Grade 8 Archives - Page 2 of 15 - Berkshire Country Day School

Mois de la Francophonie, How Will We Celebrate at BCD?

Bonjour tout le monde!

What is the Mois de la Francophonie, you ask? The goal of La Francophonie Month, organized each year around the world, is to promote the French language in the context of cultural diversity, as well as to support dialogue and bringing together people, groups and communities interested in the Francophonie. 33 million people in the Americas live and radiate the French language around them.

We will celebrate La Francophonie Month at BCD in several ways, starting off with a crepe-making ‘atelier’ on Friday, February 1, with grades 4-8. My husband & local chef, Benjamin, will help us to assemble our ingredients and share the technique to making a perfectly thin and delicious crepe! …more details to follow, to be distributed by email per grade.

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Another way in which students will celebrate Francophonie month is by participating in an international ‘Slam poetry’ competition, called ‘Slame tes Accents’. Through this competition, the Center of Francophonie des Ameriques aims “to highlight the diversity of French accents hosted by the Americas, to highlight the vitality and dynamism of the Francophonie of the Americas and stimulate interest in the Francophonie by demonstrating to students the power of words. Whether French is your second or mother tongue, whether you are starting out or perfecting it, display your accents and make them vibrate in video form!”

With grades 7 and 8, we will create a video of 60 to 90 seconds. Our class slam must integrate some 15 proposed words. This is an opportunity to celebrate the richness, vitality, and diversity of the French language during the month of the Francophonie.

Here are some objectives of the competition, which we will approach in a way that best represents our Francophone culture at BCD and our school community! …

Stimulate interest in the Francophonie of the Americas in educational institutions.

Generate the pride of speaking French and belonging to the Francophonie family.

Engage students in their learning of French.

Demonstrate the evocative power of slam.

Develop written and oral skills in French.

Among the many prizes offered is the chance to win a visit to the school by Mathieu Lippé, a popular artist, singer, and slam poet from Quebec who has enjoyed great success among young people with his “contagious” dynamism. His visit, in the form of a creative workshop, will certainly help stimulate and promote student interest in the French language.

For more information about this engaging and inspiring educational challenge, please follow the link; http://www.francophoniedesameriques.com/slame/

Best,

Mme. Daire

By BCD Blog|2019-01-24T13:51:08-05:00January 24th, 2019|

Always Enhancing French Classes—And a Win!

Bonjour et bienvenue to the 2018-2019 school year!

Over the summer, I spent time preparing materials for the new year. I tapped into new resource providers, like the publisher Bayard-Milan, and I am looking forward to implementing new resources in partnership with what is currently in circulation for native-speaking students in France. I’ve built on my visit last Spring to the International School of Boston (ISB), a bilingual French-American school, have reviewed my notes, and am bringing new ideas into play this year throughout the various grade levels here at BCD. While visiting ISB, I spent the day shadowing French teachers in different grade levels, 1st through 5th, to get a firsthand account of a day in the life of a French immersion school.

Reading in the target foreign language is a pillar in strengthening a student’s aptitude and comprehension. In French class at BCD, I will continue to include French stories and French language educational magazines into daily classwork, which will encourage the students to learn about themselves, the world around them, and about expressing their unique personality … in French!

In keeping with my goal of encouraging reading in French, earlier this summer I applied for a grant through the French Consulat General in Boston. https://boston.consulfrance.org/-English-

The grant was titled “The Magic of Reading in French; ” its goal is to bring free books to children enrolled in French classes in both public and private schools across New England. The objectives of this fund are to:

Trigger children’s curiosity for French language and culture;
Expand kids’ French language skills – all under the guise of having fun with French books;
Improve and strengthen existing French tracks.

And…drum roll please…

On a gagné! We won!

When I arrived on campus last Friday, I found four big cardboard boxes full of brand new French books for BCD! These 70 books will contribute greatly to our school’s French-language literature resources which will be used in French class across the grade levels. I also encourage students and parents to borrow books as often as they’d like to read at home.

The different resources and the experiences I refer to in this post, combined with the enriching, culturally appropriate, and level-appropriate novels and multimedia tools we currently use in my curriculum, will help enable the continued discovery and encouragement toward the enjoyment of literature in French at BCD.

I hope that you have all had a fun summer! I, along with my colleagues, are so happy to welcome you back to the BCD campus this week, or to campus for the first time if you are a new student and family! Here’s to a great year!

A bientot,
Madame Daire

By BCD Blog|2018-09-06T11:58:56-04:00September 4th, 2018|

8th grade French class read-aloud to Kindergarten

Yesterday was yet another example of the loving and supportive student-community that exists here at Berkshire Country Day School.

The 8th grade French class read-aloud their original short-stories, the final project in their 8th grade French curriculum, which they composed entirely in French, to the TK/Kindergarten class.

It was an adorable show of affection from the oldest students in the school in front of their young peers. The 8th graders came to life in front of the class, animating their stories and sharing the excitement of what was happening in their novellas with the Kindergarten, helping them to understand through intonation and by showing their artwork, to then explain the storyline English after they had completed reading aloud.

Each 8th grader shared the moral of their story, important life lessons like the importance of saying thank you, to never giving up on a dream, to not taking things without asking, to fostering an adventurous spirit.

There were tales of a rabbit and farmer forming a friendship over the creation of a carrot patch, a lonely shark who finally makes a friend at his school under the sea, a frog who couldn’t jump but realized he was really good at running, and an unlikely friendship formed between a mouse and a baker sharing a cherry pie.

I am extremely proud of the effort and care that the 8th graders put into their stories.

Please take the opportunity to see the stories displayed on the board between the two language classrooms in the Ryan building!

*Check out the BCD Flickr page for more pictures of the students reading aloud.

Best,

Madame Daire

By BCD Blog|2018-05-30T08:55:31-04:00May 30th, 2018|

BCD French Students at county-wide poetry recital competition!

Bonjour à tous!

On Tuesday March 6th, four students from BCD participated in a foreign language poetry recital, along with more than 50 students from schools all over Berkshire County.

Three eighth graders and one seventh grader committed to memorizing a poem in French, and then recited the poem in front of their peers, teachers, and two judges.

There were students from four world language disciplines represented yesterday; French, Spanish, Chinese, and Latin, from beginner level to native-speaker level.

Some of the poems that our students memorized include; ‘Composition Francaise’ recited by Jack B., and ‘Le Bouquet’ recited by Anje C., both by Jacques Prévent, ‘En Arles’ by Paul-Jen Toulot and recited by Sean S., and ‘J’ai Fait Un Bouquet’ by Gilles Vigneault, recited by Halle D.

Students were judged on several criteria including memorization, pronounciation and intonation.

Anje C. took home 1st prize in his level, for a flawless recital of his chosen poem, ‘Le Bouquet.’

I am very proud of the initiative and dedication that all four students they showed in memorizing and reciting their chosen poems!

The poetry assembly was organized and sponsored by B.O.L.T, the Berkshire Organization of Language Teachers, a local organization which “provides a community and quality professional development for world language educators since 1982.”

I am looking forward to another strong BCD performance in 2020, as the competition is held every two years.

Best,

Madame Daire

By BCD Blog|2018-03-07T16:17:43-05:00March 7th, 2018|