Bonnes Fêtes

Ninth Agers make holiday ornaments with French messages such as: Joyeux Noël, Bonne Année, Paix, Joie, and Joyeux Hannukkah.

Encore, encore!

Middle School French Club gave entertaining performances this week to Pilot, Sixth, and Seventh Age classes, 5th graders, various faculty members, and parents. The two mini plays, Les Trois Ours (The Three Bears) and Le Petit Chaperon Rouge (Little Red Riding Hood) were performed entirely in French and were well received by the audiences. French Club students had worked hard each week since September memorizing their lines, learning their cues and positions on stage, working the curtain, etc. They even spent a Saturday morning painting the set and rehearsing. Madame Havard, retired Calvert French teacher, was seen proudly watching from the audience. A French pastry reception was held afterwards for the actors and their parents. Thank you to Mrs. Kamp for helping with the set and to Isabel C. for helping with the acting and the photography. Bravo tout le monde!

Silhouettes

Did you know that silhouette is a French word? The history of the word comes from the 1700's in France when paper cutouts were popular. At the time, the Finance Minister of France, Etienne de Silhouette , whose hobby was paper cutouts, upset the people by making them pay too many taxes. The people took to the streets dressed all in black and shouted "We are but shadows, no one cares about us. We are merely silhouettes." To this day, the black paper cutouts are called silhouettes. Lower School French Club students made these beautiful silhouette plaques - do you recognize anyone?

A Day for Dolls

Dolls belonging to Seventh Age girls arrived ready and eager to learn French today. Madame Cooke introduced and described each doll, in French, to a captive audience. The girls and their dolls learned a new song about the days of the week. The dolls were very well-behaved. They sat or laid down quietly while the students worked on the day's French assignment; some of the dolls even fell asleep when they heard a French lullabye song.

Matching Game

Seventh Agers play a matching game to help them remember the French words for classroom objects.

la chaise = chair, le drapeau = flag, le tableau = board, la gomme = eraser, le papier = paper, le livre = book, le crayon = pencil

Silhouette Surprise

Wow, those Lower School French Club members sure are busy ! This week they began a special silhouette project. Curious? See these projets fantastiques on display for Grandparents' Day.

Fondue Frenzy

Fondue, which means "melted", in French, originated in the French-speaking region of Switzerland in the early 19th century. Today, fondue is enjoyed by people in many different countries.

Lower School French Club had lots of fun today as they dipped fruit, bread, marshmellows, chips, and pretzels into two delicious fondues - melted chocolate and melted cheese. No need for dinner tonight!

Merci à Madame Pinkard, Isabelle, Anne, et aussi Madame Whitman - for all of your help chopping, stirring, tasting, taking photos, and cleaning up!