Le Cocorico Cocorico - AATF of Central New York

Le Cocorico
Cocorico
l’AATF de New York Central
Sous la
AUTUMNE 2014
TOME VI No. 1
In thisplume
issue…du
Sous la plume
du
Président….
Président……………….. ……1
Félicitations M.Ponterio ……..2
Renseignements………………3
Revue des livres………………5
Offres d’emploi……………….6
Dates Importantes……………..7
President
Robin Brown
Rojobro58@gmail.com
Vice President / Contest
Administrator
Jennifer Reed-Kostolecki
mllereed@hotmail.com
Secretary
Jolene Bennett
jolenebeck@hotmail.com
Treasurer
Sarah Woodward-Jones
swoodward723@gmail.com
Newsletter Editor
Roseann Lorefice
travbug@twcny.rr.com
AATF Regional Representative
Marie-Christine Massé
MASSEM@NEWSCHOOLEDU.
EDU
Chers collègues,
The signs of "la rentrée" are everywhereschool supplies filling store aisles, new Target TV
ads, the NYS Fair... and this Cocorico issue! As
you gear up for what hopes to be the best school
year yet, what are YOUR goals? How do you
choose your goals? Do you work in isolation or do
you collaborate with others?
So, what IS collaboration? There are many interpretations of
course... working together to create value while sharing virtual or
physical space... brainstorming, problem solving and ideation among
diverse groups or parties... and so on.
Our Central New York AATF officers and directors collaborate
throughout the year to create programming and activities for YOU, our
readership (members and non-members alike). Our workshops are
developed with you in mind! Are you a "frequent flyer", attending our
workshops and activities on a regular basis? Occasionally? Or perhaps
you haven't participated in a while. Regardless of your level of
involvement, we strive to provide opportunities for learning and
collaboration.
This summer, I had the pleasure of meeting with Chris Kimball-Kelly,
co-President of the AATF Philadelphia chapter. We shared our
respective activities and membership initiatives, discussing both the
triumphs and challenges of our mission. Chris and I each came away
with some new ideas and a renewed sense of commitment to our goals
for the upcoming year.
Although "la rentrée" is a hectic time for us all, consider the following:
Take some time to sit down (virtually or physically) with other
teachers to collaborate. The possibilities are endless!
Become a member of AATF of CNY - there IS strength in
numbers.
My best wishes for a truly fantastic school year!
-----Robin
Le Cocorico
Our noted colleague, friend, and professor at SUNY
Cortland, Marie Ponterio, has been recently honored by the
French government when she received the distinguished
award, Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques. In
May she earned this prestigious honor bestowed annually on
only a handful of its citizens and non-citizens. France
confers this academic, rather than military, knighthood,
upon French as well as foreign nationals around the world
who it considers have contributed the most to promoting
French language and culture.
As her nominating letter highlighted, “…Marie has made significant contributions to the
study of the French language and French civilization in the United States and beyond,
thanks especially to her remarkable website, “Civilisation Française.” This site, begun in
1996 and continuously maintained and expanded ever since, combines a rich trove of
resources—textual, visual, and auditory—with interactive exercises designed to help site
visitors enrich their vocabulary, refine their grammatical competence, and expand their
cultural knowledge.”
But Marie’s contributions are also more personal and observable, notably in the
development of wonderfully passionate courses, her responsiveness to the needs of her
students, and her generosity and collegiality with other teachers. In addition, she has
organized an exchange program with her native city of La Rochelle, authored high school
level French textbooks, as well as book reviews, video and multimedia reviews, and
translated scholarly articles. She has also given numerous conference presentations.
Marie, kudos to you! We are honored to know you and profit from your worthy
endeavors. Chapeaux!
Editor’s note: Marie was further honored by her colleagues in the Modern Languages
Department at SUNY Cortland. In a toast to her, Mark Cerosaletti created a wonderfully
humorous photo tribute, “Marie Across French History.” You can view it at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t8jodhrm31jal8y/Marie--Chevalier_v2hymne_FINALFINAL.wmv
Enjoy!
Marie’s’ “ Civilisation Française” link:
http://web.cortland.edu/flteach/civ/
Le Cocorico
RENSEIGNEMENTS
Word has come from AATF National Headquarters that we have a new regional
representative for area. She is Marie-Christine Massé, of New York City, reachable at
MASSEM@NEWSCHOOLEDU.EDU. We anticipate inviting her to one of our events so
that she can meet our membership and share her thoughts on the national language scene.
Our colleague, Terry McGovern, will be teaching an adult course entitled "Quebec: our
French-speaking Neighbor", this fall at OASIS. The course will run Mondays from 1:30 3:30 from September 15 through November 10. There is no class scheduled for Columbus
Day. Sign up online through the OASIS website.
A former Syracusan, Christine Kimball-Kelly who now lives and teaches in the Greater
Philadelphia area, has contacted our chapter in the hope of sharing ideas and activities to
promote the study and love of French. The officers are pursuing appropriate avenues and
will share the ongoing dialogue with our members.
Announcing the AATF of CNY Facebook page! Are you a Facebook user? Like our page
today to receive updates on local events, ideas from area teachers and more! Search our
page at AATF CNY.
Haiti Update: Georgette Schmidt will be departing for Haiti September 29 and returning
on October 3. She will be accompanied by her husband Tim, retired French teacher, Scott
Manuel, retired math teacher, Karen Dross, and retired sociology professor, Wynetta
Devore. They will be going to Paulette, Haiti in the northeast and visiting four schools,
helping to train teachers for a new adult literacy center. This is a new venue for their
outreach work and they are anticipating great adventures and success. Upon their return,
we look forward to a report from them.
NEW cards and art work by Haitian artist, Ronel Louis-Jean, are now available
on: www.etsy.com/shop/Haitinotecards‎
All profits from the sale of the cards go to Ronel who is deaf and earns a living by
selling his cards. Ronel is selling cards to pay for tuition for art school in Cap Haitian
where he is enrolled in the third level of classes.
Le Cocorico
Félicitations to all participants in
Contest! By now, all of our winners
Teachers new to the French Contest
with a token of appreciation for
new this year, every participant
you for helping the AATF to
students in Central New York by
prizes at school district events.
the 2014 National French
are enjoying their prizes.
this year were recognized
enrolling their students. Also
earned a certificate. Thank
continue to recognize French
distributing certificates and
In 2014, 817 Central New York students participated in FLES and levels 01-5 of the
National French Contest. Nationwide, 93,718 students competed. Twelve local school
districts represented Central New York:
Jamesville-Dewitt, Marcellus, Lansing,
Fayetteville-Manlius, Liverpool, Westhill, Ithaca, Rome, Watertown, Cazenovia, Clinton
and Oneida.
The highest-ranked students in Central New York this year were Makaela Garcia (Lansing
Middle School) and Natalie Lyons (Onondaga Hill Middle School). They tied for 2nd place
in the nation on the Level 1A exam and were awarded the Presidents’ Award, a Larousse
French-English dictionary, for their superb results. A total of 52 students in Central New
York placed in the top ten nationally.
Bravo et felicitations à tous! Look for information about le Grand Concours 2015 in
December. If you have any questions about the National French Contest, contact Jennifer
Reed, AATF of CNY Vice President and National French Contest Administrator.
NOTE: The award given to the highest score on the Level 1A the National French Exam
in Central New York has been renamed. It is now called Le Prix Présidentiel to honor
current and past presidents of the CNY chapter of the AATF. The prize consists of a
certificate and dictionary.
PEN PALS, ANYONE? PEN PAL SCHOOLS, an online service that connects middle
and high school classrooms internationally to promote language learning and culture. It is a
six week program with designated curriculum units and topics. It matches individual
students in the classrooms and is designed to be a pay-as-you-go program. For more
information, contact Eron Smith at eron.smith@pomona.edu
Le Cocorico
REVUE DE LIVRE
Ken McCluskey
L’Immaculée Conception was Gaetan Soucy’s first novel and
was shortlisted for the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize. In it, Soucy
introduces us to a society of lost and troubled souls. In this case it may
be the neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges in the middle of what we
assume is Montréal. But, as it is a novel by Soucy, we are never sure
of this or many other things in his novels.
In this sub-set of modern day society, there is a maze of
interactions often by people who never meet. There are suppositions,
promises, hopes and disappointments. One reviewer called it “a
chillingly agile story of ritualized brutality straight out of Poe.”
Apparently influenced by a form of “magic realism,” Soucy’s
world is a locality where time and place are flexible. Characters take on new roles. What
seems real one minute may be disproven the next. It is a book with a maze of intersecting
characters, events and personalities. Events that are hidden in the past are never revealed
but play a major role in the story. Questions are asked which may not be answered or may
have no answer at all.
A young deaf child is introduced but, at the end of the book, she is not who she
originally appeared to be. She leads the main character on a Kafkaesque voyage through
his city but which has become a city which he has never seen. A Captain of the Fire
Company may or may not be in love with the schoolteacher who may or may not be
enamored of the religious brother who is the principal of the school where she teaches.
The same Captain pursues a man for an uncertain reason, again reminiscent of Kafka.
L’Immaculée Conception, is in many ways a book of horrors. Lurking just below
the surface of our own lives, we realize, are similar nightmares about to break forth into
the light. A man is unable to escape the horrors of his past. A teacher, overprotective of
her students, lives a life of loss and is convinced that her students are guilty of grave sin.
A religious brother comes face to face with the loss of his religious vocation. A banker
humiliates an employee in order to control him. A lottery ticket, which would mean a
secure life, is destroyed. A saloon filled with depravity also contains a painting of the
Madonna. A fire is set by a maniac. A drunken home-care attendant, an invalid, demented
father, people who may or may not be whom they appear are all to be interwoven in to this
complex story.
REVUE DE LIVRE….suite
Gaetan Soucy, who died in 2013 at the age of 54, was the author of only four
novels. La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes is his most well known and most
popular. But, each of his four novels brought him major attention from the literary world.
His novels have all been translated into several languages. He has been called a
brooding man and a man who was preoccupied with alienation and has been referred to as
“a master of suspense who gives life to enigmas.” The complexity of the text and the
events in his novels have frustrated some readers, and yet, brought Soucy fame.
A novel worthy of a step into the unique world of Soucy but, L’Immaculée
Conception is probably not a novel to read late at night, in an empty house with a storm
raging and shutters banging.
L’Immaculée Conception Boreal Compact 342 pp.
LOVE TO TRAVEL?
INTERESTED IN IMMERSION?
YOUR DESTINATION, FRANCE?
Yes, Offres d’Emploi!
Your local AATF needs YOU! We
are currently planning to solicit
recipes (French, bien sûr) for use in
the classroom and are seeking
interested members to help organize
and produce the effort. Does this
sound like something you’d like to
help with? Contact Robin Brown,
our president, and let her know!
ALSO: it’s time for me, your
editor, to close up my computer and
look for someone to take my place!!
All you need is a little computer
expertise, a little time (yes, that’s at
a premium, but…) and a desire to
help spread the news of our
wonderful organization. Come on,
let me know you are interested!
UN GRAND MERCI!
Contact Valerie Sutter at
www.frenchtraveler.com
trips@frenchtraveler.com
Find out where the July 2015 trip will take you
in France!
www.aatfcny.org
CHECK US OUT!
Le Cocorico
DATES IMPORTANTES
SEPTEMBER 27
SLEC Conference
SUNY Cortland
8:15 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
“Foreign Language and ESL: Getting
to The Common Core of Communication”
OCTOBER 10 – 11
NYSAFLT Annual Conference
Rochester, NY
“Getting to the Common Core of It:
Let NYSAFLT Rock Your World!”
NOVEMBER 1
Central N.Y. and LECNY
Regional Conference
ESM High School
8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
“LOTE Makes the World Go ‘Round”
NOVEMBER 5 – 11
National French Week
TBA: AATF of CNY night at the
Crunch
LOOKING FOR A FRENCH FIELD TRIP?