Sixth-graders perform 'en Franais'

Carol Packard's sixth-grade class shared a taste of European culture last week in a French language performance at Sisters Middle School.

Packard's 30 students studied French twice a week for four months under the tutelage of one student's French grandparents, Drs. Collette and Nicholas Gilroy, who now live in Bend.

The retired professors are the grandparents of Packard's sixth-grade student Stephanie Yopp. The couple volunteered to teach the children the French story of a boy and girl whose Aunt Marla comes to visit them in Paris from America.

In the play, Jacques and Jacquiline met their Aunt Marla at the boat docks and took her on the train, where they taught her how to count to 10 in French.

Aunt Marla then learned the days of the week and months of the year in French before the three walked to a department store so Marla could buy a souvenir from Paris.

"She buys a white hat with flowers, 'le chappeau blanc avec des fleurs,'" explained Packard. The children then escorted their aunt to the airport where she departed for her home in New York.

One of the key features of the play were the "doubles" for each character. Two students played each role, with one student translating the French lines into English for the audience.

Packard reflected on her two years of high school French classes as she helped her students learn the play from the Gilroys.

"It brought back memories that French is a beautiful language and is fun to learn," she said. "We don't have a (French) language program in the school like others do, so this was a great opportunity for the Gilroys to volunteer."

During their four months of French study in Sisters, the students not only learned the language, but they also studied the Paris culture, Packard explained.

"The students will be better able to choose whether they want to pursue French in high school," she said.

The exposure to a new language and lifestyle has already inspired some students. Teresse MacKenzie may be one of those.

MacKenzie, who has French-speaking family friends, played the French teacher in the school drama who taught the language to Aunt Marla with the help of Jacques and Jacquiline.

"I was thinking I wanted to learn Spanish, but why stop (learning French) now," she said. "I think I'll just keep on going."

MacKenzie said she may join some seventh-grade friends who currently take a French class in Bend.

While MacKenzie said she was nervous on the stage, she studied hard to learn her script for the play.

"What I did to make it easier was I wrote on top of the (French) sentences how you would pronounce them in English," she explained.

More than 60 friends and family members attended the play, where school counselor Debbie Newport and a group of students also operated a French bistro, serving coffee and desserts to the guests.