Newtown High School Blog

Mrs. Davidson’s French classes recently had a hands-on lesson in Moroccan culture, history, and handicrafts. Mrs. Davidson, who lived in Morocco, brought in a number of items from her personal collection for her students to experience and, as the photos demonstrate, wear. The students in these pictures are showing off two different kinds of Moroccan robes, the belted “takshita” and the hooded “djelleba.” The classes also listened to traditional Moroccan music and played a goatskin drum.

French students celebrated Mardi Gras on February 23, 2010 by decorating masks and preparing King’s Cakes. The King Cake is a tradition of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The person who receives the slice with the Baby (a plastic baby) or a bean is crowned the King or Queen of the festival and will be responsible for hosting the party the following year. It is also this person’s responsibility to prepare the King Cake for the festival. French students also viewed videos showing celebrations in Nice, Martinique, and Quebec. The celebration was culminated with the students singing the song “Bal Masque” and entering into a Karaoke contest.

Chef Steve Oshana’s Baking & Pastry class hosted World Language teacher Laura Battisti’s French class for a collaborative lesson on creating traditional French Crepes. All students agreed that the greatest challenge was developing the proper wrist action needed to flip the crepe in the pan. Successful students enjoyed garnishing their results with a variety of toppings including powdered sugar, fruit, and chocolate.

Students have been studying the historic and cultural significance of ethnic cuisine, including the crepe, the favorite street food of Paris.

French V students from Newtown and New Fairfield met at Tarrywile Mansion in Danbury on June 2 for the annual French Immersion Day. This is a day where students and teachers speak only French while they participate in various activities such as pictionary; “Qui suis-je?” , “cercle des mots”, and “dessions” where they drew what they partner described in French. Read the rest of this entry »

French V students wrote and illustrated original fairy tales as a final project. They told their stories to the Nurtury children on a beautiful day in the Senior Courtyard. The Nurtury students enjoyed hearing the stories written by the seniors. Read the rest of this entry »

French III students at Newtown High School have been studying French-speaking African countries this semester. As a culminating activity, they took part in the Francofete on May 8, 2009. Raouf Mama, a griot (storyteller) from Benin came to tell folk takes from his country. Students listened, answered questions, and acted out the crocodile (one of the characters from a story). After the folk tales, Dr. Mama taught the students and faculty a dance from his country. Read the rest of this entry »

Newtown High School French students learned that Mardi Gras isn’t only celebrated in New Orleans. It is a holiday with roots during the early days of Christianity in Europe. Students learned about the carnivals in French-speaking countries including Quebec, Martinique, Nice, Binche, French Guinea. Read the rest of this entry »

French II students in Mrs. Davidson’s class and French IV and French V students in Mrs. Greenfield’s classes celebrated La Chandeleur, or “Crepe Day.”  Linda Lubinsky, one of our student’s mothers, brought in her delicious homemade crepes and shared with the students some of the traditions surrounding this holiday.  We would have tried to catch a crepe in the pan for good luck, if only we hadn’t eaten them all! Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE – Katie was the recipient of one of seven second prizes: One-week trip to France valued at 2,000 euros.  Congratulations, Katie!

Congratulations to Katie Fragoso who is one of the 50 winners of the ” Concours sur l’ Europe,” sponsored by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French- American Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the French-American Foundation and the French Institute Alliance Française, and teacheurope.org.

Katie, her family, and her teacher (Laura Battisti) have been invited to Read the rest of this entry »