OHS Celebrates National French Week
by Kristin Redburn
November 16, 2007
The American Association of Teachers of French sponsored the annual National French Week-La Semaine du Français from November 5-11. French teachers across the nation took language and culture out of the classroom and into their communities during this week, the purpose of which is to celebrate the contributions of France and the French-speaking world to civilization, science, fashion, cuisine, art, music, literature and other areas. Other global goals of National French Week are to demonstrate the viability of learning French as a second language, to celebrate French-speaking heritage in the US and around the world, and to highlight student achievement in French. A major language of the 21st century, French is spoken by more than 200 million people in 43 countries around the world.
French students at Oswego High School together with their French teacher, Kris Redburn, planned and carried out various activities during the week.
Each day began with the date and day read in French over the intercom. On November 5 the French 1 classes painted French greetings and sayings on the sidewalk and doors in front of the school. French students also designed and hung French signs to identify each classroom in the school.
Also on Monday students enjoyed a French meal at lunch time. They ate Champignons Farcis (stuffed mushrooms), Soupe à l’ail (garlic soup), Dinde à la greque (Turkey Greek style), riz (rice), salade, pain (bread), Gougères (cheese puffs), Crème caramel (caramel custard), l’eau aux fraises(strawberry infusions) among other delicious treats. Students in charge of planning the meal were member of the French 3 class.
The art committee sponsored a class competition to decorate their seminar door with a French theme. The winning class was the Junior Class. Their door was made to resemble an authentic French café. Other classes chose the Eiffel Tower, Pepe le Pieu, and other cafes. The art committee also sponsored an art trivia question each day.The Science/Technology and Careers committee sponsored a French scavenger hunt in seminar class. The winners were the sophomore class.
Thanks go out to many people for contributing to the successful week. Thanks to Mrs. Bray for the use of her room for the meal, and to Tracy Fuller for her patience with the announcements. Thanks go out to our custodian, Darrell Franklin, and to all OHS students for their participation and support of these French activities.
