French Fun at Calvert

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Joan of Arc

10th Agers have been learning about some well-known French people from history. Joan of Arc, is considered a national heroine in France, lived from 1412 to 1431. She was a peasant girl who led the French army to several victoiries against the English during the Hundred Years War, paving th eway for teh crowning of Charles VII. She was captured and burned at the stake at age 19. Years later, she became a saint in the Catholic Church. She is one of the patron saints of France.
This week, the story of Joan of Arc will be performed in French at Baltimore's Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. January will mark the 600th anniversary of her birth.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

http://quizlet.com/_91xa

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Bon Appétit!

Mousse au chocolat is a very popular French dessert - a light and fluffy version of pudding. Mousse, which means foam, originated in France in the 18th century.
French Club members were busy today whipping up this delicious after-dinner treat for their families. Everyone took home fancy cups filled with chocolate mousse, complete with a silver tray and a Bon Appétit! message.

Merci à Isabelle et Anne pour l'assistance.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

French Canadian Song

This week 8th Agers will be learning about a traditional French Canadian song called À la Claire Fontaine. This popular French ballad was adapted by Voyageurs, French Canadian fur traders that used the waterways of Canada and the upper Midwest of the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Voyageurs are legendary, especially in French Canada, and are celebrated in folklore and music.

Canoe Manned by Voyageurs Passing a Waterfall, 1869
by Canadian artist Frances Anne Hopkins

Facts About France

Here are some 10th Age students to tell you some facts about France:

The Magic of the Moment

7th Agers have been learning about French Impressionist, Claude Monet. With a few minutes to spare at the end of class, the students asked if they could draw their own versions of Monet's paintings. Here is what they drew with a moment's notice, magnifique!

Quelle est ta saison favorite?

7th Agers know their favorite season, what's yours?

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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.