Bonjour et bonne nouvelle!
Three students from Bernardsville Middle School have been recognized by the American Association of Teachers of French Jeunes Amis du Français, the only nationally recognized honor society for middle school students of French.
Maria Kolarov, David Hunscher and Stella Struble submitted essays to the AATF JAF annual Creative Writing contest in November 2023. Vacation was the topic for the writing contest and included the following: Tu es en vacances dans un pays francophone; écris une carte postale à ta famille! Décris tes vacances. Parle un peu des monuments, des musées, de la culture, et de la cuisine. You are on vacation in a French speaking country. Write to your family describing your vacation, and include information about monuments, museums, culture and cuisine.
The essays were scored in the following areas: focus and detail of writing, creativity and research, and word choice. The quality of the three essays were outstanding, and they were selected for publication in the spring edition of the AATF JAF’s official bulletin, L’Élan. All three students also received a certificate and monetary prize.
French Teacher Patricia Kupper introduced the competition to Bernardsville Middle School . She has been teaching French in the Somerset Hills School District since 2021. “I happily support and encourage students’ interests and development in World Languages such as French. I am thrilled to provide them an opportunity to apply their abilities to real life and to celebrate their very own accomplishments,” shared Kupper. It is impressive that with just over two years of study with Kupper, that these 8th graders won a national competition.
Students in the district are exposed to world languages in K through 12, where they learn interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational language skills. Starting in grade 6 students can select between French or Spanish for middle school. Once they reach Bernards High School, students also have the option to study Latin, or to continue their French or Spanish studies by taking higher level classes as electives.
The Somerset Hills School District congratulates Maria, David, and Stella on a job well done, and believes the francophones and francophiles of Bernardsville, Bedminster, Far Hills, and Peapack-Gladstone would agree!