At the recent Nassau County French Poetry Contest on Wednesday, April 10th, students from the Waldorf School of Garden City gave outstanding performances in numerous categories. Of the 22 students who participated, 11 received awards. This year, students participated in two ways: writing their own original poems in French or memorizing and reciting a poem in French from a selected list in front of a small jury.

The following Waldorf students won awards for their original French poems (Level I):

• Conchetta Bohm, 1st place for her original poem “Désastre dans le Placard”
• Isabella Persaud, 2nd place for her original poem “Une Ballerine à l’Ecole”

The following Waldorf students won awards for their recitations of famous Francophone poetry:

• 7th grade (Level IA):
  • Erik Beauvais, 1st place for “Déjeuner du matin” by Jacques Prévert.
  • Mauricio Paz, Honorable Mention for “Tu m’as regardée” by Élisabeth-Françoise Mweya.
  • Kate Keane, Honorable Mention for “Le Jardin” by Jacques Prévert.
• 8th grade (Level IB):
  • Ardo Ali, Honorable Mention for “La Nuit” by Anne Hébert.
  • Cailyn Hobbs, Honorable Mention for “Soleils couchants” by Paul Verlaine.
  • Gabrielle Martin, 2nd Place for “Demain dès l’aube” by Victor Hugo.
• 9th grade (Level II):
  • Anja Resnick, Honorable Mention for “Les Papillons” by Théophile Gautier.
  • Amanda Jean-Louis, 2nd Place for “Une Allée du Luxembourg” by Gérard de Nerval.
• 11th grade (Level IV):
  • Gabriela Gallo, Honorable Mention for “Soleil Couchant” by Victor Hugo.

Sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French, this year’s competition took place the Portledge School in Locust Valley, N.Y.

“This year, Waldorf had a record number of participants,” remarked Waldorf’s high school French teacher Reina White. “Waldorf sent eight 7th graders, seven 8th graders, as well as seven high-school students.”

“Out of the dozen schools represented,” said Waldorf’s lower school French teacher Florence Kadri, “the Waldorf name resounded many times as the awards were distributed!”

Congratulations to all! And thank you to all the Waldorf students for representing our School so well!