Are you taking French this year and would like to expand your learning? Would you like to engage in a new language while learning French culture and history? Then you should consider joining the Ukiah High French Club!
The Ukiah High French Club meets in F5 every Thursday to enhance their knowledge of the French language, immerse themselves in French culture, and learn the vast history of France and French-speaking countries.
The Ukiah High French Club is a very practical tool for French students, broadening their knowledge and deepening their understanding of this unique language. Junior, Josette Mealey, president of the French Club, urges French students to use the club to seek outside help with their schoolwork or to receive one-on-one tutoring sessions.
Josette Mealey explains how French Club can be used to study, “So if someone needs help on their French work, they can ask the French teacher, Madame Rodriguez, or they could ask higher-level French students like myself for help, if needed.”
However, the French Club isn’t limited to French students. Anyone can join this Club to socialize with other students. Surrounding yourself with fellow students who are interested in this language is a great way to stay motivated and focused, regardless of whether you take French classes.
The club leaders also emphasize the importance of learning and partaking in French culture. By eating French foods, listening to French music, and playing French trivia games, the French Club strives to incorporate French culture into the Ukiah High campus.
The French teacher, Madame Rodriguez, says, “Well, I think the end goal is to maybe spread French culture, or like, for those who wanted to be in French class and couldn’t, or have been in French class and still want to be around the language, they can come to French Club and have a little bit of culture and language through that.”
It’s very important for young people to recognize the importance of learning about other cultures and appreciating how other people live. If you would like to travel to foreign countries, other cultures and being open to new perspectives is essential. French Club members learn French culture and learn to respect other cultures, a crucial quality for those wishing to travel to foreign countries, especially French-speaking ones.
Denise Saavedra, the French Club vice president, mentions, “The goal is to encourage people to take this language and have another language they can learn about if they plan to go to any French-speaking country, and also to surround themselves with the culture and the history of it.”
Join Josette Mealey, Denise Saavedra, and Madame Rodriguez in F5 during lunch on Thursdays to appreciate the French culture, their language, and socialize with other students seeking to improve their understanding of this wonderful language.
Audriena Ramos
Audriena Ramos is a junior at Ukiah High. She is from Alpine, Texa and moved to Ukiah five years ago. This is her first year taking journalism. She is the vice president of the UHS Women's Empowerment club, and outside of school, she enjoys doing ballet with Mendocino Ballet.