French Fun at Calvert

Sunday, September 19, 2010

French is Everywhere!

You don't have to go to France to experience French. As Ninth Agers can tell you, you just need to keep your eyes open and you will soon discover that French is everywhere - it's part of our American culture - in food, art, history, design, sports, science, music, literature ... the list goes on and on. Open your eyes and you will see that French is everywhere!

souvenir from Arby's ... facts about the Eiffel Tower

box top and internet photo of delicious French macaroons

newspaper photo of the Statue of Liberty, gift to the United States from France

storybook picture of a French garden

internet photo of France's soccer team and soccer ball

Monumental Sharing

Many Calvert families were fortunate to spend a part of their summer in Paris. Thanks to two Ninth Age sisters, we were able to get a mini view of some of the famous monuments that they visited while in the City of Lights. As Eighth Agers, the students learned all about these places so it was fun to see the miniature souvenirs.

......Sacre Coeur Cathedral .............................The Eiffel Tower

.............The Opera................................................ Notre Dame Cathedral

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Un, deux, trois ... Spin your wheels!

Seventh Agers had fun with French color words by making color spinning wheels. Once colored, the wheels were attached to background boards and students eagerly spun their wheels and practiced saying the French colors as the arrows landed on the words . Keep spinning students!

Here are the French color words that Seventh Agers know:

rouge bleu vert rose brun gris orange violet jaune noir

Friday, February 26, 2010

International Week

International Week was celebrated in Calvert's Lower School with excitement and anticipation. Students arrived each morning to a colorful entryway of flags from around the world. Each day of the week focused on a different language: French, Spanish, Latin, Chinese, and Arabic. Students and faculty greeted each other throughout the day with the language du jour. Snacks, lunches, and other activities helped to highlight each day's language.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

6th Age Mardi Gras ... Guess Who?

6th Agers had a ball, of the masquerade type, learning about Mardi Gras, wearing beads, and making masks. Several students had plans to eat pancakes for dinner - a Mardi Gras tradition. Do you recognize any of these masked students?!

Laissez les BonsTemps Rouler!

Let the good times roll, indeed! All twenty-six French Club members had a fun time at today's Mardi Gras party donning their Mardi Gras beads, creating Mardi Gras masks and crowns, and playing Mardi Gras Bingo. Afterwards, everyone enoyed some delicious King Cake, cookies, and drinks.

8th Age Mardi Gras

8th Agers eagerly spent today's class time learning about Mardi Gras and some of its traditions and symbols. Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" and it originated as a Christian tradition that came before the forty days of Lent. Mardi Gras is celebrated in many countries around the world and its traditions go back hundreds of years. French settlers brought Mardi Gras to this country. Mardi Gras is such a huge celebration in New Orleans that schools are closed so that children and their families can go to the parades and parties. The three Mardi Gras colors are: purple (justice), gold (power), and green (faith).

Why Study French?

First of all ... learning French is fun!

Ask any Lower School student who is taking French. We sing songs, play games, do fun projects, perform skits, read, write, and speak French. French Club, available to 8th and 10th Age students who are taking French, is one of the Lower School's most popular after-school clubs. After finishing Lower School French, students are well prepared for further study in the Middle School. Calvert French students then go on to place very well at the high school level.

Secondly ... did you know ... ?

French is spoken in 55 countries by over 200 million people.

French and English are the only two languages spoken on five continents.

French is second only to English as the world's most influential language.

French provides the base for over 50% of modern English vocabulary.

Knowledge of French has been shown to enhance performance on standardized tests.

French is one of the official languages of international organizations such as the UN, NATO, UNESCO, the International Olympic Committee, the European Union, and the International Red Cross.

French plays an important role in the national and international job market in disciplines like business, medicine, aviation, law, transportation technologies, global/international distribution, and luxury goods.

French has had an enormous influence on American culture, art, music, fashion, cuisine, architecture, literature, history, philosophy, and language.

FRENCH IS ALL AROUND YOU!!

National French Contest

9th Age French

Classes meet three times a week for thirty minutes. Continued emphasis is placed on listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.
Students learn through stories, skits, songs, games, and various hands-on activities.
Material learned in the 7th and 8th Ages is reviewed and incorporated into this year's topics: numbers 61-100, sports, places, directions, menu vocabulary, ordering expressions, value and use of the euro, transportation, travel vocabulary, and an awareness that French is everywhere (in art, history, dance, music, science, fashion, literature, architecture, politics, sports, consumer goods, the English language, and countries around the world.)

10th Age French

Classes meet three times a week for thirty minutes. Continued emphasis is placed on listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Academic grades are given every other marking period. Students learn through stories, skits, songs, games, and various hands-on activities. Material learned in the 7th, 8th, and 9th Age is reviewed and incorporated into this year's topics: French accents, telling time, dates on a calendar, adjectives, directions, regular "er" verbs in the present tense, irregular verbs "être" and "avoir", how to form the negative, house vocabulary, French holiday customs, and French-speaking countries around the world. Students participate in Le Grand Concours, a national French contest.

More French Fun in Baltimore

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

February and March

Fifth annual Tournée Festival brings seven French feature films to the Homewood campus.

THE CHARLES THEATER

Cinema Sundays

Le Cinémathèque, built in collaboration between La Maison Française at the Embassy of France, the French-American Cultural Foundation and the Charles Theatre, is a French cineclub that provides a great opportunity for Baltimore movie-goers to discover the newest of French films. Indeed, every month - typically the third Tuesday of the month -the program features one of the latest films from France. As a member of Le Cinémathèque (the subscription is FREE), you will be among the first informed of upcoming events and you will enjoy one free film after attending five screenings! Join and discover the latest French movies!

THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART

One of the best Impressionist collections in the country. The internationally renowned Cone Collection of modern art is the crown jewel of the BMA. In the early 20th century, Baltimore sisters Claribel and Etta Cone visited the Paris studios of Henri Matisse and began assembling one of the world’s most important art collections. They acquired an exceptional collection of approximately 3,000 objects, which were displayed in their Baltimore apartments. The highlight is a group of 500 works by Matisse, considered the largest and most significant in the world. The sisters also acquired masterpieces by Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and Vincent Van Gogh.