Senior School’s Journee de la Francophonie Raises Funds – and Awareness – for Haiti

On March 4th, two days before the March Break, students at the Senior School were deeply involved in a serious activity – raising money and awareness for earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

The activities on this day – la journee de la francophonie (the day of the francophonie, an organization of French-speaking nations) – and the following casual day, were the culmination of many Haiti-related fundraising efforts that have taken place at TFS ever since news of the disaster broke.

Two assemblies were held: one for the Grade 6 to Level I students, the other for Levels II through V. Both featured presentations about Haiti and musical tributes. During the Level II to V assembly, Austin T., Michael A. and Evguenia I. presented facts about this first black republic, including how they had to pay back France for more than a century for their freedom, and more recently, how they endured decades of corrupt and tyrannical governance. Meanwhile, George B.  relayed the results of research he had conducted on Haiti’s socio-economic status before the earthquake. Shaden S., whose grandmother is a renowned author on the subjects of education and development in Haiti, discussed responsible ways to help the island nation.

The Grade 6 to Level I assembly featured Joseph S. and Robert B., who had created a YouTube video, “Bob and Jo Help Haiti”, of themselves performing a song,  as well as the classes of Mme Perrin and Mme Kemeny, who respectively interpreted a song by Luc Melville and presented a piece of dramatic arts. The assembly concluded with Hélène B. reading a Haitian poem.

In total, these many heartfelt efforts, undertaken by both students and staff at the Senior School, raised $2360 for Haiti. Well done and thank you.