President's Message / AATF-CT

    As president of the Connecticut Chapter of the AATF, please allow me to welcome you back to a new academic year. I hope many of you were able to escape our “non-summer” with travel and enjoyed a well deserved rest. Please feel free to contact me anytime with news, suggestions or concerns via e-mail at tpbetts@comcast.net. This year we are looking forward to several exciting programs and events for the AATF in Connecticut.

Our spring meeting last year was held at the Union League Café where Catherine Labio, Associate Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Yale, drawing on her popular course at Yale, touched on the formal, historical, theoretical, and cultural perspectives of the B.D.. Approximately 34 people attended.     During the morning presentation, Ms Labio explained the development of some of the more popular French-language comics through the twentieth century. Afterwards, the Union League provided a delicious luncheon served by their French-speaking staff. I think I can speak for all who attended when I report that the food and service were excellent. On May 14 at the Distribution des Prix at Amity High School, we had a large turnout of students and parents. My thanks are extended to the AATF Executive Board and Geneviève Brand for taking care of the arrangements and organizing prizes for over 200 contest winners. Prizes were distributed to the hundreds of National French Contest participants from Connecticut who placed in the top ten in the nation. In addition, the AATF Prize Committee announced the two winners of $500 for their exceptional academic achievement in French. They are Danielle Marshak, a student of John Billus at Weston High School, and Eric Zhang, a student of Toussaint Olivetti at Glastonbury High School. Thanks to all who nominated students for this award.

    We will be offering two concerts to celebrate National French week in November. A talented group of young Cajun musicians will be performing. I cannot thank Liz Neger enough for her extraordinary effort to bring interesting programs to us in Connecticut. There will be two concerts this year. Feufollet, from Louisiana will be performing. Please check for details at right. We will have the concerts at two different locations, each near a major highway. There will be a concert on Wednesday, November 18 at Roger Ludlowe Middle School in Fairfield and another on November 19 at Pomperaug High School in Middlebury in order to make it accessible to as many schools as possible. The first concert at Ludlowe will begin at 10:00 AM and the second at Pomperaug will begin at 10:30 am. We encourage teachers who intend to bring their students to develop a unit on Cajun Louisiana before attending the concert. You may contact Liz Neger via e-mail at francsurf@aol.com for more details. We encourage all schools to develop programs for National French Week in their local schools in order to promote the study of French. Promotional materials and more details may be obtained from the national office of the AATF at their web site www.frenchteacher.org .

This year, on Tuesday November 10 beginning at 4:00 PM, we hope to offer a fall wine and cheese event at a location to be announced. Please watch for more information on our web site and in your e-mail.

    I would also like to introduce you to a new member of our executive board who will be directing the National French Contest. She is Adina Alexandru, French teacher at Glastonbury High School and may be contacted via e-mail at alexandrua@glastonburyus.org. I am very thankful to Adina for taking on this task.

Please save the date of February 25, 2010 as the probable Connecticut date for the administration of the National French Contest. You will receive a letter from Adina Alexandru soon detailing how to register your students in the contest.

Again this year, the AATF in Connecticut will be offering $500 awards to two Connecticut high school students who have displayed outstanding academic achievement in French. We are planning a spring luncheon meeting in May 2010. At the end of May, we will hold our annual Distribution des Prix.

You all should try the site www.theworldspeaksfrench.org, the site of the French Language Initiative. The French Language Initiative is a partnership between the Embassy of France in the U.S. and the American Association of Teachers of French. The site has a lot of great features, including free downloads of materials promoting the study of French.

I encourage all of you to explore our own web site listed under the heading of this letter.   Our vice-president Mary Louise Ennis has created an extremely useful tool for all of us. There are useful links, announcements of AATF activities and events, announcements of French teaching positions and much more. We are very lucky to have her talents and her dedication to the Connecticut AATF.