It was a great night last Thursday as the 24th annual Foreign Language Honor Society Induction Ceremony at Mansfield High School was held in the MHS Auditorium. Seventy-four French and Spanish students were inducted into the Société Honoraire de Français sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French and the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.These honor societies are national organizations and the criteria for selection is uniform, mandated, and of the highest caliber. Each inductee has maintained at least a 90 average in his or her respective language for two years prior to consideration. In addition, the inductee must have a cumulative scholastic average of 80% or above in all other subjects.
As I am asked to do every year, I gave some opening remarks, striving to even give a few words of wisdom in French (thank you, Mrs. Gildersleeve and Mr. Benoit!). I congratulated the inductees and current members, reminding them that they were well on their way to acquiring a 21st century skill, the ability to speak another language. This is a skill that I believe will soon be a necessity in our global economy, as I have recently read of the emergence of more English speakers in China than in the United States within the next twenty years, underscoring the need for a second or even third language acquisition.
Senior members of each society, David Brown, Matthew Cioe, Bridget Davis and Maura Harwood conducted the ceremonies in the target languages. Walter Xu, Co-President of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, and Jonathan Paz, member of the Société Honoraire de Français, opened and closed the ceremony, marked by the passing of the candle of knowledge and presentations by both societies. French Vice-President Kevin Sankey introduced the French song, “Un p’tit air de 1925”, reminding the students of times where having fun did not need to involve iPods or Playstations. The Spanish song, “El Universo Sobre Mi” ably introduced by Spanish Co-Secretary Kirby Viera, reminded us to be happy to be alive and to enjoy all that life has to offer.
The seniors who participated in 2010 Spanish exchange program with the town of Aranjuez, Spain were the guest speakers. Kristina Ivas, Faye Harwell (SHH), Catherine Hamel (Co-President, SHH) and Kylie Nelson (SHH) shared their personal experiences and photographs with the inductees and the audience. Their presentations all reflected on both hosting the Spanish students here in the United States as well as their experiences in Granada, Madrid and Aranjuez.
A reception in the main lobby of the High School followed the ceremony.
The following students are the 2010 inductees:
Société Honoraire de Français
Krishna Bandi , Lindsay Beise, Medha Biswas, Michael Blackman, Laura Burnham, Lauren Connors, Brent Doherty, Taylor Donnelly, David Elofson, Brett Fortin, Carlos Gómez, Ashley Goverman, Katherine Hogan, Amanda Iandoli , Thomas Joncas, Sowmya Kuruganti, Marielle Lajoie, Andrew Marcaccio, Ennya Monestime, Meghan Parrett, Joseph Presentato, Kristina Rothchild, Michaela St. Jean, and Christopher Walsh
Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (pictured above)
Micaela Allen, Joshua Bayliss, Michaela Bowes, Joshua Buonpane, Brianne Burke, Meghan Carroll, Milena Casamassima, Megan Cole, Anna Craft, Catherine DeBruyn, Richard Erickson, Brian Ferreira, Michelle Flynn, Andrea Gemme, Kevin Giffels, Melissa Godfrey, Anne Claire Grammer, Morgan Grant, Matthew Harris, Katherine Hrach, Michelle Ivanoski, Elijah Karpf, Joshua Lampron, Nicholas Leonard, Patrick Maloney, Aubrey Matthews, Paige MacPherson, Victoria Mello, Nathaniel Michener, Colleen Moore, Hanna Nash, Allison Neenan, Mitchell Negus, Christopher Nugent, Gabriel O’Connor, Terrence O’Mara, Nicole O’Neill, Ariana Pasquantonio, Luke Pastor, Kailee Paulson, Kenneth Ratliff, Colleen Riley, Cori Roach, Nathaniel Somes, Theresa St. James, Andrew Sullivan, Jessica Todesco, Guy Vareewong, Jack Vultaggio, and Laura Whalen
To these fine students, felicidades and bonne chance!
No comments:
Post a Comment