By Hanna Zhu. Hanna is a 6th grader at Wellesley Middle School and a member of the Bradford Junior. Hannah has covered several topics while a member of the club, and this is her first story for the Swellesley Report.
Cheese, croissants, French pastries, and games. What could be better? The French Fête is an annual event at Wellesley Middle School celebrating the culture of French speaking countries. There are games, and more importantly, food! The French Fête is organized by French teachers Madame Blouwolff and Madame Abdelmoula, together with the WMS PTO and many parent volunteers.
The French Fête was first hosted about 15 years ago, when the parents of some French students saw the event for Chinese (now Lunar) New Year. They decided they wanted to host an event similar to the new year celebration, except for French.
This year, it was hosted on Wednesday, March 12, after school in the cafeteria. It is usually somewhere between April and March, as a fun break for students. That time of year can be particularly stressful for students, as it is when 8th grade students choose their classes for high school, and it is around the time of the MCAS tests.
7th grade French students performed a song in French, and there were dance competitions for French students in each grade.
New this year, some families volunteered to set up stations about various French cultures. This year, there were stations about Haiti and Louisiana, with a focus on New Orleans. Like in years past, there were also games like French Twister, French Charades, mini-bowling from Quebec, match the monument from Paris, and match the French artist. There was also a station set up where students could take pictures as the Mona Lisa.
In addition to the games, there were pastries from France – some donated by Le Petit Four and others made by local pastry chef and WMS parent Lisa Sewall. There were croissants, crepes, and madeleines, just to name a few. Aside from the pastries, there were also cheese tasting stations set up around the cafeteria, with a variety of cheeses such as babybel and brie.
In order to be able to get food, students had to either visit all of the cheese stations and get stamps for every cheese in their ‘passport’, or participate in games and stations.
The French Fête is a great opportunity for everyone at WMS to learn about French culture and traditions, or just to eat French pastries. Again, it is an annual event, so students are encouraged to attend, whether for the first time or not.
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Bravo, Hanna! As one of Wellesley Middle School’s French teachers, I encourage community members to learn more about our fantastic World Languages program. French students at WMS enjoy not only the annual French Fête, but also an 8th grade trip to Quebec City. These experiences bring the language to life and provide memorable opportunities to use real-life French in meaningful contexts.