LA CLASSE DE MADEMOISELLE CLUFF

Bonne anne ! Happy New Year!

Janvier 2015

2015 is well underway and I could not be more thrilled to

observe such extensive growth within students in their
French studies. Below you will find a brief summary
regarding the past two weeks following the holidays,
including some exciting news as to whats to come in the
upcoming months.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me via email
(courtney_cluff@hotmail.com), and dont forget to follow La
classe de Mademoiselle on Facebook.
Best wishes for the New Year!
Mademoiselle Cluff

6e anne (Grade 6)

Les galette des rois font par la classe de 6e anne

( Kings Cakes made by the Grade 6 class)

With the arrival of the New Year, Grade 6s began to explore some of the New Years traditions celebrated in France.
La galette des rois (Kings Cake) is similar to a sugar pie and is traditionally baked with a bean in the centre. The
person who finds the bean is declared the king or queen of the day and wears the crown to bring in the New Year.
Grade 6 students did a fabulous job arranging the steps to the recipe in the correct order, writing out their own
recipes to follow, and carefully planning which ingredients we would require. Last Thursday, students assumed the
role of bakers and might I say the cakes turned out great! Although there were some mixed reviews on Friday, we
certainly had a blast taste testing our creations, looking for the beans in each of the cakes, and even reading our
most recent Pen Pal letters. Samson, Sarah, Kyndel and Kaitlyn took home the crowns as King and Queens for the
day. This week, we have started our Au caf unit that focuses on using French in authentic ways in order to place
and take an order at a restaurant. This unit is in preparation for North Elmsleys 2 nd Annual Caf Francais (date to
be determined) and I am looking forward to allowing the creativity of the Grade 6 class to unfold in French class.

4e/5e anne (Grade 4/5)

In the first week of January, students in Grade 4/5 completed a glyph (questionnaire) that asked students to create
a snowman based on their answers to 6 questions. This was not only a fun way to create different kinds of
snowmen, but it was also a great way for students to show information and practise following directions to complete
a specific task. Using the snowmen they created, students wrote a descriptive paragraph where the focus was on
including as much detail as possible. Seeing as students have been practising their writing through weekly journal
entries, I have noticed a substantial improvement in sentence structure and overall use of French vocabulary, which
has been great to see! This week students began a new unit on festivals and celebrations. We will be discussing
Mardi Gras and Quebecs Winter Carnival in the upcoming weeks; two influential celebrations in French culture.

Important Reminders:
Dance Club
Dancers in Grades 4-6 meet every Day 4
at morning recess!

Spirit Days
Spirit Days occur on the 2nd Wednesday of each
month. February 9th-13th will be our Favourites
Week. Please see page 3 for details!

2e/3e anne et 1re/2e anne

(Grade 2/3 & Grade 1/2)
In both the Grade 2/3 and 1/2 classes, I have slowly begun to incorporate the French only rule. For the Grade
1/2s, this consists of asking and answering simple questions in French and using familiar greetings as students
enter the French room. Similarly, the Grade 2/3s have been working diligently on practising new and familiar
vocabulary in various contexts as a class, while also starting to
respond and comment on more complex phrases in French.
As students progress and begin to acquire a wide selection of
words and phrases, it is so important that they are using their
French during class time as much as possible in order to truly
benefit from the French program.
Last week, students created snowmen of their own and
completed a descriptive writing task that made use of the
vocabulary being studied in class. As January continues,
students will look at a book called, La moufle where our focus
Les bonhommes de neige de 4e/5e anne et
will be on identifying the Qui (Who),Quoi (What) and
2e/3e anne
(The snowmen created by the Grade 4/5s and the
O (Where) in similar French texts.
Grade 2/3s)

La maternelle (Kindergarten)
I just love walking into the Kindergarten room and hearing
students using their French to count and say hello, or even
simply inserting familiar words into their daily conversations
with one another. Students are so enthusiastic at this age and
it is fun to share in their learning experience as the French
teacher. In the upcoming months, we will continue to focus on
using mostly non-verbal cues and short utterances to
communicate in French. Students are beginning to understand
short commands with gestural support and our songs will
reflect the various themes of the season (i.e. seasonal
changes, winter activities, and Valentines Day).

Frosty et la porte de la classe de francais

(Frosty and the door to the French
Room)

Dont forget to see page 3

for details on Februarys Spirit Week!
Page 2