. Our presentation showed them that there are people outside of their family that care about them and want them to experience something that they can't get every day. They clearly have a passion for the French language and culture, and I think they were thrilled that we were able to marry those two things into a cohesive, energetic, and engaging performance. Hats off to Rochelle and her students for using French as a channel of caring to the residents of Inglis House We wish you all a productive rest of the year and encourage you to communicate any ideas to us that will contribute to further our mission. We are indeed happy to see that there are a variety of French themed films that were recognized at the Golden Globes and that are on the slate for the Academy Awards in multiple categories: Midnight in Paris, Tintin, Hugo, The Artist (best actor, Jean Dujardin and best actress in a supportive role, Bérénice Dejo), and the Canadian film Monsieur Lashar up for Best Foreign film. This kind of buzz helps to invigorate our students' passion for their French courses. Vive le français! * * * * * * * * Amitiés, Co-Presidents rdavis@agnesirwin.org & susanledieu@gmail.com * * * * * * * *
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