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Alabama Federation of French Clubs French Convention

University of Alabama, Ferguson Center February 26, 2016

CECI OLSON, CHELSEA HIGH SCHOOL

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LA MARSEILLAISE L’hymne national de la France

Allons enfants de la patrie, Le jour de gloire est arrivé ! Contre nous de la tyrannie

L'étendard sanglant est levé ! (bis) Entendez-vous dans les campagnes,

Mugir ces féroces soldats ? Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras Égorger nos fils, nos compagnes !

Aux armes, citoyens ! Formez vos bataillons ! Marchons ! Marchons !

Qu'un sang impur Abreuve nos sillons !

Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, 1792

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FRENCH CONVENTION SCHEDULE Friday, February 26, 2016

« À la recherche du temps perdu: l’histoire, la mémoire, la nostalgie.... »

TIME EVENTS

8h30 Arrival. Sponsor must check in at the table outside of Theater.

Set-up any Visual Arts entry in the Ballroom.

Store props, scenery, etc. in Room 3107 (Mortar Board).

9h00-9h30 Opening Assembly - EVERYONE IN THEATER

Welcome, Introduction of Judges, Club Roll Call, T-Shirt Design and Program Cover winners announced, Screening/Judging of Video Competition entries,

Singing of La Marseillaise.

9h45-10h45 Level I/II Skits (Theater)

* All Level I & II students attend unless competing in Written Test *

9h45-11h45 Scholars Bowl (Ballroom)

* All Level III & Advanced students attend unless competing in Written Test,

Extemporaneous Speaking, or Dictée *

Scholarship Competition: written portion begins (Rm 3114)

9h45-11h45 Written Test, now OR at 13h00-14h00 (Rm 3700 - Forum)

TIME LEVEL I LEVEL II LEVEL III ADVANCED

10h45-11h15

Spelling Bee (Theater)

Extemporaneous Reading

(Rm 3110)

Extemporaneous Speaking (Rm 3111)

Dictée (Rm 3104)

11h30 Spelling Bee (Theater)

Extemporaneous Speaking

(Rm 3111)

11h45-12h15

Extemporaneous Reading

(Rm 3110)

Dictée (Rm 3104)

12h15-13h00

Pause déjeuner

*All sponsors bring their lunch to the Rm 3120 (Anderson Room)*

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TIME LEVEL I LEVEL II LEVEL III ADVANCED

13h00-14h00

Written Test – now or at 9:45-11:45 (Rm 3700 - Forum)

13h00-14h00

University of Alabama Tour (Ferguson Center Information Desk)

13h00-14h00

Cajun Dance Lessons ! (Rm 3300 – Heritage Room – Ballroom Annex)

13h00-15h00

Scholarship Oral Interviews (Rm 3114)

13h00-13h30

Individual Oral (Rm 3108)

Dictée (Rm 3104)

Level III/Advanced Skits (Theater) 13h30-

14h00 Extemporaneous

Speaking (Rm 3111)

Individual Oral (Rm 3108)

14h00-14h30

Dictée (Rm 3104)

Extemporaneous Speaking (Rm 3111)

Individual Oral (Rm 3108)

Extemporaneous Reading

(Rm 3110)

14h30-15h00

Extemporaneous Reading

(Rm 3110)

Individual Oral (Rm 3108)

14h00-14h45

Dansez au Bal du Moulin de la Galette! (Rm 3300 - Heritage Room / Ballroom Annex)

14h00-15h00

University of Alabama Tour (Ferguson Center Information Desk)

14h45-16h15

Choral (Ballroom)

16h30-17h00

Closing / Awards Assembly (Ballroom)

17h00 Au revoir et départ

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STUDENT SCHEDULE

« À la recherche du temps perdu: l’histoire, la mémoire, la nostalgie.... »

COMPETITION LEVEL TIME LOCATION

Choral Solo 14h45-15h30

Ballroom Group 15h30-16h15

Dictée Level I 14h00-14h30

Rm 3104 Level II 13h00-13h30

Level III 11h45-12h15

Advanced 10h45-11h15

Extemporaneous Reading

Level I 11h45-12h15

Rm 3110 Level II 10h45-11h15

Level III 14h30-15h00

Advanced 14h00-14h30

Extemporaneous Speaking

Level I 13h30-14h00

Rm 3111 Level II 14h00-14h30

Level III 10h45-11h30

Advanced 11h30-12h15

Group Skit Level I/II 9h45-10h45

Theater Level III / Advanced

13h00-14h00

Individual Oral Level I 13h00-13h30

Rm 3108 Level II 13h30-14h00

Level III 14h00-14h30

Advanced 14h30-15h00

Scholars Bowl 9h45-11h45 Ballroom

Scholarship Written 9h45-12h15

Rm 3114 Oral 13h00-15h00

Spelling Bee Level I 10h45-11h30

Theater Level II 11h30-12h15

Visual Arts Set-up 8h30-9h00 /

9h30-10h00

Ballroom

Judging 10h00-11h00

Written Test 9h45-12h15 / 13h00-14h00 Forum

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OPENING ASSEMBLY Ferguson Center Theater

9:00 AM

Bienvenue - Thank you for joining us today! We hope that the day will be a day well spent, as

together we celebrate the joy of communicating in French. - Please turn to Page 8 in your Program to follow along.

Remerciements

- University of Alabama - Office of Coordination of Orientation and Special Programs - Faculty and Graduate Teaching Assistants of the UA French Department

Appel

- Clubs will shout out their chant when their School’s name is called. (See listing of Schools on Page 9.)

Brassards

- Our native and near-native French-speaking students enrich the French Convention for everyone! We have colored armbands to honor these students:

o Blue for a student who is a native French speaker. o Red for a student who has a French-speaking parent or who has spent

extensive time in a French-speaking context, but would not be considered a native speaker.

- Please get to know them, find out what country they are from, or how they learned their French.

Infos pratiques - Please be a respectful, attentive audience in all competitions. Sit quietly, and only

enter a competition room during the short break between presenters. - Prompting from the audience is never appropriate. - You may only record/video/photograph your own school’s students. - Page 12 of this Program has additional information about oral competitions. - Consult the website (www.frenchconvention.org/competitions) for clarifications on

rules. - Address any concern(s) to the President Club sponsor, Anne Barton (205.329.4421) - Keep track of your belongings; do not leave them lying around!

Horaire

- The schedule is laid out for you in two different formats: by the hour (Pages 3-4) or by the competition (Page 5).

- Scheduled times are listed as they would be in France, using the 24-hour clock. Don’t get confused in the afternoon!

- Students, please use this Program to know when you are supposed to go where for what. It is your responsibility – not your teacher’s – for being at your competition on time! (Building map is on Pages 5-6 of this Program.)

- We will post any changes to the schedule at the Registration / Check-In Table.

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Événements

- Written test: There are 2 windows of opportunity, morning and afternoon. Go when best for you.

- If you are competing in the Dictée, you must be in the room at the scheduled start time. It will run like a test at school, where everyone must be present at the start.

- Scholar’s Bowl: There is a full slate of teams. See the details on Page 11 in order to keep this competition moving along efficiently!

- Choral: Teacher’s initials are next to the title if the same song is being presented by two different competitors. Also, if you are using an accompaniment track, please label it and turn it in to the sound tech immediately prior to the competition.

- Visual Arts: need to be set up ASAP so that judging can begin at 10h00. - You are expected to attend as many competitions/events as possible. Watch the

group events, such as the Group Skits, the Spelling Bee, the Scholars Bowl, and the Choral competitions.

- You won’t want to miss the Dance or the Dance Lessons upstairs at 14h00! Jeu : À la recherche des mots perdus...

- The object of this game is to complete a set of four pieces of information: 1) Quotation ( ½ ) 2) Quotation ( other ½ ) 3) Author 4) Quotation Translation

- Since these pieces of information are all scattered among the Convention crowd, your task is to find the other three people who have the information needed to complete your set.

o In other words, find the person who has the other half of your quotation, its author, and its translation.

o Of course, you may use your smartphone to help you with this task! - Once you have a complete set, staple your papers together: Quotation, Author,

Translation. - Write all of your names (first & last) and your school name on the stapled packet and

place it in the designated box in the Ballroom upstairs (stapler available at the box). - Prizes will be awarded to the first ten correct completions drawn from the box during

the Closing Awards Assembly. You must be present to win! Gagnants

- T-shirt design (Frances Carraway, Advent Episcopal School) - Front Program Cover (Ceci Olson, Chelsea High School) - Back Program Cover (Madison Hollon & Bailey Poole, Prattville High School)

Concours Vidéo

- Please watch as the Video Contest entries are screened and judged. Clôture

- Levels I & II are reminded to stay here in the Theater to watch the Spelling Bee and Skits.

- Levels III and Advanced should go upstairs to the Ballroom to watch the Scholars Bowl Teams compete. (Your skits compete after lunch.)

- To close our Opening Assembly, please join us in singing La Marseillaise, printed on the inside front cover of your program.

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PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS & THEIR FACULTY SPONSORS

1. Academy for Science and Foreign Language (Huntsville) Sarah Meister

2. *Advent Episcopal School (Birmingham) Anne Barton

3. The Altamont School (Birmingham) Jeanne Classé, Peter Rosborough, Jennifer Lorentz

4. Bob Jones High School (Madison/Huntsville) Angela Mooney

5. Chelsea High School (Chelsea) Bonnie Montgomery

6. Eastwood Christian School (Montgomery) Dawn Geiger

7. George Washington Carver High School (Birmingham) Ashlea Hand

8. Homewood High School (Homewood/Birmingham) Melissa Dameron-Vines and Michelle Myers

9. Indian Springs School (Indian Springs Village/Birmingham) Jonathan Horn

10. James Clemens High School (Madison/Huntsville) Katie Gilliam

11. Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School (Irondale/Birmingham) Leigh Noble

12. LAMP High School (Montgomery) Kate Wilson

13. Mountain Brook Junior High School (Mountain Brook/Birmingham) Benlee Huguley

14. Northridge High School (Tuscaloosa) Lyn Smith

15. Opelika High School (Opelika) Sara Ahnell

16. Prattville High School (Prattville) Silvana Cureton

17. Shades Valley High School (Irondale/Birmingham) Shelley Fordice

18. Vestavia Hills High School (Vestavia Hills/Birmingham) Djamel Bouriche

19. Virgil I. Grissom High School (Huntsville) Regina Bone * President Club

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SCHOLARS BOWL SEED CHART

There are several rounds this year. Please do your part to help us keep the rounds moving along! The parentheses show the order in which the games will be played. Have your sponsor, captain, or other designee keep tabs on the progress of the rounds so that your team will be in place immediately when it’s your turn.

Que la meilleure équipe gagne!

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PERTINENT ORAL COMPETITON “REMINDERS” General Information

Relax, have fun and do your best. The judges want you to succeed! Performance Information

In the interest of fairness, please help us maintain anonymity in competition as much as possible:

o Entries will be announced by the judges by number and title. o Competitors should not wear any identifying clothing.

Group Skits and Choral selections must be memorized. No written scripts may be used on stage during these competitions.

Prompting from the audience is not permitted.

You may only record/video/photograph your own school’s students. Performance Time Limits

Timing will be from the first spoken word to the bow. In order to indicate that a skit is over, one or more students in the skit should bow at the end of the skit.

Time limits for the individual selections: Levels I and II: 1-2 minutes Levels III and Advanced: 2-4 minutes

Time limits for the group skits: Level I/II: 4-6 minutes Level III/Advanced: 5-8 minutes

Time limit for the choral competitions: Solo and Group 5 minutes If the minimum time limit is not met, or if the maximum time limit is exceeded, one point per 10 seconds will be subtracted from the time management category on the score sheet. The maximum penalty will be 10 points per entry. Note the following scale:

Time Management Scale

Seconds Over/Under

1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46+

Points Deducted

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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INDIVIDUAL ORAL COMPETITION – LEVEL 1 13h00 à 13h30 (Room 3108)

1. Je chante avec Toi, Liberté Lyrics from a song made famous by Nana Mouskouri. An ode to freedom and the fight necessary to insure we have freedom...even unto death.

2. Le dormeur du val Written by Arthur Rimbaud at the young age of 16, this classic French poem hauntingly juxtaposes the brutal death of a young soldier with the beauty of the nature that surrounds him.

3. Le Corbeau et le renard La Fontaine's immortal fable of the dangers of flattery.

4. Déjeuner du matin Jacques Prévert's poem about a troubled relationship, evoked in a tense, silent breakfast scene.

5. La pendule A poem by Pierre Gamarra.

6. Nuit de neige Guy de Maupassant presents a peacefully nostalgic view of a snowy night.

7. Une petite corvée pour l'été It's already June, vacation beckons, but Emma Gauthier's teacher, Sylvie Silvy, has given her class a small chore to do over the summer. This is an excerpt from Susie Morgenstern's book, "La liste des fournitures".

8. La Grâce du Ciel Amazing Grace

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INDIVIDUAL ORAL COMPETITION – LEVEL 2 13h30 à 14h00 (Room 3108)

1. Les Prénoms de Paris Lyrics (excerpts) from an immortal song by Jacques Brel. This pictures marvelously what Paris means to all who know her or wish they could. Paris' names represent so many things to millions of people.

2. Le Loup et L'Agneau While often learned by heart by French children, this classic fable of de la Fontaine is not as simple as it appears. Through his clever use of allegory, Jean de la Fontaine entertains while skillfully sending a direct message denouncing the power of the monarchy and criticizing the justice system during the reign of Le Roi Louis XIV.

3. À la recherche de tout ce qui est perdu One boy’s account of his failed attempts to keep track of his belongings...

4. Soyez polis Jacques Prévert tells us of the romance between the sun and the earth.

5. Pour faire le portrait d'un oiseau Jacques Prevert's surrealistic poem about the best way to realize a "painting" of a wild bird.

6. L'Horloge As presented in Charles Baudelaire's Les fleurs du mal, the clock is sinister and impassable, and time is the ultimate victor over mankind.

7. Guillaume Shakespeare A presentation of some of Shakespeare's best work.

8. Une histoire de Madeline Madeline remembers a funny day.

9. Candide Voltaire reads the opening of his masterpiece.

10. Un poème General poem with an element from history.

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INDIVIDUAL ORAL COMPETITION – LEVEL 3 14h00 à 14h30 (Room 3108)

1. L'Horloge

The genius of Charles Baudelaire shines in this gripping poem about the struggle of man to, as Thoreau would say, "suck the marrow out of life." Baudelaire implores his listeners to be wary of the ticking of the clock of life before it is too late!

2. À la recherche d’une recette perdue? Chef Georges shares how to make a perfectly delectable Proustian treat: une madeleine.

3. Le Petit Prince Excerpt from Chapter 16, where the author explains that the Little Prince visited the "seventh planet", Earth, which is "not just any planet”.

4. Mon Accent One does not have to be able to pronounce French phonemes flawlessly in order to be 100% comprehensible.

5. Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer de Louis Aragon Blessed is the man who dies of love.

6. Dis, c'était comment quand tu étais petit ? What a pleasure it is to hear our parents and grandparents tell what life was like when they were young.

INDIVIDUAL ORAL COMPETITION – ADVANCED LEVEL

14h30 à 15h00 (Room 3108)

1. Liberté Poem by Paul Eluard. This represents what liberty embodies and how it should be pursued by every means possible and seen in every venue of life.

2. Du temps perdu An adolescent’s reaction to his first reading assignment in Proust.

3. Je contemple souvent le ciel de ma mémoire Proust takes his listeners on a vivid journey through the infinite and vast horizon of his memory and his past love in this exquisite poem.

4. Je vois entrer un grand seigneur Céleste Albaret, Marcel Proust's governess and closest confidante, reflects on the life of the great novelist.

5. Le monologue du doudou Milo, a beloved family toy that has been treasured more than 8 years, tells us of his love for his family and of their devotion to him.

6. Hymne à la Beauté Poem by Charles Baudelaire

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GROUP SKIT COMPETITION – LEVELS 1&2 9h45 à 10h45 (Theater)

1. Amour Fatal

A group of girls begins to disappear. Who will discover the truth behind this great mystery?

2. Boucle d’or et les trois ours Boucle d'Or wanders far from home and stumbles upon the house of the three bears. First sitting in all of their chairs and tasting all of their porridge, then lying in all of their beds she finds the little baby bear's the most suitable for her in all three cases.

3. À la recherche de la tente (ou tante?) perdue There seems to be some confusion about what exactly Marcel is in search of. Follow the "tant"alizing unfolding of events...

4. Quand un mouton aura des ailes... On September 19, 1783, the Montgolfier brothers launched the first passenger hot-air balloon on the grounds of Versailles in the presence of the court. The passengers were a duck, a sheep, and a rooster!

GROUP SKIT COMPETITION – LEVELS 3 & ADVANCED 13h00 à 14h00 (Theater)

1. À la recherche de la tante perdue

A group of kids are playing the newest Proustian version of the well-known “Clue” game, or “Cluédo” in French. Who is the victim? Proust’s Aunt Léonie, of course. During the game the pawns, all based on characters in À la recherche du temps perdu, take on a life of their own as each is accused of foul play.

2. Ça tourne en rond, ou, Les Super-serveuses à Monte Carlo A film director tries without success to shoot the last scene of a movie.

3. Je ne regrette rien In an intimate interview, La Môme Piaf reflects on the best and worst moments of her life.

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CHORAL COMPETITION – SOLO 14h45 à 15h30 (Ballroom)

1. Mon Vieux An adult man realizes with nostalgia and regrets how little he appreciated his Dad when he was 15. He wishes his father were still alive. This song was made immortal by Daniel Guichard.

2. La Bohème This is Charles Aznavour's classic song.

3. La Vie en rose (DB) By Edith Piaf.

4. Je vole (SA) Originally sung by Michel Sardou, this complex and profound song suggestive of an adolescent leaving home has recently been made popular by the young French singer and actress, Louane Emera, who sang it in the 2015 film "La Famille Bélier".

5. La Chanson de Grisabelle Take a voluntary, Proustian stroll down "Memory" lane with the French version of this hit song from the musical "Cats".

6. La Vie en rose (JH) Edith Piaf's immortal song.

7. Je Ne Regrette Rien Edith Piaf famously reflects on her life well-lived.

8. La Grâce du Ciel Many of the lyrics in this translation of "Amazing Grace" are the same in English. However, some are different. The singer begins by declaring that grace from heaven has descended to save us from hell.

9. Je vole (AB) In 1978, Michel Sardou sang of leaving his parents and small town to follow his dreams in his hit, Je vole. In 2014, in the film La famille Bélier, actress/singer Louane plays a character who sang Je vole as an audition piece for music school. The only hearing member of her family, she also signed the song to her deaf parents and brother present in the audience. Our version is flanked by a signed interpretation of the song.

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CHORAL COMPETITION – GROUP 15h30 à 16h15 (Ballroom)

1. Tant qu'on rêve encore

From the popular musical « Le Roi Soleil », this song’s powerful lyrics and musical composition remind us that as long as we remember the past, nothing is lost.

2. Aux Champs-Elysées In the sun, in the rain, at noon or at midnight, there's everything you want on the Champs-Elysées!

3. Tous les Mêmes Stromaë song about the age-old battle of the sexes.

4. Papaoutai Stromae's song about kids growing up without their father present in their lives.

5. Le Chant des Sirènes Childhood memories and how the places we love change over time.

6. Waterloo-Reine Sublime Sometimes historical events mirror one's personal life! After her breakup with Kermit, Miss Piggy rushes to Belgium where she performs as Joséphine in a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo! But not even heartache can keep "Moi" down as she leads La Chorale des Muppets in two ABBA classics!

7. Hello Sara'h's French version of Adele's "Hello".

8. Makeda Black History song.

9. La Vie en rose From the iconic diminutive French singer Edith Piaf. Searching for love, no one can say it better than Edith. Her longings, joys, and pains are felt through every one of her songs.

10. Les Filles de Mon Pays By Enrico Macias.

11. J'ai laissé This song reflects this year's theme of lost time in that the singer, Christophe Maé, ruminates on what he failed to do in his past relationship and how the lack of care on his part caused him to lose his love. He deeply regrets her loss and laments the time they can no longer spend together.

12. Le Festin Remy the rat sings of the joys and sorrows of his life as he continuously chases his dream of becoming a chef.

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CLOSING / AWARDS CEREMONY 16h30 à 17h00 (Ballroom)

We hope that you have had a great day at French Convention and that you will come back next year! Awards for today’s competitions will be announced in the following order, and in rankings up from Honorable Mention, to Bien, to Très Bien, to Supérieur, and finally Grand Prix.

1. Visual Arts Competitions a. Poster I b. Poster II c. Exhibit d. Scrapbook

2. Spelling Bee a. Level 1 b. Level 2

3. Dictée a. Level 1 b. Level 2 c. Level 3 d. Advanced Level

4. Extemporaneous Reading a. Level 1 b. Level 2 c. Level 3 d. Advanced Level

5. Extemporaneous Speaking a. Level 1 b. Level 2 c. Level 3

d. Level 4 6. Written Competition

a. Level 1 b. Level 2 c. Level 3 d. Advanced Level

7. Scholar’s Bowl 8. Scholarship 9. Video Competition 10. Individual Oral Competition

a. Level 1 b. Level 2 c. Level 3 d. Advanced level

11. Group Skit Competition a. Levels 1 & 2 b. Level 3 & Advanced

12. Choral Competitions a. Solo b. Group

Let’s close today’s ceremony by reciting France’s national slogan together:

Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité! Sponsors are reminded to pick up all judges’ score sheets in Room 3115 immediately

following this ceremony. Uncollected scores sheets will be discarded, NOT MAILED! Please email any pictures taken during today’s event to prosborough@altamontschool.org

for inclusion on the website. Please take the time to fill out and submit the online evaluation in the next week, while

details are fresh on your mind.

Merci et Bonne Route!

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NOTES

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Dr. Bruce Edmunds and the Faculty and Graduate

Teaching Assistants of the University of Alabama

French Department

Antoinette Afriyie Timothy Alford Kelilah Anders

Maud Barthès Hannah Brown Thomas Carlton

Isabelle Drewelow Olga Henry Sandrine Hope

Carmen Mayer Honorine Ntoh Yuh Michael

Picone Paula Renzi-Callaghan Jean-Luc Robin

Shannon Skelton April Stephens

Metka Zupancic

Office of Coordination and Orientation and Special

Programs at the University of Alabama

Peter Rosborough, AFFC website creator and

webmaster

Greg Richards, of JRagUSA Promotional

Printing & Design

The Avanti Staff of the Ferguson Student Center

A special thanks to Dr. Michael Picone for giving

dance lessons!

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MADISON HOLLON AND BAILEY POOLE, PRATTVILLE HIGH SCHOOL