Yesterday, it felt like spring at the Lycée Français, and not just because the sun finally won out over the clouds, the rain and the wind for the first time in months. As you might imagine, we have our wonderful students to thank for this change in seasons, for it is they, with encouragement and guidance from our faculty, who ushered in that time of renewal for which we have all been waiting. How did they manage? Through a deep appreciation for language and the courage of that conviction.
Mme Gassier’s poem:
In our classrooms, hallways and stairwells, in every nook and cranny around the school, we had the immense privilege of hearing our students recite poetry, sometimes in French, sometimes in English, sometimes from memory, sometimes from a piece of paper they would pull from their pockets, sometimes because they had asked, sometimes because they themselves had been asked to share a verse or two. And what an inspiring experience it was.
Blair’s poem :
I myself was fortunate to hear several groups of students declaim the poems they had selected.
“Let’s praise with all our might
The return of that most beautiful month
Springtime is everywhere among us
Birds are singing in their thousands,”*
recited two second graders, beaming all the while.
Jacopo’s poem:
As for me, I too was asked if I were carrying a poem and would recite it for the world at large. Yes, I have two, came my enthusiastic reply, though I take credit for neither, I hastened to add. My own children had prepared me for the special day, each equipping me with some verse that very same morning.
Audree’s poem:
Coordinated every year for the past decade by literature teacher Anne-Marie Gassier, our “Printemps des Poètes” was a brilliant success once again. With impassioned support from our French and English faculties, our students learned that poetry is not only to be read, but lived, that poems are not only to be studied, but created. “I love the music we can find in these words”, affirmed one sixth grader. “For me,” said another, “poetry is freedom”. And though the day has now passed, I am sure the spring will remain.
Thomas, Tess & Camille’s poem:
Louis’ poem:
*“Acclamons à pleine voix/Le retour du plus beau mois/Le printemps partout est là/Les oiseaux chantent par milliers/Dans les grands bois”
About the Author :
Sean Lynch was Head of School at the Lycée Français de New York from 2011 to 2018, after having spent 15 years at another French bilingual school outside of Paris: the Lycée International de St. Germain-en-Laye. Holding both French and American nationalities, educated in France (Sciences Po Paris) and the United States (Yale), and as the proud husband of a French-American spouse and father of two French-American daughters, Sean Lynch has spent his entire professional and personal life at the junction between the languages, cultures and educational systems of France and the United States. In addition to being passionate about education, he loves everything related to the mountains, particularly the Parc National du Mercantour.