Bonne Année!

J’espère que vous avez tous passé de bonnes fêtes de fin d’année et vous souhaite beaucoup de bonheur, de la joie et surtout, une bonne santé pour 2016!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had great end-of-year holidays and wish you happiness, joy and especially good health for 2016!

Winter Session French classes

There’s still time to sign up for our newest classes: French Grammar and Verbs, French 3, Jouons Ensemble for Parents & Children… Go to our French Classes page for details

French Discussion and Conversation Groups:

The best way to practice what you’re learning or have learned and/or to keep up your French speaking skills is to participate in one of the many French Discussion groups held in Southbury, Brookfield, Morris and new to start in February in Washington. See our Calendar of Events for dates of those closest to you.

Programs for 2016

Details of our events are already on the calendar or will be soon:

Sunday, February 7 at 2pm – Arty Gras Party – to celebrate Mardi Gras

Sunday, March 6 at 2:30pm – Cheese Making Presentation by Cato Corner Farms of Colchester

April 2 – “Teaching French Culture through Movies” – French Teacher Workshop 10:30 – 2:00pm

April 2 – Anne-Christine Rice of Tufts University presents: “The Best of French Cinema” 7:00 pm

May 3-4 Give Local 2016! – CT Community Foundation’s 2-day Community Fund Raising Event

Sunday, May 15 – Ensemble Aubade Concert to commemorate the 100th anniversary Claude Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp.

Thursday May 19 at 7 PM at Oliver Wolcott Library in Litchfield – author Florence de Lampierre

October – 95th Anniversary of AFNWCT

We need your help!

It takes a lot of work to organize and set up the room, contact speakers and publicize our programs and activities. We’d appreciate volunteers to assist in any way on any of these events. On another note, we’ve had requests from several members wishing us to organize some informal get-togethers in local restaurants. Please contact me if you’re interested in helping out.

We thank you for your support of our mission to promote the French language and cultures of the many Francophone countries of the world. We currently have over 145 members and would welcome many, many more.

Please let me know if there is anything we can do better to enhance your AFNWCT experience.

Meilleurs Vœux!

Marda Gutierrez

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Children’s French Classes Develop Skills

Learning a foreign language encourages cognitive development and creativity, increases memory and improves reading and problem solving skills. More importantly, it’s fun to learn another language! This is especially true for the Children’s classes where hands on craft projects, songs and dances are often part of the curriculum.

IMG_5911This fall, Mme Marie Odile’s Petit à Petit class completed a special project to learn about the different rooms of their house: salon, salle de bain, cuisine, etc. and the how different it is to live in an apartment building rather than in an American house. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

To reinforce their learning, the students pretended they lived each on one floor of an Parisian apartment building, cut out and pasted pictures of their dream rooms to created their own apartment; the ground floor being occupied, bien entendu, by their instructor or “concierge.”

Mme G’s SFTC class recently celebrated National French Week from Nov. 4th – 10th.  National French Week is celebrated annually in schools and other institutions around the country, and this year President Barack Obama acknowledged in a signed letter from the White House the importance of French language education, claiming that “French is essential…”

Students traveled to Pomperaug High School in Southbury on a field trip to see a live, sing-along performance of the music of Édith Piaf, sponsored by the Connecticut chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French.  About 600 CT French students and teachers attended the performance, which starred Mélanie Gall, a professional French-Canadian singer who has traveled the world performing in French and English.  Accompanying Ms. Gall’s singing and accordion playing was a multi-media slide presentation featuring images and videos from Edith Piaf’s life and career, as well as lyrics to all the songs.  Students were thus able to sing along loudly and enthusiastically with Ms. Gall, and the auditorium roared with hundreds of francophiles singing Piaf hits such as “La vie en rose,” “Milord,” and “Non, je ne regrette rien.”

Language learning thrives at AFNWCT and new French classes are now forming for January.

Children:

  • Bonjour Madame! – Thursdays at 4pm
  • Jouons Ensemble! Parent & child learn French together – Saturdays at 9:30am

Adults/Teens:

  • French 1 – Beginner’s class – Wednesdays at 10:30am
  • Verbs and Grammar – for beginners or those wishing to remember – Thursdays at 5:30pm
  • French 2 – Mondays 10:30am
  • French for Fluency – advanced class – Mondays at 5pm

Private Tutoring available for all ages and levels

Click HERE to go to our French classes page for more details about all our classes and how to enroll.

VIVE LA FRANCE!

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AFNWCT Receives Town Recognition

Our organization received an award at the Southbury Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon held on October 25 at B’nai Israel in Southbury. Attending and representing our group was Lea and Anik de Giverny Claflin, Carol Donahue and Marda Gutierrez.

IMG_5848Our Group award is now hanging in our AF Center and reads:

Citation for Voluntary Service

Town of Southbury

Volunteer Appreciation Committee

Let it be known that

Alliance Francaise of Northwestern CT

Is hereby recognized as an organization that has rendered significant contributions
for the enhancement of our Town and the betterment of our residents.

Providing a truly remarkable contribution with the gift of Education

Whereas this Citation for Voluntary Service is presented on behalf of the
residents of the Town of Southbury

This the 25th Day of October 2015

Nancy Callahan was also recognized with a citation as an Exemplary Personal Service Recipient. She was nominated for this award in particular for her work on our special “La Vie Parisienne” May 3 Fundraiser, where she created three Parisian street “scenes”: a Montmartre Café, a Seine River used book stall, a Flower cart and special blue. white and red flower table decorations for all the tables. When people entered the room, they felt like they had been transported to Paris! Typically, Nancy starts planning the overall “look” and theme months before an event and then begins collecting objects, paper products that match a color scheme, special items that will enhance the theme… She then spends hours prior to an event to set everything up as according to her creative vision. She makes the room look inviting and beautiful. She always stays afterwards to help clean up. Her hard work in contributing to the overall success of an event goes above and beyond the call of volunteer duty.

At our Annual Meeting, Nancy was also recognized as “Volunteer of the Year” and presented with a gift certificate in appreciation for her work this past year.

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AFNWCT Annual Meeting – Saturday, October 17

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The Alliance Française of Northwestern CT Annual General Meeting

On Saturday, October 17, several members attended a pre-meeting reception with a delicious breakfast of croissants, fresh fruit and hot beverages prior to our official meeting.IMG_5825

Annual Meeting Agenda:

  1. 2014-2015 Financial Report
  2. Language School Report
  3. Membership Report
  4. Activities & Committee Reports
  5. Overview of Culturethèque
  6. Presentation of 2015-2016 Budget
  7. 2015-2016 Programs

This meeting was a good opportunity to better understand your organization, learn about last year’s accomplishments and suggest ideas to move us forward to sustain and grow our organization… Those who are interested in receiving a copy of the presentation may send an email to afnwct@afnwct.org.

volunteerBecome more involved by serving on a committee. Most members find it quite fulfilling to actively serve on a committee.

Here is a list of our Committees, their Chairperson and contact info in case you have questions or would like to volunteer your time:

  • Hospitality: Nancy Callahan hospitalite@afnwct.org
  • Program: Chair position OPEN programmes@afnwct.org
  • Language School Advisory: Chair position OPEN ecole@afnwct.org
  • Membership: Rolly Grover cotiser@afnwct.org
  • Finance: Jean-Marie Gutierrez, finances@afnwct.org
  • Website: George Roberts, web@afnwct.org
  • Publicity: Mary Conseur, publicity@afnwct.org
  • 2016 95th Anniversary Event: Gail Gros/Nancy Callahan

Heures d'OuvertureWe’re also seeking volunteers who would like to help us maintain a set schedule of weekly or monthly Office Opening times. We would publish these times on our website to communicate when the AF Center is open so members and interested people can come by, browse/borrow from our vast French Mediathèque collection and/or ask questions. Please send me an email (afnwct@afnwct.org)  if you are interested in volunteering 2-3 hours/month.

Thank you for your continued support and membership.

Marda Gutierrez, President

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Short Films Festival – August 18 – November 8

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In collaboration with the Southbury Film Commission (SFC), the Alliance Francaise of NW CT is pleased to present Eurochannel’s Short Film Festival from August 18 through November 8

More than 40 short films will be shown from Eurochannel’s 6th Annual Short Films Tour celebrating “Youth in Europe” and the art of short films. Each Program features an hour and a half of rich short film productions showcasing European culture and cinematographic heritage. Some films are as short as 5 minutes and others as long as 30 minutes.  Each movie is shown in its original language with English subtitles.

Efimera_02

The kickoff program, called “DREAMERS,” was held on Tuesday August 18 at the Southbury Public Library.

In addition to an 11-minute comedy from France (Indian Ocean) titled “Speed Dating,” movies from Denmark, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Turkey was shown.

On August 28, the films shown from Program 2 “Outsiders” were a bit ‘darker’ but everyone enjoyed the films which were from France, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland and Spain.

We’re looking forward to the next programs:

“YOUNG AT HEART” – Thursday, September 17 at 6:30 pm at the Southbury Public Library featuring two films from France plus films from Austria, UK: Wales, Spain: Andalusia, Slovenia and Greece.

“THE RUNAWAYS” – Friday, September 25 at 7:00 pm at the AF Center featuring short films from Sweden, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Italy And Germany.

“FAMILY LIFE” – Friday, October 9 at 7:00 pm at the AF Center with films from Spain (Catalonia), Netherlands/Turkey, Georgia, UK (Scotland), Spain (Bajadoz), Italy (Reggio Calabra) and Poland.

“THE YOUNGER GENERATION” – Friday, October 23 at 7:00 pm at the AF Center featuring films from France: Bourgogne, Switzerland, Germany, Lithuania, Ireland, Netherlands, Croatia and Latvia/Estonia.

“THE FRENCH COLLECTION” – Sunday, November 8 at 3:00 pm at the AF Center featuring just the French short films from the Tour.

All Programs are free, so gather your friends and family and come discover Europe, visit its countries and listen to all its languages…

The SFC’s primary mission is to encourage and facilitate filmmakers to use Southbury as a backdrop for professional film projects. Joel Wald, SFC co-Chairman, clarified a desire to expand the Commission’s scope to include identifying Southbury as a cultural haven, friendly to film-lovers and filmmakers. More information may be found on their website, www.southburyfilm.org.

Eurochannel (www.eurochannel.com) is the award winning television channel featuring premium European entertainment with the biggest stars. Eurochannel presents only top-of-the-line European programming from recent blockbusters to critically acclaimed TV series. Experience Europe on Eurochannel through cinematic adventure, humor, history and entertainment. Eurochannel is available on Sling International. To stay up to date on our latest programming, like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Eurochannel) and like us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/Eurochannel).
Logo_Eurochannel      Southbury_Film_Commission_Logo     aflogo
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Soirée Provençale – 29 juin 2015

J’ai eu l’honneur d’assister à un diner Provençal chez Mme Rogers (et son mari) avec ses étudiants de French 1 et French for Fluency pour marquer la fin des cours de  l’année. Avec son repas délicieux, ses décorations de table très provençales, ses histoires intéressantes sur les chants des grillons et les traditions françaises, la musique d’ambiance…  elle nous a transportés en Provence – on pouvait se croire en Provence sentir le parfum de la lavande et les rayons de soleil du midi sur le visage !

Les Desserts!

Les Desserts!

Pendant le dessert, il y a eu une petite cérémonie de remise de diplômes.

Bravo à tous ses étudiants ! Et Bravo à Mme Rogers d’avoir donné une soirée magnifique à ses étudiants !

Go to our French Classes page and sign up now for Mme Rogers’ Monday night French 2 and French for Fluency classes. Classes start the week of August 31.

To see more photos from the evening – click on the PHOTO GALLERY below.

PHOTO GALLERY
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La Vie Parisienne Deemed a Success!

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To the more than 80 members and friends who attended our La Vie Parisienne fundraising event on Sunday, May 3 at the Heritage Hotel in Southbury, we hope you had fun and we thank you for your Support!

We raised approximately $1000.00 which will go towards supporting our AF Center and French Language School opened in September 2014 in Southbury.

We also wish to thank all of the area businesses* and members and friends who generously donated gift certificates, original artwork, and other fine items for our Silent Auction, Raffle and our River Seine book stall (listed below).

It’s important to note that without our team of very hard working members who spent endless hours creatively planning, organizing, purchasing materials, fixing up baskets, and putting all the finishing touches on everything, this fantastic event would never have happened and we send you “Un Grand Merci!”:bravo

Room Settings and Themes creatively designed by Nancy Callahan; Basket Beautifications: Nancy Callahan and Carol Donahue;  Contracts: Brian Denyer, Richard Stoops, Yvonne Stoops; Program Ad Sales: Gail Gros, Rolly Grover, Evelyne Purdy and Yvonne Stoops; Program Copy and Design: Marda Gutierrez; Set up: Nancy Callahan, Carol Donahue, Jim Donahue, Michele Paquet Finn, Candida Fitts, Jean-Marie Gutierrez, Richard Stoops, Yvonne Stoops, Diane Yates with special thanks to Deb Tata for the use of her bistro table & chairs; Clean-up: Brigitte and Rod Bentley, Noelle Janatka, Gail Gros, Marcel Gros, Evelyne Purdy, Strother Purdy; Photographer: Lea Claflin; Montmartre Backdrop Created by Diane Yates

La Vie Parisienne Program  mime, carol&nancy2  committee members  rich  partycartoons.com

Mime: Jeff Smithson, Proponent of Play; Caricaturist: Bill Hernandez, Graphics Interactive LLC.

If you missed our event but wish to add a donation, please visit our Donations Page

*Please consider thanking the businesses for their generous support by giving them your business: Ace Hardware, Woodbury; Ameico, New Milford; Deb A. Tata, CFP, ChFC, MBA: Ameriprise Financial Services, Middlebury; Dietrich Gardens, Woodbury; Edwin Sparn, CatBackward: A Tale of CIA; Heritage Hotel, Southbury; Heritage Pharmacy, Southbury; LaBonne’s, Southbury; Middlebury Baking Company, Middlebury; Newbury Musical Theatre, Southbury;  Ovens of France, Woodbury; Oliva Restaurant, Bethlehem; Premier Wines & Spirits, Southbury; Riva’s Rides, Danbury;  Shutter Speed Photo, Middlebury; SPLASH Car Wash, Southbury; Warehouse Wines and LIquors, Southbury and Danbury.

SEE MORE PHOTOS
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Message de la Présidente: Notre “Relooking”

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Bienvenue à notre site rénové avec un thème artistique créé spécialement pour l’Alliance Française of Northwestern CT par Lyle Gerts, un artiste et graphiste très doué!

La dernière transformation de notre site avant celle-ci était il y a plus de six ans quand George Roberts, notre webmestre, a décidé de prendre les choses en main. Depuis, George travaillait inlassablement pour mettre le calendrier des évènements à jour, ajouter de jolies photos et quelques fois les images animés, afficher les bulletins avec style, créer les pages nouvelles, etc.…. Si vous ne faites pas ce genre de travail, vous avez du mal à comprendre combien il faut travailler pour changer constamment les renseignements sur le site. C’est énorme et George l’a toujours fait sans se plaindre et même, avec un sourire. Nous sommes très reconnaissants de tout ce qu’il a fait pendant ces dernières années pour maintenir notre site. Merci, George !

C’était surtout pour faciliter son travail que nous avons fait recours à Lyle pour moderniser notre site. A sa suggestion, notre site s’exécute maintenant avec WordPress, un logiciel conçu pour les Blogueurs, qui est capable de répondre très simplement aux mises à jour. Grâce à la nouvelle structure et la jolie composition conçues par Lyle, George pourra réaliser les changements avec beaucoup moins d’effort. Merci Lyle!

J’espère que vous aimerez le « relooking » et trouverez notre site attirant et facile à naviguer. En arrivant pour la première fois sur notre page principale, vous allez avoir tout de suite le choix entre trois pages informatives sur a) les cours, b) les évènements ou c) comment devenir membre. Ou, si vous préférez, en haut de la page, il y a des menus déroulants pour découvrir Tout sur Nous, savoir comment faire les Donations, et, bien sûr, lire notre Blog.

Je vous invite de prendre du temps pour jeter un coup d’œil sur toutes nos pages pour vous familiariser de tous les renseignements sur l’AFNWCT. Par exemple, essayez de trouver une photo de notre Portes Ouvertes, cherchez la liste des noms de notre Conseil ou regarder la liste des cours de français… Et, dans plusieurs endroits vous allez voir qu’il y a la possibilité de nous dire comment vous voudriez nous aider, partager vos idées, nous donner des suggestions des programmes….

Un Petit Concours :

Pour célébrer le lancement de notre site renouvelé, (et pour vous motiver à bien regarder partout sur notre site) tous ceux qui s’enregistrent et laissent une remarque ou opinion sur notre “relooking” avant le 9 mars auront leur noms ajoutés à un tirage au sort. Trois personnes gagneront l’entrée gratuite : pour La Musique Actuelle et ses Artistes Francophones du 15 mars, pour La Poésie, la Langue de l’Amour du 10 avril ; et une entrée gratuite pour La Vie Parisienne qui se passe le 3 mai.

Amusez-vous bien et Bonne chance !

Marda Gutierrez, Présidente

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Message de la Présidente, JE SUIS CHARLIE

JE SUIS CHARLIE

Il y a vraiment de bonnes raisons d’être optimiste pour le futur de notre organisme.

Malheureusement, les évènements à Paris ces derniers jours reviennent souvent pénétrer ma bonne humeur comme s’il y avait de grands nuages projetant des ombres sur moi.

empire2

New York City illuminates its shared sorrow

Quelle horreur ! 12 morts un jour – 17 en tout avant la fin de la semaine… et pourquoi ? A mon avis, c’est impossible de justifier tuer quelqu’un à cause d’une caricature ou des paroles écrites. Je plains non seulement les familles et amis des gens tués, mais aussi les autres victimes de cet attentat : la liberté d’exprimer ouvertement des idées et la tolérance envers les idées différentes.

J’écoute les reportages à la radio des attaques à Paris, de l’incendie criminel en Allemagne, des attentats récemment en Australie, Pakistan, au Nigeria et au Canada et j’ai vraiment du mal à comprendre ce genre de violence insensée ! Et pourtant, je veux comprendre car l’ignorance nourrit la crainte et la méfiance et je ne veux pas tomber dans ce piège.

Je me pose beaucoup de questions sur les journaux et auteurs satiriques français d’aujourd’hui et dans l’histoire (Molière, par exemple ?); sur l’Islam en général et la vie des femmes musulmanes en France en particulier…  Ces questions me font vouloir lire et apprendre d’avantage et discuter les idées avec d’autres personnes.

L’Alliance Francaise est supposé d’aider à faire comprendre les cultures différentes et donc au titre de cette mission, nous avons décidé d’offrir du temps et un endroit à tout le monde pour encourager l’entendement et empêcher l’intolérance potentielle.

Samedi, le 17 janvier de 1h à 3h de l’après-midi, l’Alliance Francaise of Northwestern CT a réservé la salle Kingsley A à la bibliothèque de Southbury pour une discussion sur « Je Suis Charlie ».  Nous vous invitons à venir exprimer vos idées et opinions, poser vos questions, et discuter ensemble. Le but est de mieux comprendre ce monde dans lequel nous vivons.

Nous allons résumer les événements des derniers jours avec une présentation breve. Si vous avez des photos, images ou citations préférées que vous voudriez ajouter à la présentation, ou si vous avez des questions ou des commentaires à partager avec les autres, je vous invite à me les envoyer tout de suite à cette adresse : info@afnwct.org.

En attendant notre discussion le 17 janvier, je vous envoie mes salutations les plus respectueuses.

Marda

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Message de la Présidente, L’État de L’AFNWCT

Le mois de janvier est souvent un bon moment pour faire le bilan, vérifier que le chemin emprunté est toujours le bon pour achever nos objectifs et regarder ver le futur avec espoir. Et, en regardant les premiers quatre mois de notre année fiscale, je peux vous annoncer que l’état de l’AFNWCT est très sain ! Voici quelques chiffres qui nous donnent de quoi se réjouir:

  • Nous avons 122 adhérents dont 45 sont nouveaux membres
  • Notre école offre 6 cours pour apprendre/améliorer le français – +300%
  • En septembre, nous avions 5 élèves. En février nous aurons 18 élèves enregistrés dans nos cours!
  • Le nombre de participants des 4 groupes de discussions françaises est haute : 18 ont participé en décembre au Café Conversation à Woodbury et 16 en janvier pour le nouveau Parlons Français à Brookfield!
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