As a teacher, you know it's bad when multiple students mention your lack of blogging activity... I have subsequently been shamed into a public apology to my readers, who are more numerous than I previously thought! To quote my ever-penitent seniors, "Je suis désolée!" In my own defense, my long silence is attributed to my busy schedule this year. Between teaching, clubs and class advising, I have personally felt the difference between "très" and "trop occupée..." 

Today I stumbled across something truly exceptional that recently hit the Internet. Former actor and famous photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand has compiled some amazing areal footage of Parisian monuments and daily life into a 15 minute video "Paris vu du ciel" (Paris, view/seen from the sky). I wanted to pass it along to you all. In the background, there is also an impressive and eclectic mix of French music, old and new, that I am sure my students will love as well. 

It's Bastille Day! Let's take a moment to celebrate France's national holiday! I am sure there will be quite a few 'défilés' with the participation of 'la foule', 'des feux d'artifice', and 'des drapeaux' in the streets today! :-)

Don't forget to check out my blog or the high school website for information on the 2011 Europe trip!

"Aux armes, citoyens..."

Mme

Well it finally happened!

Tonight a ConnectEd call was sent out to everyone, alerting you all to the possibility of a trip to Europe in July 2011. I have been working on this for quite a while, and the Northbridge administration and School Committee members were gracious enough to give it their stamp of approval. I am thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our NHS students; NO ONE deserves it more than they do, and it is a fantastic way to experience things firsthand that you learn every day in our language classrooms.

Salut tout le monde, et bon été!

I decided to take a quick break from my cornhole practice (teaching in this district has made me addicted to that game!) to say hello to you all, give you an update on my summer and pass along some interesting French news bites. I have been keeping busy working with our new textbooks and updating the program curriculum, as well as moving across the hall into Mademoiselle Sweeney's old classroom. I am loving the fact that I can sleep in past 5, and to relax, I have been steadily working my way through the BBC's 100 Books. If THAT information isn't enough to make 99% of my students roll their eyes, I will further expound upon how uncool I am by saying that I am currently midway through Charles Dickens' "Bleak House" and I like it very much! The way Dickens created this book reminds me of the French writer Honoré de Balzac. (look him up, mes chers!) However, my next post on the site will be regarding my BIG project of the past few months, but more on that later... let's look at France in the news...

Mes amis,

When I decided 2 years ago to leave the university sector and make the jump to teaching in a high school, I crossed my fingers that I was making the right choice for myself. I had always preferred teaching my classes at BU to researching and writing at the graduate level, but I did not know if I could handle 5 classes a day, as opposed to my usual 1 or 2 sessions each afternoon. I also wondered how my teaching style and priorities would be received by young adolescents... would I still be able to discuss American Idol with them as I had at the university?

The answer to that last question is a big fat NO (American Idol is not “cool” at this level, malheureusement) but I have discovered, over the last year at NHS, that my decision to come here was the best I could have made for myself. Looking back over the past 8 months, it is astounding to think of the progress that has been made by my students, my department, and the French program as a whole since I last posted those silly “Avez-vous deja vu?” videos on the French website so long ago. It is the students I owe the most to; I have the greatest respect for them all. They adjusted not only to a new Madame this year, but also to a new textbook series, a new method of teaching, a new format for testing, and a new set of expectations to fulfill. They all rose to the occasion tremendously.