Priory Park P.S. students get national recognition for conjugating French verbs
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 24, 2011
GUELPH, Ontario — Priory Park P.S. has won second place in the Grade 6 FSL (French as a Second Language) category in the 2011 National Biennial Verbathon Tournament.
The Verbathon is a race against the clock competition for French verb conjugation. This year 2,000 students from across Canada participated, submitting their entries by video.
Under the guidance of French teacher Kelly Murray, Priory Park students were assembled into teams of five or six, and spent a month practicing before holding their own classroom competition.
“The groups were timed and video-taped,” said Murray. “We were only allowed to send in our top fastest time. Our fastest group did it in 59 seconds. We sent it in and crossed our fingers.”
“The best things about Verbathon are that it builds team work skills, the kids are excited and pumped, they have fun, and most of all they are doing this around conjugating verbs.”
Murray is a huge fan of the teaching tool. “The biggest snooze-fest in a core French classroom is learning to conjugate verbs,” she said. “Verbathon eliminates this and now makes conjugating a challenge and fun.”
Verbathon was created by Emmanuel Escueta, who teaches Grade 2 and 3 French Immersion students at École Irvine Elementary School in Port Coquitlam, B.C. He created it as an occupational survival tool, after struggling to motivate Grade 7/8 students in his first year of teaching at a school in Manitoba.
Websites:
For more information:
Maggie McFadzen, Communications Officer
519-822-4420 ext. 725
[email protected]
Mark Weidmark, Administrative Officer – Communications
519-822-4420 ext.544
[email protected]
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