French Club: New Changes and Upcoming Year Overview

This year’s French Club president and vice president, Thomas Paulus and Cameron Hughes, are determined to make the club low-pressure and more about having fun learning the language. 

According to Paulus, last year French Club was often lulling and had low attendance at the meetings. Paulus and Hughes both took part in the club last year, and applied to be officers this year in hopes of making changes to the club’s activities, events, and overall dynamic to try and increase attendance.

French Club usually meets the first Monday of every month, but because of scheduling conflicts they’ve only met on the first Wednesday of the month so far. This is something that Paulus and Hughes have had to work together to plan along the way.

During the meetings members participate in culture-based games, discussions, art projects, food days and anything else French-related that helps to better understand the language.

At the last meeting, Hughes and Paulus researched French fall-themed vocabulary words then organized a game where two teams competed to see who knew them better. The goal was for everyone to get a better grasp on the language and have a fun time with their peers. 

“It’s a way for all the French students to come together from all the levels” Hughes said.

The attendance for the most recent meeting was about 15 people — a great number according to Paulus, especially this early on in the year.

The club is open to members of any level of French classes, but mostly has participants from French 1 through French 4. This is a great way for students from different class levels to intermingle with one another and come together to appreciate the language and have fun with French, according to Hughes.

Gina Halksworth, French teacher and the club’s sponsor, thinks that French club is a great way for students to connect and better their understanding of the language.

“Our hope is that it continues the love of French,” Halksworth said. “Just to spend some time doing what we love”.

As with other languages, according to Paulus, it is common for French students at East to drop out of the class after their second or third year. When the group of students in this year’s French 4 class started out in French 1, there were three class periods for that level, today there is only one period for French 4.

Paulus and Hughes hope that by coming to French Club, the lower levels gain an appreciation for the language and continue doing it throughout high school. 

“It’s a good way to get people interested and involved,” Hughes said.