Concours D’Art Oratoire

On Monday, April 11th, Brentwood hosted its second annual Concours D’Art Oratoire, or French Speech Competition.

The Concours D’Art Oratoire is a competition hosted each May by Canadian Parents for French (CPF). The students who participate must ?rst present at their school level, and, at the discretion of the judging panel, may be selected to compete at the provincial, and, should they meet with success, the national levels. Those students who proceed to the national level are eligible to win prizes including but not limited to cash, plaques, trophies, and university entrance scholarships.

Students in Grades 8-12 participated in this year’s Concours, with a variety of topics ranging from deforestation and feminism to foreign exchanges and the censure of profanity. Students prepared a 3-5 minute speech, which they presented according to their French background; the three categories, Core, Immersion, and Francophone, are designed to provide participants with the chance to test themselves against those with similar French experience. Students are also required to respond to several questions posed by the judging panel regarding their speech topics.

Nine Brentwood students will advance to the provincial level: Kenya B in Grade 8; Valerie G, Mack ’19, Zoe T, Hope  & Leila M, Hope in Grade 9; Sophie F, Allard & Anna M, Alex in Grade 10, Clare G, Mack  & Sarah R, Hope in Grade 11; and Alex D, Rogers in Grade 12.

Monsieur Hernandez, Head of Modern Languages, will accompany students to the Concours, which will take place on May 7th, at Simon Fraser University.

Sarah R, Hope ‘17