Adapting to new virtual environments, La Société Honoraire de Français (SHF) held their first meeting of the year through Schoology’s Big Blue Button platform on Monday, Sept. 14 at 4:00 p.m. Officers kicked off the meeting by introducing themselves, including seniors Cesar Monagas, John Kangos, Minshin Kim, Anouka Saha, Lilliana Brown, Srilekha Cherukuvada, and Joseph Stanley. They also held icebreakers in breakout rooms, where students discussed what they did over the summer and things they’re looking forward to this year.

“It was definitely a new experience for everyone and it will take some getting used to, but I’m confident that we will make the best of it,” Monagas said. “[The meeting] went well; we talked about some of the general expectations for the year and went over some of the new service opportunities we will have.”

After students returned to the general meeting from the breakout rooms, officers explained important information about points for the school year. Since the schedule has switched to nine weeks per marking period, SHF has accordingly changed point requirements to one point per nine weeks, with no more than two absences to stay a part of the organization. Points must be submitted through the google form on their website.

“Even though the pandemic has impacted everyone in a different way, SHF is still making sure that we get to participate in amazing opportunities,” Irina Raleigh ‘22 said. “All of the point opportunities look like so much fun and there is something for everyone.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officers presented completely virtual opportunities for points. For instance, members can attend the ‘Salon De Conversation’ on Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:00 p.m. to converse in French with other students. In addition, other opportunities include tutoring lower level French students during asynchronous blocks, the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) National French Week Video Contest, and a new creative point opportunity through which members can submit fiction poetry, music, film, and other visual art that ties into French language and culture.

“Given the current circumstances, I think it’s great that the students are presented the opportunity to be diverse in what they do. It enables them to seek their own creative routes and it truly shows how gifted our members are,” Kim said. “Some things that I am looking forward to, in terms of point opportunities, are students presenting their own spin on events and just seeing how the students in the midst of the pandemic are still serving the chapter.”

The next meeting will be determined at a later point. To stay updated, sign up for Remind 101 by texting 81010 @whsnfhs.