Four Middle Schoolers Earn Recognition at French Contest

Alex Gasca ’29, Tyler Jackson ’30, Helena McClanahan ’30 and Gareth Teoh ’29 put their French skills to the test this year, earning recognition in national contests sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Through their creativity, they impressed the judges with their writing and media projects. 

Gasca, McClanahan and Teoh won for their entries in the Jeunes Amis du Français Creative Writing Contest, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. The prompt was, “Imagine that you're traveling to a French-speaking country. Explain what you're going to see, do and eat/drink during your trip. Why are you choosing to visit this country?” Gasca wrote about a trip to Luxembourg, Teoh to Canada and McClanahan to Switzerland. They each received $75, and their submissions will be published in the next edition of Élan magazine, which will be published in the spring.

Tyler Jackson ’30 was the winner of the National French Week Media Contest at the Middle School level. He beat over 100 entries from 48 schools with his animated video titled “French as a Global Language.”

“I’m delighted that Tyler's outstanding creativity was recognized with first prize in the National French Week Media Contest at the Middle School level,” said Middle School French Teacher Rob Napier. “He definitely understood the assignment and went for it wholeheartedly. To see the judges give him full marks was gratifying.”

“Equally, to see the creative writing entries by Alex, Gareth and Helena receive recognition is a fantastic achievement,” Napier continued. “Their descriptions of what they would do if they visited Luxembourg, Quebec and Switzerland, respectively, were tremendous. I hope they will all enjoy seeing their writing in print and that they go on to achieve at higher levels, too. It goes to show how much linguistic talent we have at FWCD. Bravo!”