Today, Sophie and I had the pleasure of welcoming Olivier Quénis–a very important figure for us–the inspector responsible for all French primary schools in the United States and Canada. His role involves, among other things, ensuring that reforms devised in France are implemented here, supporting primary heads in their pedagogical leadership, and making sure that teachers receive regular training, including visiting their classrooms to provide guidance on their teaching practices. Today, Olivier had the opportunity to see the 1st graders working with Sarah, the 4th graders with Adeline, and 2nd Grade during bilingual class with Nicolas and Catherine.
Aside from regularly having to remind me to fill out questionnaires or complete administrative paperwork–something I am apparently allergic to–another key aspect of Olivier Quénis’ work is promoting challenges and projects organized throughout the AEFE network of French schools in North America–infusing it with life. The École increasingly takes part in these ambitious initiatives, which allow our students to shine while showcasing our school. Some examples: our Falcons have just returned from a basketball tournament in Chicago where they did The École proud. Camille Martin regularly spends part of her Saturdays at school, supervising chess tournaments. The École Budding Ambassadors team will leave for Boston next Thursday to participate in a public-speaking contest. Last week, our 5th to 8th Grade classes took part in the final of the Course aux nombres, an individual math contest that came hot on the heels of the Défi des Amériques, a team-based math challenge. Our Elementary students also contributed to the Momo et Lolotte literary project, imagining the adventures of two characters as they travel the world. I’m going to stop there because the list is long of events that connect us to other French schools in North America and provide our students with extraordinary opportunities.
Olivier’s visit happened to coincide with the official announcement of the North American winner of one such contest: Les Petits champions de le lecture, a challenge that our 4th and 5th graders undertook earlier this year. Each participant read a passage aloud from a book of their choice, sharing their passion with the audience. We are incredibly proud to let you know today that it turns out the best reader in all of North America is none other than our own Roxane from 4th Grade! A huge congratulations to her. Roxane chose to read an excerpt from La sorcière de la rue Mouffetard de Pierre Gripari. We were all completely transported by her ability to conjure up characters with her voice, intonation, and gestures. She will soon have the incredible chance to represent The École and all the French schools in North America during the global stage of the competition.
Our participation in these contests–and the quality of our students’ performances–is no small feat. Roxane’s success, Aliocha’s (5th Grade) victory in the chess tournament earlier this year, and the consistently excellent scores our students chalk up in all kinds of math challenges reflect brilliantly on our school, shining a spotlight on the work we do. And let me be frank with you: more than making the head of school proud, this recognition also yields some very tangible rewards because a school that stands out in this way is a school that attracts applications from the very best teachers; it’s a school whose opinion carries weight at meetings where important decisions are made; and it’s a school whose expertise is recognized and sought after. It’s also a school the inspector takes the time to visit because he knows he will meet exceptional children, talented teachers, and a united community.