French Speech Competition results 2018
Vive la poésie!
Paul Verlaine, Michel Houellebecq, Jacques Prévert, Augustin-Soudé, Jean Tardieu, Michel Besnier, Louguivil and Jean-Pierre Voidies were amongst some of the famous poets whose poems our students chose to interpret at this year’s Hong Kong Schools’ French Speech Competition.
Several students in Years 7, 9, 10 and 11 under the tutelage of Mesdames Catherine Dieuletraz, Marion Dechy and myself participated in the event in November of this year. They were required to learn a poem in French and to perform it for an audience and in front of native French jury members, undoubtedly a nerve-racking undertaking for them. The strict assessment criteria included credit for their interpretation of the poem, their engagement with the audience and their delivery of the poem.
All of our students performed with poise and confidence and a notable mention is extended to Michele Liu, Sarah Shum, Carlijn Van Der Weijst, Tiya Shah (Y11), Maddy Yates, Nathaniel Wong (Y10), Conrad Ip, Jason Liu (Y9), Amaanat Rekhi, Sonia Poon, Calista, Viki Yang, Oscar Wong and Julian Ing (Y7) who gave commendable performances, with accurate pronunciation and intonation.
This year’s winners were:
Michele Liu in the Y11 cohort who won first prize in the S5 Girls competition with her poem Sagesse – Extrait XV by Paul Verlaine (Ode, tribute to the powerful and beautiful sea).
Nathaniel Wong and Maddy Yates who received a Second Runner Up place award in the Year 10 cohort with their poem Les Visiteurs by Michel Houellebecq and Pour faire le portrait d’un oiseau de Jacques Prévert and Oscar Wong, who also received a Second Runner Up place award in the Y7 Cohort with his poem Clown by Michel Besnier. Extended congratulations to these candidates, knowing that the competition was again very tough this year!
The two events (one of which was held at SIS this year) brought together various Hong Kong schools and tough competitors such as St Paul’s Covent School, Diocesan’s Boys School, La Salle College, Shatin College, Marymount School, St Margaret’s School and also helped to make links with the wider French community. It has allowed our students to showcase their knowledge of the French language and to perform on stage in a foreign language for which they will receive a very special certificate. Ultimately, it has also provided new experiences and unforgettable memories for our students.
I also would like to extend my appreciation to our wonderful team of prefects: Austin Gigi, Wendy Lee, Val Shiu, Paco Chow, Ava Kim, Athulram Rajagopal, Carla Cousins, Janice Chan, Charlotte Dawson, Daniel Leong, Helen Lee, Jacqueline Lin, Juliana Yue, Michelle Cheng, Marco Wong, Sua Jung, Max Yuen, without whom the opening ceremony of the French Speech Competition would not have been so successfully hosted.
Un grand Bravo et un grand Merci à tous!
Madame Lo
Teacher of French
