Bonjour!  It is a true pleasure to be your student’s French teacher this year.  I assume you have already read my course expectations (if not, please ask your student to share them with you and to return the bottom portion of my letter), but I wanted to offer you a little more personal information and guidance for my French 312 and 355 courses.  Those of you who have already met me know that I am a French native speaker who has been living in the US for over 30 years.  At SHS, I wear two hats: teaching three French courses and being the World Language Department Chair.  Outside of school, I love to travel, explore and discover new cultures and customs.  Having been part of a student exchange at the age of 14, I have always believed in immersion programs and, for that reason, I try to recreate an immersion setting in my classroom where the target language is 100% French. In addition, I am the coordinator of the French Exchange Program and perhaps will be traveling to France with your student in February 2017.  If any of you have a French expertise, please let me know since we would love to be able to invite you to come and speak to the class.  

            Teaching has been a passion of mine for 27 years, and I have raised my three children bilingually.  I am aware that each student has a unique learning style, and I endeavor to have a classroom that reaches out to all types of learners.  In class, I will talk about different learning strategies, but it is up to each student to find the strategy that works best for his/her particular learning style.  I am available for extra help during my free periods and after school, and I encourage students to make an appointment with me.   Nevertheless, the work done outside of class is equally as important as in class, and therefore I have set up my School-Wires page to offer additional opportunities for learning and practicing French.  The work in my course is cumulative, so I do expect that students will consistently review previous chapters on their own time (using notes, textbook, School-Wires links etc.).  If you would like more information about the course your student is enrolled in, you can find it available on my School-Wires page.                                  

           I look forward to working with you and your student this year.  While the high school encourages each student to advocate for him/herself, feel free to contact me with questions either by email scorten@scarsdaleschools.org or by phone, 721-2556.

            Best,

September 2015