A new year begins as the French Honor Society plans to dive into the future while still holding on to the past. It all started seven years ago when Madame Rouit decided to create a club specifically for the French program. Having a strong passion for the students in the French program, Madame Rouit wanted to create an unbreakable bond with them. The club continues to educate students about their exquisite French culture carrying on the legacy the club has been upholding since its humble beginnings.
“When I arrived at Gables more than seven years ago there was no French club or French Honor Society and I wanted to create that club to create more of a community for the students who are taking French classes,” Madame Rouit said.
The French Honor Society, having high hopes to increase their club members this year, are organizing different French themed food parties, a park clean up, painting classrooms, tutoring, and monthly meetings. With the club becoming a bigger influence each year, it is still looking forward to the arrival of new members from freshman to seniors as it hopes to expand. The club is never finished with the amount of students its hoping to gain being community that is consistently growing.
“This year we are looking forward to breaking the new record that was set last year of 83 members in multiple ways. We will achieve this by inciting people to do classroom paintings, crepe and galette parties and park cleanups,” sophomore historian Paul Winston said.
One of the major reasons the French Honor Society has continued to increase in popularity is due to its activities and service hours events. Throughout the year the club hosts activities like the galette party and the crepe party. In these events students learn about the historical background of these French goods while enjoying the baked goods.
The club also contains community service hours opportunities such as the classroom painting, the Sewell Park cleanup and tutoring. These community service opportunities help create the tight community the club shares. With everything posted on FHS instagram, members are informed constantly about the activities. The most popular events are usually relating to food but the club still looks forward to all the interactive activities planned.
“This year as tutoring coordinator I hope to create more opportunities for both those who come as tutors but also those that need help for tutoring. I would like to not only limit the attendance by those who are in the French program but also welcome those that simply want to learn a language on the side or maybe educate themselves more on the French language,” junior tutoring coordinator Talah Pharaon said.
Despite the FHS continuously gaining members, Madame Rouit has stepped down as being the sponsor of the French Honor Society and had given the role to Ms. Montes de la Oca. Entering a new stage, the club is still hopeful for this years activities and bonding. Stepping into a new position, Ms. Montes joins the community moving forward hoping to advance and maintain the club in any way she can
“I am super excited about Mrs. Montes de la Oca becoming our new sponsor this year. Having Madame Rouit for so long was wonderful and we will still keep her near us for any advice. However, I am sure that Mrs. Montes de la Oca will do an amazing job as our new sponsor, as her involvement so far has been great, and her excitement is visible.” senior president Steffi Sarmiento-Mena said.
The FHS is entering a new year, having the common goal of hosting their activities. Each activity is an accomplishment for the club as it grows closer to the common goal of achieving more members. The activities tend to attract people with their food, service hours, or just simply having an enjoyable time. Moving forward, the club will fulfill these activities eventually bringing in new recruits.
