May 4 , 2005—Shaker Heights High School junior Emily Blanchard won first prize on April 24 at the Concours de la Maison Française, a local competition for students of French at both the college and high school level.

Emily’s first place finish in Category A of the Secondary School Division came after a two-part session with a panel of three judges. Part one of the session, which entailed a ten-minute presentation, gave Emily the chance to express her views on the value of teaching the French language in today’s society. Part two of the session provided the judges with an opportunity to conduct a twenty-minute interview with Emily based on arbitrary topics of their choice.

Suzanne Gyurgyik is Emily’s fourth-year French teacher.