This is a beautiful artwork presentation by Ianna who is a visual artist. Enjoy.

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Dear students,

It's been very long since I last found the time to write to you. I hope everything is going well at school and that you are all keeping great.

This video was created by one of your pen pals who is called Leica. She introduces herself and her family and gives you a very good idea of what Boston and her school look like, all in French, and that is why I am posting the video on the blog.

You get to know what the T train (=metro or underground) looks like, how Americans greet each other (with a hug), how the school cafeteria is, ...

There is also a famous college called Northeastern, and downtown Boston with Trinity Church and Copley Mall (which is a huge shopping center).

Tell us what you think about it.

Take care, and talk to you soon.

My school

Here is my classroom. It looks like any other classroom but I have to say I miss room 312 quite a bit (what I mean is, I miss you guys a LOT!!!).

As you already know, my school is called Boston Arts Academy. It is a public high school. High school starts with the ninth grade in the US (so if you lived here, you would already be in high school, and not in middle school).
Here are the names of the different grades in a high school (which are also those used in college):

• first year of high school, 9th grade: Freshman
  
• second year, 10th grade: Sophomore
  
• third year, 11th grade: Junior
  
• fourth year, 12th grade: Senior
  

Once you finish Senior year and pass all your subjects with at least a D- (D minus), you graduate from high school and may go to college. Of course, if you want to have a good college, you should have at least 2 As including one in your specialty subjects.

At BAA (Boston Arts Academy), I teach French 1 (French for beginners) to Juniors and Seniors.
I also teach Seminar (which is English reading and writing skills) to Freshmen.
And finally I share a class with an Arabic teacher: I thus have the opportunity to learn Arabic with Juniors and Seniors , and I also teach them Arab culture. I like teaching here a lot but there is a lot of work as you can imagine.

The students all have academic classes (math, science, world language, seminar...) but they also have an artistic major (specialty subject for arts). There are four majors: theater, music (vocal or instrument), dance and visual arts.


We spent our first day of school in the Red Sox stadium of Fenway, which is right opposite our school. The Red Sox is one of the most famous baseball teams in the US, and Bostonians are really crazy about them.



You can see the students here. The people wearing blue t.shirts are the faculty (=teachers) and staff (administration).



Hear the kind of cheerful greetings the students have for their teachers. Could you imagine that at Manet's?




You have a nice view of the Fenway Park here, and you can see how huge (=enormous) it is.




The school's t.shirt, Boston Arts Academy, school for the visual and performing arts.




Who is that girl? Is she a student or a teacher? I haven't got a clue, sorry... I think she doesn't know either.



Two days after school resumed (=started again), the students' parents were invited to meet with the staff and faculty, and before the meeting started, the arts teachers put up a show for the audience.



The students who did good last year receive a congratulations diploma, which is a bit like the ones you get at Manet's school for "encouragements", "tableau d'honneur" or "félicitations".

Boston public garden

This is Boston's Public Garden, a beautiful place to get some rest from Boston's busy life.


This is Harvard's church.


This is Harvard's campus, one of the most beautiful university campuses in the United States.




This is Copley T stop. Bostonians call their subway "the T", which is short for MBTA, the subway network. Notice the imposing church building.

Boston, MA

Hello again my favorite students,

I hope you are keeping great and that school is going well. I am sending you some photos of Boston and my school for you to have an idea of what it looks like. My American students are very, very eager to correspond with you and they have a lot of questions to ask you about France, Paris, French fashion, the museums, the music you listen to, the artists you like, so on and so forth. They are also looking forward to telling you about their school, how it works, the kinds of pastimes they have, etc. I am sure you will find this exchange very interesting and fulfilling, as it will definitely help open your horizons on a country most of you are very passionate about.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

This is downtown Boston, the center of the city. You can see modern and old buildings close to each other. The city is very beautiful and cozy. It is really nice to wander through the streets and Bostonians like to think that their city is the most European city of the United States.

photos of the summer Graduation

Seven students are soon to receive their graduation certificates. Note the gown they are wearing with the silk scarf around their shoulders, as well as the usual hat. The color of the scarf indicates the field of study (theater, music, dance or visual arts).

The students are called one after the other to receive their certificates. Please, note that the faculty members (=les membres de l'équipe pédagogique) are wearing gowns and hats as well. Co-Headmaster Linda nathan is in the middle wearing a red gown.

The family and friends come to support and congratulate the soon-to-be graduates ("the graduands").
Before the Graduation started, two teachers entertained the audience by playing some music. This is to show that the teachers at BAA are always very eager to share their artistic skills.






Listen to the greeting cheers of the assembly as the graduand students enter the room to receive their graduation certificates.

Now, the most important: once all the students have received their graduation certificates, the Head asks them to hold the little cord attached to their hat with their right hand and to pass it over their heads onto the left side. Then, she says: "I hereby declare you graduate students of the Boston Arts Academy".

Summer graduation at Boston Arts Academy

Hello every one,

Today, I am going to tell you a little about my new school. It is a public high school and they are specialized in the visual and performing arts. The name of the school is Boston Arts Academy and it is in Boston opposite the Fenway Park where the baseball Red Sox play.

They teach the usual academic curriculum (English, math, science, history, geopgraphy, world language) and have a strong highlight on art; you can either major in music, drama, dance or the visual arts (photography, editing, video...).

You can check out about the school on their site: www.bostonartsacademy.org.

Last week, I was invited to their "summer graduation". A graduation means that the students have succesfully passed their 12th grade exam, which means that they will be able to attend a university or college. It normally takes place in June at the end of the school year, but for those who were not able to complete their exams, there is still summer school, when they try to catch up. Those who make it at the end of summer school can attend a "summer graduation".

So, during the graduation service, the students have to wear a black gown and a hat. The Head of the school usually opens the ceremony with a speech and some influent members of the school are invited to make speeches as well. The co-Head at BAA is called Linda Nathan and she is the founding member of the school. The other co-Head is Carmen Torres and she was also responsible for creating the school. Both of them are very great, charismatic leaders and they are very fond of their students.

I have included some photos and comments to show you how the Graduation went. I think you might find this really interesting because it is the way students celebrate their academic success and we have nothing like this in France.

Pay attention and learn.

Best regards to all of you,
Ms. Khiat

Vocabulary

1. performing arts: arts scéniques
2. academic curriculum: programme scolaire
3. highlight: mettre l'accent sur
   
4. major: matière principale
5. editing: montage vidéo
6. graduation: remise des diplômes
7. 12th grade: classe de terminale (au lycée)
8. be able to = can
9. catch up: rattraper son retard
10. make it: réussir
11. gown: robe de cérémonie
12. Head: Principal(e) d'un établissement
    

Oakland, CA

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Oakland, CA

Hello my beloved students and new students,

How are you all keeping? I hope you had a beautiful summer break and that you are all ready to resume school ;-)

I have decided to create this blog to keep contact with you and let you know about my new life in the United States. Mrs. Tazi and I wish to pursue the school project you were part of last year, and I think this is a good way to keep track of it. Of course, I will use English on this site, but don't worry, I have enclosed a vocabulary box at the end of this post. Do not be anxious if there are some words you don't understand. This blog aims at getting you used to reading English, and Mrs. Tazi will help you in case you don't understand everything.

So let me just begin with listing the different things you did last year and which are going to be important when we start our new 2009-2010 school project:

• You did a group research on the Civil Rights movement, starting with the American Civil War (1861-1865) which put an end to slavery in the USA, but was replaced with segregation (I hope you still remember the definition); then you did reports on Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and Tommie Smith
• You watched the movie "Glory" about the Civil War and the first African American troop soldiers, and also "Remember the Titans" about school integration in the 1960s
  
• You sent a happy birthday message to Tommie Smith
  
• You did an email correspondence with the youth track and field team of Oakland, whose athletes are teenagers like you and who are coached by Dr. Tommie Smith. In your emails, you introduced yourselves, talking about your hobbies and pastimes, your school, your trips abroad, your family, the languages you speak, etc.
  
• You sent Team Oakland French lessons to teach them basic words in French and created videos so that they would be able to associate the spelling with the right pronunciation
• Some of you greeted Team Oakland when they first arrived in France and you also met Dr. Mark Alexander, who is the President of Tommie Smith Youth Athletics
• Some of you went to the Champs-Elysées with Team Oakland and you climbed up the Arc de Triomphe
• Some of you took part in a track meet with Team Oakland in Saint-Ouen
  
• You went to a debate where you interviewed Team Oakland, Dr. Mark Alexander and the coaches, about their life in the USA, the history of the team, Dr. Tommie Smith, so on and so forth

Now, I must tell you once again that I am very proud of you all and of the great job you did last year. I hope you enjoyed it and above all, I hope you look forward to resuming.

Special message to the new students:
Welcome! You have read a lot of new information; don't worry, your new schoolmates will teach you what they learned last year and Mrs. tazi will do a recap.


New vocabulary:

1. resume: reprendre, recommencer
2. keep track of: poursuivre, continuer
3. don't worry: ne vous inquiétez pas
4. enclose: inclure, insérer (un document, une pièce jointe)
5. aim at (+ V-ing): avoir pour but de
6. get used to (+ V-ing): s'habituer à
7. track and field: athlétisme
8. greet: accueillir
9. climb up: monter, grimper
10. track meet: rencontre d'athlétisme
11. so on and so forth: ainsi de suite
12. once again: une fois de plus
13. proud: fier(e)
14. above all: surtout
15. look forward to (+ V-ing): avoir hâte de