Three AIS Students Win French Poetry Contest
We are pleased to announce that three AIS tenth graders won the first three places in a poetry contest organized by the French Consulate in Atlanta. Mme. Julie Fournier Angelo, the Educational and Linguistic Advisor at the French Consulate, invited students from French schools or schools and universities with a French program throughout the southeastern United States to enter the Léopold Sédar Senghor literacy contest. This contest was designed to celebrate and honor Senghor, a Senegalese poet and politician who studied in France and went on to serve as the first president of Senegal. Senghor supported the creation of la Francophonie. With Aimé Césaire and Léon Damas, Senghor created the concept of Négritude, an important philosophical movement that sought to distance African culture from European influences.
Poems were assessed according to the grade/level of the author. Participants were asked to read Senghor’s Poème à mon frère blanc and then compose a poem in French on a topic of their choice but following the same structure.
The AIS winners were Colin Hill, Annie Farrell and Quitterie Gounot, who won first, second and third prize respectively. The prize winners won books and certificates, and will have their poems published in the next consular e-newsletter. The occasion was marked also by the presence of the Inspector from the Ministry of Education in France, who was here on his annual visit to evaluate the Primary School French curriculum and French teachers. M. Pierre-Louis Fröhring was delighted to witness the award ceremony of such an important prize.