Bonjour mes collègues!

SAGUENAY was a great conference.  In addition to the variety of stimulating sessions that one would expect, there was an exceptional atmosphere of excitement and sharing.  One particularly interesting session that I attended was given by a native Rwandan who had lived in the U.S. and also in Canada where she taught in an immersion school and who now teaches in a private school in MI where her French class includes a unit on math.  We watched fascinated by a video of her students explaining math problems in French!

The welcoming attitudes of the local residents and hotel employees was also exceptional and the Dollar Store nearby was very popular.   Many of us went home with great bargains: full size Québec flags, jaunty bright blue fedoras, Québec fleur de lis keychains, etc.   Saguenay was so North American in so many ways that it at first it was such a lovely surprise to hear and see French everywhere!

There were approximately 330 teachers at the convention which is about as many as attended our Rhode Island conference.  New Orleans was a little over 400.  In the sessions, it was particularly nice to be in a room where there was an easygoing feel and lots of interaction with the session givers.

Blueberry mousse cheesecake

Tarte aux bleuets with 

The AATF will probably make money on this convention due to the favorable exchange rate and because the food was inexpensive compared to the American cities where we've had conferences, particularly Chicago.  Did I mention how delicious the food was???  The local specialty is blueberries and we saw them in lots of ways! Here are some wonderful blueberry desserts.

Sheila Conrad, IA

The group of Leadership Fellows was particularly lively and were often the reason for the great ambiance of the convention. From Region VI, we had Rebecca Léal from Chicago/N IL, Sheila Conrad from Iowa, and Melanie Taylor who teaches now in Tennessee but is originally from Wisconsin.  Melanie and I met, we think, at Carthage College in Kenosha and Melanie did a program for a French immersion luncheon at our Illinois state WL conference some years ago.  So it was great fun to reconnect and see how involved she is in the AATF.

Rebecca Léal, Chicago/NIL

Those of you who have nominated and sent a Leadership Fellow to a convention know what a boost these individuals can be for your chapter. The national office pays for their conference registration as well as hotel and meals for the two extra days that they are at the convention. Chapters usually offer $200 to $400 to help the fellow cover the rest of the expenses depending on the chapter's resources.


A few of these future leaders were also recognized as having achieved the Exemplary French Program status.   This is a new program that can help get the message out into the community that French is alive and well and much respected as a course of study.

Exemplary Program Awardees

The French programs of our own chapter presidents Martha Behlow (Chicago/N IL) and Andrea Behn (WI) were awarded 2015 Exemplary Program status. What an amazing way to show the administrators, board of education, and the community that you have a great program!  
                                      Profiles of these programs make for some inspiring reading:      
                                  http://frenchteachers.org/hq/exemplaryprogramdescriptions.htm

Region VI was well represented in Saguenay  

Michele Raasch from Iowa with Megan Diercks, Leadership Fellow from Colorado

Rebecca Léal, Leadership Fellow, Korin Mihevc, and Erin Gibbons, all from Chicago/N IL

Scott Sheridan, University Commission Chair, from Downstate IL and his daughter

Carolyn Crane-Fisk, NFC Administrator from MN, Jessica Nicholas from Downstate IL, Sheila Conrad, Iowa Future Leader

Ruth Doyle of Greater Kansas City, Alice Strange from St Louis, and Katie Madigan, President of Greater Kansas City

Jenny Hopkins, Caroline Little, Joanne Tracy, and Betsy Kerr from Minnesota

Not pictured are Christine Lac and Sharon Gerlach from Minnesota; Barbara Hoerr, Margarita Levasseur, Maureen Madden, Gloria Maliszewski, and Nitya Viswanath from Chicago/N IL; Audra Merfeld-Langston from St. Louis, Ann Sunderland and Rosemary Hoffman from Greater Kansas City; and Ramona Armour and Lorraine Poplaski from Wisconsin.

AATF SUMMER SCHOLARSHIPS
Three Region VI teachers could not attend the convention in Saguenay since they received AATF Summer Scholarships:  Tom Sapp from Chicago/N IL studied in France while Jamie Gurhold from Wisconsin and Jeanne Engelkemeir from Chicago/N IL studied in Mons, Belgium.

NATIONAL FRENCH CONTEST
The big news coming out of the convention was that the National French Contest will now be electronic!  For this first year, it will be a pilot project and teachers will be able to order paper tests as well.  Questions will be randomized and so students will not have to be grouped by level to take the test and teachers can administer the test to their own students.   Students could even take the test in class. Teachers will register their own students online and will be able to do so right up until the test.  

NFC administrators will no longer be involved in registering students but will be there to recruit schools and teachers, send reminders, encourage participation, and organize prize  distribution.  The AATF is not using the same company as the one used by the AATSP. 

The Grand Concours is one of the most effective ways to make French visible in the school and the community.   Thank you for encouraging teachers to participate!

PHONE AT NATIONAL OFFICE   815-310-0490

Our Executive Director has turned off the phone number on the campus at SIU.  Unfortunately, the university refuses to delete it from the list of phones on campus.  So if a member calls the old number, there is a message that leads one to think that no one is there to answer the phone.   So, to avoid disappointment and any impression of inattention to our members needs, please stress to members to use the new number and to double check the number listed on any piece of correspondence they might have or that is even offered by our organization.   Despite all best efforts, there is the outside chance that some document might not have been updated.

STILL TO COME THIS SUMMER:

The AATF of Wisconsin  is organizing a two-day intensive workshop (http://www.aatfwi.org/) with Toni Theisen, 2009 ACTFL Teacher of the Year and 2013 ACTFL President, for their members and is inviting teachers from the Chicago/N IL chapter August 22 -23 in Janesville, WI that will give members the opportunity to understand and use the ACTFL proficiency levels, Can-Do Statements, and Thematic Units, and create IPA’s using authentic resources.  

ET VOILÀ

Please know that your efforts to encourage, motivate, and support the members of your chapter are appreciated by your organization and no doubt by your members.   They and their students are very lucky to have the resources and the activities that you organize and facilitate as a representative of the AATF.  If a teacher should indicate that they don’t see any reason to join the AATF, you can mention that, if they were members...

their students could be

wearing blue, white, and red cords at graduation

photographed with their NFC certificates and prizes

making videos for the NFW contest

watching AATF YouTube videos that correspond to the AP themes

listening to video clips their teacher found on the AATF Facebook page

be celebrating National French Week with any of the ideas at frenchteachers.org

be singing and dancing at an immersion day (Chicago/N IL)

be recognized for their presentational skills at a Concours Oral (MN, WI, CHI/N IL)

and they themselves could be
supporting their profession

picking up teaching tips on the AATF Facebook page

studying in France or Belgium on an AATF Summer Scholarship (2 in IL & 1 in WI this yr)

growing professionally through the National Bulletin and the French Review

improving their own language skills at a Teacher Immersion Day (GKC)

receiving notices of French teacher job openings in their area from their chapter president

experiencing French art, literature, architecture, etc through regular programs (GSL) (CH/N IL)

receiving teaching tips and enrichment 3x a year through electronic newsletters (MN, CH/NIL)

part of a network of teachers always looking to share and to receive ideas and support for their French programs

Alors, UN GRAND MERCI & BONNE CONTINUATION!!!