Welcome to Collins Hill High School

<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Welcome to Collins Hill High School

French Immersion Camp 2010

This year 155 students from all over the state of Georgia and 35 volunteers came together for a 3 day camp where they took an oath to speak only French. The camp was held from Friday evening, February 19 through Sunday, February 21, with workshops in performing skits, music, singing, art class, folk dancing and French sports at Rock Eagle in Eatonton. Many activities took place for both fun and for competition.

Students were placed in “families” named for French-speaking countries, made up of students from different schools and levels of experience in French. Eleven CHHS students were in the family “Switzerland” which won the competition based on winning the best cheer, best skit, highest Trivial Pursuit score, and best folk dancers. Collins Hill sent the most students in Gwinnett County, with 23 students total.

One CHHS student, Ashley A., was chosen to be an alternate for a prestigious scholarship in France this summer in La Rochelle, France. This opportunity was given by the French government for the study of ecological issues.

Friday night began with singing along with Michel V and his guitar, followed by 4 hours of a variety of games such as Concentration, Mille Bornes and Trivial Pursuit, after which the exhausted students return to their cabins. Saturday started with more singing after breakfast, then the first 3 rounds of workshops before lunch. After 3 more afternoon workshops, the students practice their original cheers and their skits before dinner. In the evening, activities included an auction of fun French items, and the skit performances before finishing the evening with a huge dance with live music or a quiet movie. Sunday began with a typical French breakfast of croissants and hot chocolate, a market of French items, the cheer performance, and the award ceremony.

Adult volunteers for the camp are teachers from public and private high schools, colleges and universities in Georgia. Every year there are several exchange students from Kennesaw who are native speakers that help out. At the end of the weekend, both students and teachers alike had a fantastic time, all in French, and headed home, ready for next year’s camp to come around in February.