It’s awards season for Mayfield’s French filmmakers
Like Hollywood producers, these students organized every detail of their film.
They created a storyline and wrote a script on a shared Google Doc. They considered costumes, scenery, graphics and editing. Plus, they wrote and performed their story in perfect French.
Like Hollywood producers, these students organized every detail of their film.
They created a storyline and wrote a script on a shared Google Doc. They considered costumes, scenery, graphics and editing. Plus, they wrote and performed their story in perfect French.
“We decided to go above and beyond in our preparation,” said Alexxa Reilly ’19, who was part of the French III class movie project titled “French, a Global Language.”
“We wanted every shot to be perfect,” Alexxa said. “What was cool is that each of us had ideas and then we had to express it all in French.”
For their efforts—which showed not only their strong French proficiency level, but also the ability to their creatively tell a story about French culture—two Mayfield French classes won national awards in a prestigious video contest sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French.
It is the second straight year that Mayfield students have earned among the highest awards in the country, a reflection of our top-notch education and our girls’ competitive spirit. Our French III class won second place nationally and French II achieved an honorable mention.
Bertha Sevilla, World Language Department Chair and French and Spanish teacher, was also honored by the same association for creating the best French lesson plan in Southern California. She, too, won for the second consecutive year.
Mrs. Sevilla worked for more than a week preparing an interactive 80-minute class that challenged students to read, write and speak in French as they immersed themselves in an intriguing piece of French history—the death of chef-to-nobility François Vatel, who is said to have killed himself when a fish delivery was late.
“I wanted to create a lesson rich in culture and use authentic literature to really engage them and catch their attention,” Mrs. Sevilla said. She incorporated video clips about French cuisine and scenes from a movie on the chef. Along the way, she imparted a slew of new vocabulary words.
It’s clear that her commitment to excellence rubs off on her students, who said producing a video forced them to collaboratively focus on their task while thinking, writing and speaking in French.
“We really learned how to use reflexive verbs, speak in past tense,” said French II student Agueda Berlot ‘20. “At first we all had different ideas and we all had to contribute to making it one movie.”
The French II students gave a special shout out to freshman Brigitte Berger ‘21, who meticulously edited the film.
Mrs. Sevilla said participation in such contests not only improves practical French language skills, but teaches responsibility and follow-through in collaborative work, essential life-skills.
Plus, one student added:
“It’s really cool to win.”
“It’s really cool to win.”
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Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.
