News Archive 2005-2006


2005-2006 World Languge Awards
Thursday, June 08, 2006

Our 2005-2006 World Language Awards of Excellence were given to the following students for their academic excellence, enthusiasm, and outstanding achievement in world languages: French 1 - Emily Way; French 2 - Gloria Amerson; French 3 - Ashley Oakley; French 4 - Jeanette Drake; German 1 - Matthew Salva; German 2 - Jacob Lerch; German 3 - Matthew Runkle; Spanish 1 - Joana Sun; Spanish 2 - Emily Traglia; Spanish 2 Advanced - Lauren Lynch; Spanish 3 - Rebecca Sindel; Spanish 4 - Julia Saccone; and Linguistic Achievement in Three Languages - Matthew Eddy.

Raising Money for France
Friday, June 02, 2006

Students traveling to France in the Summer 2007 sold water at the Ledyard Memorial Day Parade to help raise money for the trip. They are also planning on selling crèpes and water at the Ledyard Fair in the Fall.

Memorial Day Parade

Host Families Needed
Tuesday, May 16, 2006

We still need a number of LHS host families who are willing to welcome students from Germany into their homes for two weeks in the fall of 2006. The German students would be in Ledyard from approximately September 18th to October 2nd. The LHS student partners do not have to have any knowledge of German. If you are interested contact Frau Fromhein in room 216.

Also, exchange students will be coming from Spain again this summer. If you are interested in hosting one contact Sr. Jannke in room 211.

The French Café
Monday, May 15, 2006

Students in Mme Sylvestre's French I class have been studying how to order in a café. Part of their assessment was to order in a scene representative of a French café. To make the experience more authentic, students brought it pre-specified café items and were served by one of their classmates. Those students who volunteered to be servers, were given extra credit points.



Ordering in Spanish
Ortega's Field Trip
Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Spanish II students applied themselves in a real-life situation - they ordered dinner, drinks and dessert in Spanish at Ortega's Restaurant in Groton. If you are ever in a bind, ask these kids to order for you. They can do it with confidence.

Cinco de Mayo
Saturday, May 06, 2006

For this year's Cinco de Mayo celebration in Sr. Jannke's Spanish II classes, students taught themselves how to do the Mexican hat dance, performed traditional music, learned modern Latin dance from Hector Torres, reenacted the battle of Pueblo, and experienced the joys of Mexican food. See more pictures...

Students demonstrated that they understood the fact that Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day and just an excuse to have a party. Students explained the fact that a small group of Mexican soldiers ousted the French from Mexico and perhaps changed the outcome of the U.S. Civil War. They learned why we in the U.S. celebrate this important day along side of our southern neighbor.

Megan teaches the Mexican hat dance


The Team
CT COLT Poetry Contest
Thursday, April 13, 2006

The 25th annual Poetry Recitation Contest was held for the 3rd and final time at New Britain HS on Tuesday, April 11, 2006. Thanks to the amazing dedication and organization of Mrs. Froh, we sent 13 World Language students to represent LHS. Our participants were: Kyle Beglau, Jeff Reilly, Matthew Runkle, and Daniel Walker for German, Sara Brumfield, Jeannette Drake, Andrew Larsen, and Miranda Toth for French, and Tom Chapman, John Cleveland, Tim Eng, Sarah Huband, and Eric Zaccaro for Spanish. Tom brought home a gold medal in Spanish level 5-6 and Jeff got the bronze for German level 4. The competition, as usual, was fierce but our students held their own and did their best. The competition included about 1,100 students from 104 middle and high schools from all over Connecticut. To bring home 2 medals out of that many competitors is quite a feat and our students have every right to be proud of their accomplishments! The plaques for most points earned went to Worthington Hooker Middle School and Choate Rosemary Hall. Between the recitations and awards ceremony the Show Choir from New Britain HS entertained us; this group is practicing and preparing for an upcoming trip and competition at Disneyland in California. We returned to LHS late and exhausted, but it was well worth it. Our students said that the experience was invaluable and would not be forgotten.

Spring Spanish Harlem Trip
Monday, April 10, 2006

Sr. Jannke took his Spanish II classes to Manhattan on April 9th. Students experienced Spanish Harlem, authentic Mexican food, a famous Latino museum, and the dance and music of Ballet Mestizo. As usual, travel on Amtrak and the New York City Subway was interesting, and the weather perfecto! See more pictures...

Underground in Manhattan


Le Fantôme de l'Opéra
Monday, March 27, 2006

In celebration of La Semaine de la Francophonie, French students had the opportunity to view Le Fantôme de l'Opéra in French with French subtitles on Thursday after school. Several students took advantage of the showing. The level one students found it very difficult to follow but the upper level students enjoyed it.

French 2 Students Dine the French Way
Monday, March 27, 2006

French 2 students were studying the French way of eating. As part of their project, they each brought in part of a French meal. (5 courses) They then sat down in typical French fashion and savoured their meal. They ate slowly and enjoyed each other's company. If asked, all of the students would say that it was a very enjoyable experience.



Interesting Francophone Facts
La Semaine de la Francophonie
Wednesday, March 22, 2006

The week of March 20-24 marks La Semaine de la Francophonie. A week dedicated to making people aware of places where French is spoken. LHS celebrated this week with daily announcements featuring a different francophone country every day. The countries featured this year were, France, Canada, Belgium, Sénégal and Haïti. There was a bulletin board posted outside of room 215 telling interesting facts about these countries and students in French class had a daily taste of something representative of the ccountry. Monday, they tasted Brie cheese from France. Tuesday, it was maple cookies from Canada. Wednesday, they had endive with blue cheese dressing. Thursday they tasted papaya juice from Sénégal and Friday, it was blanc manger from Haïti.

Trip to Québec 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006

February 17-20 marked the 12th annual President’s Weekend trip to Québec. This trip is open to all students who have or are presently taking French. This year 28 participants left Friday, February 17, after school for a weekend of fun in our neighboring, northern country. Students watched movies in French while traveling in the “moach” . Students participated in a variety of activities such as: a tour of the city of Québec; went shopping of course!; went dogsledding where the students actually drove the dog sleds; snowshoeing; and ate traditional lumberjack food and danced to traditional music. Also, the students had breakfast at an authentic French café with delicious croissants and hot chocolate which they drank out of bowls. They then spent some time learning and being a soldier in the 18th century and then went to Village des Sports where they went tubing! They participated in a fact finding mission which lead them all around the old city of Québec and also participated in a scavenger hunt at a local grocery store. The students returned tired but happy and excited to perhaps return and do it all over again if not next year then the year after!



LHS Competitors
Connecticut Junior Competition
Friday, January 27, 2006

43 students from Ledyard HS, Norwich Free Academy, East Lyme HS and Waterford HS participated in the Connecticut Junior competition for the Dictée des Amériques. The competition was held on January 27 at Waterford HS. 15 area schools were invited. Ledyard sent 5 students to the competition: Gloria Amerson, Tom Chapman, Jeannette Drake, Sarah Fritz and Mike Massie. It was the first time that Ledyard has ever taken part in this type of competition. The students remarked that it was a very difficult competition but it was also a wonderful experience that provided an opportunity to speak to students from other schools about language learning. The sponsors of the competition, Larousse, the province of Québec, Bescherelle, Télé-Québec, TV5, le Patrimoine canadien, le Ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Commerce international, and the Assemblée Nationale de Québec also provided prizes to the top students of all participating schools.

Adventure in Manhattan
Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Sr. Jannke took Spanish II students to Manhattan on December 4th. It was a most unique trip. The engine of our Amtrak train broke before we arrived in New Haven. A new engine was sent to the rescue and we arrived in New York almost three hours late. We canceled some activities and adjusted our plans to include an additional treat. We spent more time exploring popular attractions in the city – Times Square, The Manhattan Mall and Macey’s. We saw “The Best of Colombia with Ballet Mestizo” at Thalia Spanish Theatre in Queens. This was a diverse show sampling ancient and modern Columbian dance and song, and was the best show Sr. Jannke has seen to date. At the end of the day, the clouds lifted and we were treated to spectacular views of the Empire State Building in holiday lights. Check out our pictures.



Les Fournitures Scolaires
Monday, November 07, 2005

French I students having learned about the French school system, put together Powerpoint© presentations to advertise Back to School bargains. They then made presentations to the class.

A whirlwind tour for German GAPP students
Saturday, November 05, 2005

by Erin Jones (reprinted with permission of the Colonel)

For two weeks in September, ten students and two teachers from Frankfurt, Germany, attended LHS “to complete the GAPP [German American Partnership Program] cycle,” says LHS German teacher Barbara Fromhien. This past summer, ten LHS students traveled to Germany for four weeks. “We attended their school, so they came to us and to our school. It was an academic exchange,” explains Fromhien. Ashley Oakley, LHS senior and GAPP student, believes that both trips were a learning experience. “We learned about each others’ cultures… I liked the architecture the best,” says Oakley. “There is a lot more history behind the buildings [in Germany].” When the German students first arrived , they stayed in Boston for three days before coming to Ledyard. “We really liked the big city,” states German student Aline Wald. They then spent two non-stop weeks in Ledyard, having something planned for almost every hour of the day. They went to classes during the day, and after school often went to watch sports practices, sometimes working out with the team. “They really enjoyed how welcoming everyone was and how they were included,” comments Oakley. The students made trips to Town Hall and the Pequot Museum, visited Old Lyme High School for a day, and went on a day trip to Block Island. “I was very busy,” comments Wald. “It was all so interesting. I went to sports games, and I went horseback riding. There was always something to do.” “I think that we did a good job of showing the students how life is in America,” says Fromhien. After leaving Ledyard on Sept. 30, they went to New York until Oct. 2 when they departed for Germany. “We all have had a very good time in America, and I hope to return again,” says Wald. Fromhien, who had been planning the exchange since January, views it as “a complete and total success.”


Pan de Muerto: A Labor of Love
El Día de los Muertos
Wednesday, November 02, 2005

On November 2nd Spanish students experienced the Day of the Dead as celebrated in Mexico. This is a happy occasion to remember the unique things that lost loved ones shared with others while alive. Food and other offerings are left for the dead in hopes that their souls will return for a night to enjoy. Students paid homage to the likes of Babe Ruth, 2Pac Shaku, Walt Disney, etc. Each was left flowers, food, candy, and pan de muerto (a special sweet bread) to cheer their souls. Students enjoyed food and song as they celebrated the good things that the dead have left us. The students had a great experience researching and producing a reenactment of the authentic event. A big thank you to the parents who helped, especially with getting the bread to rise!

Les Maisons Ideales
Friday, October 07, 2005

French 2 students were charged with the task of creating floor plans of their ideal homes. They were to draw them out and have at least 4 labeled items in each room. They also were to write a description of their house. All of the houses were then presented to the class in French of course!

Une Maison Ideale

GAPP 2005
Wednesday, October 05, 2005

As participants in the German American Partnership Program (GAPP), ten LHS former and present German students spent four weeks in Germany this summer: Juliana DeWilde, Jesse Ewing, Joshua Holbrook, Elizabeth Strader, Michael Lerch, Ashley Oakley, Matt Runkle,Dan Walker, Paul Busch and Yitzchak Winograd. They were accompanied by Physics teacher, Bryan McCauley, parent Carmen Bearden and German teacher and GAPP coordinator, Barbara Fromhein.

The first week of the trip was spent in the Black Forest, visiting such cities as Stuttgart, Hartford's partner city, Baden-Baden and its spas and romantic Heidelberg with its famous castle. During the second week, the LHS students experienced Bavaria with excursions to Landshut, München, Passau, Neu Schwanstein and Salzburg, the Mozart city in Austria. These were exhilarating and exhausting weeks!

During the last two weeks, the GAPP group stayed in Frankfurt/Oder in the state of Brandenburg where they were hosted by German families, got to know their partners and attended classes at our partner school, the Sportschule Frankfurt/O. The students were given a reception at the Frankfurt/O city hall, visited the Reichstag in Berlin with a tour given by a state representative and experienced the unique atmosphere of the Spreewald ("little Venice") by boat.

LHS GAPP student, Dan Walker, had this to say: " The LHS GAPP trip to Germany was an awesome experience. Our reception in Frankfurt/O was very warm. My partner's family was great and the school was equally welcoming." To which Matt Runkle adds: "Germany was a fantastic experience. Seeing first hand how another culture lives is a great way to learn tolerance towards other people." Mike Lerch sums up his GAPP experience in this way: "I had the great chance to meet teens from a different country. Many stereotypes have been broken and I learned that they weren't that different from us."

Then on Sep. 17th, the LHS-GAPP students and their parents greeted and welcomed their partners from Frankfurt/O in Boston and introduced them to Ledyard and LHS. Please look for a report of that chapter of the GAPP '05 cycle in the next issue of the newsletter!

A very sincere "Danke schön" to all the LHS parents of the GAPP students and to the chaperones for their genuine support and to the LHS German students for being superb GAPPYS and ambassadors for LHS in Germany. To view a photo journal of GAPP'05 go to the website as created by Matt Runkle: www.Gapp2005.com.

Les Correspondants
Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Mme Sylvestre's French 2 students worked on projects were they acted as the exchange students from France and wrote letters to their American families describing their family members along with their likes and dislikes. They also wrote back postcards to their family back in France telling what they were going to do that week.

Les Correspondants