Recently, Johnson, Legacy of Educational Excellence (LEE) and International School of the Americas (ISA) students participated in la Journée de la Francophonie, a French competition and cultural day, presented by UTSA, the Alliance Française de San Antonio, and the French Consulate from Houston. Hundreds of students from across San Antonio and Houston were in attendance.
Students were able to interact with French-speaking people from around the world who made presentations on film, music and literature from countries where French is a major language. Several booths were set up, allowing students to talk to people from the community and explore job opportunities where they can use their French language skills. There were also organized games of pétanque, Moroccan dancing, a scavenger hunt, and even a Parisian waiter’s race!
“I loved how our students got to experience French culture and try out their language skills," said Kacee Saylors, French teacher at Johnson High School. "They enjoyed meeting people not only from France, but from many different countries around the world.”
Competitive activities included poetry recitation, prose reading, dictation, sight-reading, singing, art, music, and videos. Students of all levels of French were able to gauge their abilities against other students from San Antonio and Houston.
For lunch, students were served crêpes from Sweet Paris Crêperie, a local French restaurant, and they also enjoyed authentic French goodies from Bakerly, a French bread and pastry production facility.
“This event made French real and important," said Elizabeth Smith, French Teacher at LEE High School. "There were so many opportunities presented. The kids just loved it! They really had so much fun."
The following students earned awards!
Intermediate Poetry Recitation:
1st place: Daniel Anderson LEE
2nd place: Chloe Shaw LEE
3rd place: Elliott Pope LEE
Advanced Poetry Recitation:
1st place: Abigail De Leon, Johnson
Beginner Sight-Reading
1st place: Kadiatou Bah, Johnson
Advanced Sight-Reading
1st place: Abigail De Leon, Johnson
Art:
1st place: Karla Chavez, LEE
Beginner Song:
2nd place: Gabriela Osorio, Johnson
Intermediate Song:
2nd place: Luke Woodruff, LEE
Advanced Song:
3rd place: Chloe Gardner, ISA
Intermediate Prose Reading:
3rd place: Tania Boubel, ISA
