Texas French Symposium
 | |
| Abbreviation | TFS |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1964 |
| Founder | Dee Moynihan[1] |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Location |
|
Region | Texas |
|
Susan Dworaczyk, President Meriem Mason, Vice President Monique Zibi, Secretary Karen Watson, Treasurer | |
| Website |
www |
The Texas French Symposium is a statewide non-profit competition in which French students, which are categorised into levels 1-6 and Experienced compete with other students of their same level from all over the state of Texas. The organization is hosted annually at a random participating high school in Texas who volunteers to host. The contest is held on a spring weekend and lasts two days. It begins at 15:00 of the first day and lasts all night. The competition resumes on the next day at 8:30 and is closed with a ceremony that includes dinner and awards. During the Symposium, students are involved in assigned academic events which are from the following:
- French Tests (required for all participants)
- Civilization
- Grammar
- Listening Comprehension
- Vocabulary
- Drama Group
- Drama Solo
- Guided Speaking
- Poetry
- Prose
- Sight-Reading
- Dictée (new in 2015)
- Baccalauréat (a quiz-like team competition on French culture and history)
In addition to the aforementioned academic events, the Symposium also has certain events dedicated to francophone cultural arts, including music and visual arts. Students can compete in the following events:
- Music
- Instrumental Group
- Instrumental Solo
- Piano (Solo)
- Vocal Group
- Vocal Solo
- Visual Arts
- Charcoal
- Bande Dessinée (comic strip)
- Photography
- Project
- Oil on Canvas
- Watercolor
- Video
Symposiums are hosted at high schools in the state of Texas, the first having been held in 1964 at MacArthur High School in San Antonio. In 2014, celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Texas French Symposium was hosted at Atascocita High School. The 2015 Texas French Symposium was held at Klein Forest High School.
This competition is recognized by the Texas Education Agency as the state's official French competition and is considered on the same level as a UIL competition. The symposium is only funded by donations and entry fees. The judges are teachers and native French speaker volunteers.