I conjured up some childhood French on my way over to Wellesley Middle School on Wednesday, ready to wow students and staff by ditching English when asking questions at the annual French Fête. I didn’t get too far beyond Bonjour and Oui, but still found it easy enough to immerse myself at this after-school party attended by at least a couple hundred French and non-French students, and supported by parent volunteers and staff.
The World Languages Department party got started with groups from grades 6-8 each flash mobbing to European pop hits. French teacher Mme Rebecca Blouwolff impressed with some fancy footwork of her own, alternately dancing, emceeing, and taking photos.
Parent organizer Catherine Cerio described this French frenzy as an opportunity for “high octane after-school snacking.” Students armed with French Cheese Passports got to (or for some, had to) sample a handful of French cheese such as Comtê to earn credits that would let them score crêpes, croissants, and other treats. The bread table was largely down to crumbs by the time I cruised by. A mom who escorted me through the cafeteria was scandalized that so much good cheese still hadn’t been gobbled up.
Some food was donated by local businesses, while other delicacies came from parent and pastry chef Lisa Sewall, whose husband Jeremy—a local chef and restauranteur—said he was handling clean-up duty.
Students could also earn credits by taking part in various educational games, such as matching artists with their work, for example. Others played Twister, putting their main gauche or pied droit on the rouge or bleu dots, and a crowd gathered around a fancy game called Quilles that in this version involved bowling down empty bottles.
The Mona Lisa was on loan for the day from the Louvre Museum.
Mme Blouwolff said Wellesley Public Schools’ Spanish program for K-5th grade students has led many students down that language path, but that French remains a popular offering taught by herself and Hafsa Abdelmoula.
When I asked 7th grader Dylan Peak if he liked French, he replied: “It’s better than Spanish,” then quickly added that he really likes the culture. Peak knows his stuff on that front: His family lived in France for a year.
Hanna Stevens, an 8th grader, said French is fun, and that “the language is really pretty.”
Some of that prettiness came out in the song lyrics belted out by the dancers, as well as by the merci beaucoups that Blouwolff reminded students to shower volunteers with on their way out of the cafeteria.
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