CALEB NICKERSON
MANSFIELD ET PONTEFRACT Dec. 5, 2019
On Dec. 5, the auditorium at École secondaire Sieur de Coulonge was packed with excited children and . . .
their parents for the finals of the seventh annual Génies en Herbe competition. Teams of second and third cycle students from the region’s French-language elementary schools dressed in bright team uniforms, some augmented with over-the-top accessories.
The competition is an activity to promote French language and culture among the younger generation explained one of the teacher organizers France Lavoie.
“It’s from a group of teachers, they were really concerned about the fact that even if [the students] are French, they really don’t know a lot about French culture,” she explained. “They might not have a chance to be exposed to this kind of culture because it’s really hard to introduce in the families.”
The evening consisted of four teams of six students from each age group facing off against each other in a series of trivia questions, which focused on Francophone artists, historical figures and culture, as well as general subjects like geometry.
The questions are based off of activities the students take part in during class time. Lavoie said that the idea has ballooned from an in-class activity to a multi-school extracurricular over the years, a testament to its popularity with students, parents and teachers.
“We’re really using what we’re teaching them in the classroom,” she said. “Especially, we have a lot of students coming from an English background, so they don’t know at all these things.”
She added that the teams that have done well typically have a teacher that integrated the questions into their curriculum during the year.
This year two teams from École Ste-Anne on Calumet Island walked away victorious: in the second cycle division, Les Porcs-épics électriques coached by Sonia Bélair won out over Les Diamants bleus from École Poupore. In the third cycle division, Les Génies en feu, coached by Rafik Ouali were victorious over Les Finissants from École Poupore.
