A Muriel Martin student will take on the world this May as she represents northern Alberta in a contest of French dictation.
Mikenna Smith, a Grade 5 French immersion student at Muriel Martin Elementary in St. Albert, was one of the two winners of the northern Alberta regional final for La Dictée P.G.L. last March 13 in Peace River, earning her a spot at the grand international final this May.
La Dictée P.G.L. is an international contest open to elementary and junior high students that promotes French, the environment and international relations. Now in its 24th year, the contest has students compete to see which of them can most accurately transcribe a long, complex passage in French read aloud by a judge. Students raise cash for their schools and international development for every word they spell correctly, and can win bursaries for their performance.
This challenge isn’t easy, as the words are very complex, said Marie-Claude Corazza, Smith’s teacher.
“Some of the words I didn’t even know what they meant myself … and I’m a francophone.”
Although she doesn’t speak French at home, Smith said that she’s been in French immersion since kindergarten and seems to have picked up the language. A self-described bookworm, she said she read lots of French to prepare for the contest.
Smith said she was really, really excited when she learned she’d be going to regionals.
“I was smiling throughout the rest of the day.”
She’s both excited and nervous at the prospect of facing off against about 80 other students from six other nations.
“I’m proud of myself for being able to make it this far.”
This is the third time in 10 years that Muriel Martin has had a student in the finals, Corazza said. She credits the school’s strong literacy program and the diverse linguistic background of its staff for its continuing success.
The international final is in Montréal this May 24. Visit fondationpgl.ca for details.
Vital Grandin students got hopping last week as part of a national campaign to promote heart health.
About 200 Vital Grandin Catholic School students showed off their jump-rope-fu last March 25 as they skipped rope to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
The school signed onto the Jump Rope for Heart campaign earlier last month and spent two weeks learning skipping techniques in gym, said principal Marina Lotoski. That led to last week’s grand finale, where the whole school gathered in the gym to do group jumps, crossovers, one-legged hops and other feats of agility.
“We want our students to be active for life,” Lotoski said, and the hope is that these students will keep skipping at home.
Lotoski said the students raised about $2,330, meeting their goal of beating last year’s total of $1,592.
A St. Albert Catholic High student has snagged a free three-year education at NAIT for his role in the High School Culinary Challenge.
SACHS Grade 12 student T.J. Pennington won a three-year cooking apprenticeship scholarship last month for his role in the eighth annual High School Culinary Challenge, an event that pits Edmonton-area high schools against each other in a contest of fine cuisine.
Sixteen teams were tasked with cooking a three-course gourmet meal at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s kitchens back on Feb. 7, with the winners announced March 9.
Pennington snagged one of the four NAIT scholarships open to all participants in the event.
Pennington said he and his team had to cook a ravioli appetizer, a meatloaf with braised cabbage and whipped potato main course, and a choux pastry dessert.
“Our presentation for the main course didn’t go as planned,” he said, as the sauce wasn’t quite right, but his skill with pasta came in handy for the appetizer.
“We had fun doing it.”
Pennington, who currently cooks at the Glasshouse Bistro in the Enjoy Centre, said he hoped to intern at a European-style restaurant after graduating from NAIT and land a job in the industry.
