Newman Students Shine in French Oratory Contest

[FULL STORY]

Three Newman students competed in several world language competitions taking first, second, and third place in the Andry/Bruno French Oratory Contest, which was held in late November in New Orleans. Sasha Lasky ’15, Douglas LeClerq ’17, and Ben Luongo ’15 were honored for their performance and congratulated by M. Jean Claude Brunet, Consul General of France for New Orleans.

 

Each autumn, the Council of French Societies in New Orleans hosts the Andry/Bruno French Oratory Contest each fall to showcase student talent and to celebrate the tradition of excellence in French language study in the New Orleans metro area. In the event high school students from private and public schools are given two to three minutes to recite, in French, a memorized or thoroughly prepared selection of their choice. In addition, participants are expected to answer questions posed by the judges in French. All judges are native French speakers. 

 

Students are judged in two divisions: Immersion and Non-Immersion. The Immersion Division includes students who have been educated in any of the French immersion programs, who have French parents, or who have lived in a Francophone country for a significant part of their life. The Non-Immersion Division is divided into three categories: First year students, students with two or three years of French study, and students with four or more years of French study. Winners receive a certificate, a cash prize, and are congratulated by the Consul Général de France as well as by other prominent supporters of French in the city.

 

Ben Luongo ’15, an AP French student, won Third Prize in the Immersion Division by reciting a portion of Charles de Gaulle’s famous 1940 speech Appel aux Français, which rallied the French to support the resistance movement after the fall of France to German forces. Douglas LeClercq ’17, an Honors French IV student, won Second Prize in the Non-Immersion Division by reciting a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, “Le Loup et l'Agneau.” AP French student Sasha Lasky ’15 presented a prepared presentation on plastics recycling in France and how it is helping improve hygiene and sanitation in underdeveloped regions of Francophone West Africa. For her performance she won First Prize in the Non-Immersion Division.   

 

The awards ceremony was hosted by Newman parents Raymond Rathle and Alexander Stafford, a former president of Alliance Française de la Nouvelle-Orléans and an active supporter of French initiatives in the city. Students were congratulated by Consul General M. Jean Claude Brunet, who gave in inspirational speech and then conversed informally with students afterwards. Contest organizers Madame Brigitte Gomane, President of the Council of French Societies, and Cécile Andry, founder of the French Oratory Contest spoke about the historical importance of the contest and their pride in the students. Contest sponsors Mr. Andry of the Andry Law Group and Mr. Bruno (a Newman parent) of Bruno and Bruno, LLP gave speeches to share why they sponsor this contest and their families’ connection to French heritage and the French language in Louisiana.

 

Please join us in congratulating these three outstanding French students for their performance and accomplishment. Newman students’ drive to achieve beyond the classroom is a source of pride for the whole community.