Bonjour Pause de Printemps

French Students Travel to Orlando for the Annual French Competition 

Photo by Blair Bayliss/Maclay Andalusian

On March 6 French students from all grade levels traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete in a French competition called Congrès. This is a competition where schools compete for different awards. This year, Maclay performed a play, sang a song and different students did individual competitions. The competitions involved remembering a poem, taking a test and trivia. This year, Marauders did well overall in the performance, had tons of fun and met new people. 

“It was fun and I met a lot of cool people at the competition and people I've never met at Maclay,” freshman Peter Fernandez said.

Students left Maclay at 3:30 pm to be sure to check in at their hotel at an appropriate time. On the first night after getting to the hotel, all the students got dinner together, looked around the hotel and got a good night's rest. On Thursday morning, students went to Universal and spent the majority of their day going on different rides and having fun together. After the amusement park, everyone went back to the hotel to get ready to perform their specific play and song. This year Maclay performed "Sleeping Beauty" as their play and sang "Les Champs-Elysées."

All the students came together and sang in front of three different judges. Maclay did not place in the song event but placed third in performing "Sleeping Beauty." All students had practiced during FLEX to remember their lines and lyrics for each event. After the group performances ended, students got to walk around the hotel before going to bed and waking up bright and early for the individual competition. 

Friday, the last day of Congrés, was the most nerve-racking day. Students had to compete in different categories individually. All students woke up early and got to practice before going downstairs to the lobby and waiting for their turn. Once everyone has gone all students wait a few hours before getting their results back. 

“I got an excellent ribbon and I was very proud of myself because I did better than last year,” sophomore Abram Wilrick said. 

In Congrés, students learn how much fun French can be and many students are excited for next year. So, say "Bonjour" to our French students and say "Bonjour Pause de Printemps."