Congratulations to French language students Kelsey Tierney (left) and Claudia Schultz (right), for participating in the 2009 National "Le Grand Concours" Competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Kelsey and Claudia are eighth grade students of Mr. David Strauzer (center) at Garden City Middle School. This year, they scored fourteenth and fifteenth respectively in Nassau County. They each received a "Certificat de Réussite" for their efforts and placement.

"I am exceptionally pleased that my students did so well considering that they did not review prior contest examinations," commented Mr. Strauzer. "They placed solely on their knowledge and recall of French since they began their studies. A job 'trés bien fait!!!'"

Last year 143 New York State school districts participated in Le Grand Concours with approximately 2,000 schools nationwide. There are exams for all the levels of French. The exam Kelsey and Claudia completed consisted of 60 - 70 multiple choice questions covering the areas of listening comprehension, reading, vocabulary and grammar.