Important Dates

Our next meeting will be on May 19, 2010 in Mrs. Gautier's room (209) until 3:15. If you have any questions, please see Mrs. Gautier or Justin Kiefer.

        Everyone at BHS has taken another language at some point during their high school years.  Have you ever wondered what it would be like to become fluent in a language and live in the country where it is spoken?  Suzanne Chevrel got to do just that!  Maybe you got to know Suzanne, an exchange student from France, while she was here in Belvidere for a month.  Suzanne is a “Primere,” or a junior as we would call it, and she lives in Le Chesnay, a suburb near the cities of Paris and Versailles.  I got to know Suzanne while she was staying here in Belvidere, and I found out a lot about French culture, life in France, and made a great friend, too!

        “American schools are a lot different from French schools,” said Suzanne.  French students don’t get to choose their courses the way we do here in America.  “We have to take all of them,” she said.  Suzanne stays with the same group of thirty-seven students for the duration of the day.  She says there are six “Primere” classes at her school, Notre Dame du Gramdchamps.  Suzanne said, “We don’t have a lot of “fun classes” like cooking or study hall.  It seems that French school is a lot more boring!  I also think that teachers in America are friendlier than French ones!!”  Suzanne chose to specialize in science for her last two years of high school, so she takes Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, French, Spanish, Gym or “Sport” as she calls it, and History.  She also chose to take extra English classes, so she takes six hours of English every week!

        Suzanne loved visiting Belvidere, and always found something to keep herself busy.  “When I look back, it seems like I didn’t have any ‘empty time’ and I was always up to something!” she said.  Suzanne stayed with Jenna Tshudy and her family while in Belvidere.  “My host family took good care of me!” Suzanne exclaimed.  “They brought me twice to New York so I could see a Broadway Show, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Bubba Gump Restaurant!”  In addition, the Tshudys showed Suzanne around Belvidere and took her to the mall.  Suzanne also enjoyed watching our school musical, Fiddler on the Roof, come together!  “I really saw all the places where they usually go to so I was really part of their lives during the month!” she said of her host family.  “Everybody was very friendly here and I am glad I met every person I met!” Suzanne said.  She felt very welcomed by everyone in BHS.

        When asked what she liked best about Belvidere, Suzanne answered, “I liked the fact that Belvidere was a friendly little town.  I didn’t feel too lost thanks to that, even if I needed two weeks to remember how to go from one place in another!”  Suzanne had a wonderful time staying in Belvidere and thought it was a superb experience.  “I was really able to see what American high school is like as well as family life and daily routine,” she said.  I think it was a good experience for everyone who got to know Suzanne, too!  Even though she only stayed here for a month, Suzanne Chevrel made a huge impact on many students of Belvidere High School.