The second Grand Concours Awards Breakfast, post pandemic, was held at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center on May 9, 2024. The room was filled with a celebratory spirit as well as the waft of freshly baked croissants, orange juice, coffee, and hot chocolate. In attendance were 150 parents, teachers, administrators and students who were platinum, gold and silver medalists from Minnesota schools.
The ceremony began with Maureen Elwell Peltier, President of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) Minnesota greeting people and later, speaking about the importance of language learning. Beth Alto, French teacher at Minnetonka High School, was the emcee. She read the names of the award winners at each level and students came forward for recognition and pictures.
Carolyn Fisk, AATF Executive Board member and Administer of the Grand Concours, had the honor of announcing the winners of the student and teacher prizes. For each level, there was drawing and students had a table full of French related gifts from which to choose. The grand price, a $500 travel scholarship offered by Xperitas, a nonprofit educational travel organization, was awarded to an advanced student who was thrilled to accept this wonderful gift.
The National French Contest/Le Grand Concours is an annual competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Students of French in grades 1-12, in all 50
states and abroad, take a multiple-choice test and compete against students with similar educational backgrounds for prizes of medals, certificates, and more. It is a great way for a student to challenge themself as well as prepare for post secondary educational opportunities. This year, 44,939 students participated nationwide. In Minnesota,
approximately 500 students took this challenge.
AATF Minnesota President Maureen Elwell Peltier, thanked all the volunteers who help Madame Fisk, the Grand Concours Administrator. She also noted that "Carolyn, once again, did a fabulous job organizing the contest, the results, and the beautiful breakfast honoring our winners. She is a tremendous asset and her contributions have been invaluable."
AATF Minnesota would also like to acknowledge their sponsors, Xperitas Student Travel, Wayside Publishing, University of Minnesota French Department, Lunds & Byerlys, and the Hallie Brown Community Center. Their support was instrumental in making this event a success.
It must also be noted that Team Grand Concours strived to make the event as green as possible. All of the tableware was compostable! We are doing our part to help the environment.
Pictures by Carolyn Fisk and Maureen Elwell Peltier
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