Bonjour les parents!
Thank you for allowing your students to be part of this year’s French Immersion Camp, February 03-05 2023 at Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center! Your students will have the time of their life all “en français”!! Please thank your students’ teachers who are
volunteering their time to make this camp possible. Their time is limited and their dedication is admirable.
Your students will be involved in various activities during the weekend. Upon arrival, students join a family group accompanied by 2 adult volunteers per family. The families stay together throughout the weekend while attending the workshops. Every few hours, the entire camp meets for songs, activities, ceremonies and competitions. The entire camp will eat 4 meals together: Saturday – breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday – breakfast. (Note: students should eat dinner before arriving to camp on Friday.) And all of this, of course, will happen ALL IN FRENCH!!! I hope that your students are ready to immerse themselves completely in French and have a great time while doing so.
Parents, please be aware that in order to maximize your students’ total immersion in French, we will ask your students to turn off their cell phone immediately after their check-in with us at the camp. If you want them to call you to let you know that they have arrived safely, please ask them to do so before they check in so that we don’t have issues dealing with cell phone use during the camp. There are a few reasons for this: 1) we want them to be completely immersed during the weekend without any “English” interruptions, and 2) students on cell phone talking and/or texting are not completely attentive to the activities and are disruptive to the flow of the events. Please remember that after check-in we will expect ALL phones to be turned off for the entire weekend until departure Sunday morning. We also would like for you to know that we cannot guarantee cellphone reception at Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center but…you can rest assured that we will carefully monitor check-in and should any student not be at the camp by 7 PM, we will call you. NO PHONE CALL FROM US means that your child arrived safely and is busy having a GREAT time!!
Additionally, for safety reasons, we would like to ask students who will be driving themselves to Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center to turn in their car keys to their “chef de cabanon” upon their arrival. The keys will be placed in a safe and locked place, and will be returned Sunday morning before departure. We hope that you understand that we are simply trying to keep everyone safe.
Lastly, we ask that students do not bring iPods, tablets and other electronic devices with them. The reasons are the same as listed above. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss this request. As a parent myself, I can certainly understand your concern.
Additionally, please know that “nut products” will be served in 2 of our workshops during the weekend. If your child is allergic to nuts, please let us know on your registration sheet. We will have “nut free” areas for them in order to accommodate their allergies and to ensure their safety.
In the event that your child becomes ill the day of or the day before the camp and is therefore unable to attend the camp, please call me by noon on Friday February 03. If I am not available, please leave a message, identifying your child and your child’s school. You can also contact me by email by noon that Friday.
Please ask your students to read the “Bonjour” letter for students carefully. They can try on their own first, then with dictionary support, and finally with help from their French teachers for additional assistance. The last two items on the list of things to bring, written in bold print, are to be turned in at check-in upon arrival. Don’t leave them in the car. You will just have to go back out and get them!
Dinner will NOT be served Friday night, so have something to eat along the way before you get to the camp. There are restaurants just off the exit but not close to the camp.
Due to the setup of the camp, late arrival and early departure are NOT permitted. Transportation is not provided by the camp.
Please remind your students: Come prepared to have a great time! Actually, no one is going to “make” you talk in French. No one is counting off for mistakes. When you get right down to it, you have just two choices: talk in French or be mute!!! There is NO ENGLISH/ ANY OTHER LANGUAGE BESIDE FRENCH. Scary, but fun!! We are serious about NO English. Your nametag will be punched if you break this rule. After the second punch, you will be required to stay with a chaperone! After the third punch, you will be advised that with the next punch, you will have to go home. It is rare, but students have been sent home in the past. When you get back to school, show your French teacher your perfect card, and you just might get some bonus points for your hard work!!!
I hope that you are just as excited about the upcoming weekend as I am. Parents, you can have a weekend to yourselves! Students, you get a weekend of French and fun! Students for more than 30 years before you have done it! The weekend will actually fly by and you will probably catch yourself talking French for days after the camp! It’s pretty funny to realize that you just said “Merci” at the McDonald’s drive-thru!
A bientôt!
Thank you for allowing your students to be part of this year’s French Immersion Camp, February 03-05 2023 at Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center! Your students will have the time of their life all “en français”!! Please thank your students’ teachers who are
volunteering their time to make this camp possible. Their time is limited and their dedication is admirable.
Your students will be involved in various activities during the weekend. Upon arrival, students join a family group accompanied by 2 adult volunteers per family. The families stay together throughout the weekend while attending the workshops. Every few hours, the entire camp meets for songs, activities, ceremonies and competitions. The entire camp will eat 4 meals together: Saturday – breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday – breakfast. (Note: students should eat dinner before arriving to camp on Friday.) And all of this, of course, will happen ALL IN FRENCH!!! I hope that your students are ready to immerse themselves completely in French and have a great time while doing so.
Parents, please be aware that in order to maximize your students’ total immersion in French, we will ask your students to turn off their cell phone immediately after their check-in with us at the camp. If you want them to call you to let you know that they have arrived safely, please ask them to do so before they check in so that we don’t have issues dealing with cell phone use during the camp. There are a few reasons for this: 1) we want them to be completely immersed during the weekend without any “English” interruptions, and 2) students on cell phone talking and/or texting are not completely attentive to the activities and are disruptive to the flow of the events. Please remember that after check-in we will expect ALL phones to be turned off for the entire weekend until departure Sunday morning. We also would like for you to know that we cannot guarantee cellphone reception at Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center but…you can rest assured that we will carefully monitor check-in and should any student not be at the camp by 7 PM, we will call you. NO PHONE CALL FROM US means that your child arrived safely and is busy having a GREAT time!!
Additionally, for safety reasons, we would like to ask students who will be driving themselves to Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center to turn in their car keys to their “chef de cabanon” upon their arrival. The keys will be placed in a safe and locked place, and will be returned Sunday morning before departure. We hope that you understand that we are simply trying to keep everyone safe.
Lastly, we ask that students do not bring iPods, tablets and other electronic devices with them. The reasons are the same as listed above. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss this request. As a parent myself, I can certainly understand your concern.
Additionally, please know that “nut products” will be served in 2 of our workshops during the weekend. If your child is allergic to nuts, please let us know on your registration sheet. We will have “nut free” areas for them in order to accommodate their allergies and to ensure their safety.
In the event that your child becomes ill the day of or the day before the camp and is therefore unable to attend the camp, please call me by noon on Friday February 03. If I am not available, please leave a message, identifying your child and your child’s school. You can also contact me by email by noon that Friday.
Please ask your students to read the “Bonjour” letter for students carefully. They can try on their own first, then with dictionary support, and finally with help from their French teachers for additional assistance. The last two items on the list of things to bring, written in bold print, are to be turned in at check-in upon arrival. Don’t leave them in the car. You will just have to go back out and get them!
Dinner will NOT be served Friday night, so have something to eat along the way before you get to the camp. There are restaurants just off the exit but not close to the camp.
Due to the setup of the camp, late arrival and early departure are NOT permitted. Transportation is not provided by the camp.
Please remind your students: Come prepared to have a great time! Actually, no one is going to “make” you talk in French. No one is counting off for mistakes. When you get right down to it, you have just two choices: talk in French or be mute!!! There is NO ENGLISH/ ANY OTHER LANGUAGE BESIDE FRENCH. Scary, but fun!! We are serious about NO English. Your nametag will be punched if you break this rule. After the second punch, you will be required to stay with a chaperone! After the third punch, you will be advised that with the next punch, you will have to go home. It is rare, but students have been sent home in the past. When you get back to school, show your French teacher your perfect card, and you just might get some bonus points for your hard work!!!
I hope that you are just as excited about the upcoming weekend as I am. Parents, you can have a weekend to yourselves! Students, you get a weekend of French and fun! Students for more than 30 years before you have done it! The weekend will actually fly by and you will probably catch yourself talking French for days after the camp! It’s pretty funny to realize that you just said “Merci” at the McDonald’s drive-thru!
A bientôt!