New and returning members of the French National Honor Society (FNHS) gathered in French teacher Antoinette Gathy’s room during long lunch yesterday to discuss plans for the year, including club week, tutoring and the magazine, “Sans Limite.”

Speaking almost exclusively in French, president Samali Sahoo (12), vice president Daphne Yang (12), “Sans Limite” editor in chief Victoria Ding (12) and secretary Connie Miao (11) explained the protocol for the year. The co-editor in chief of the magazine, Andrew Rule (11), was unable to make it to the meeting.

Although many freshmen did not attend due to election meetings, they still planned to take part in the society.

“I’m really looking forward to getting together as a group of French-speaking people and immersing ourselves in the culture,” new member Matthew Hajjar (9) said.

To join FHNS, students must be in Honors French 3, Honors French 4 or AP French. Students in French 2 or the regular classes must receive special permission from the French teachers to join the society.

“All in all, [the turnout] was pretty good,” Samali said. “A lot of the stuff we do in first semester doesn’t require as much attendance, because we’re more focused on writing for the magazine and also tutoring, which [members] do off campus. Second semester is more involved in person-to-person interactions with respect to Club Week, and we have this cultural night where everyone gets to come and have free food.”

During the meeting, the officers presented a Powerpoint describing the club’s activities throughout the year. FHNS members must contribute to the annual issue of “Sans Limite,” help to organize Club Week, and participate in French cultural night. They may also tutor students at the middle school.

According to French teacher Antoinette Gathy, creating “Sans Limite” is the her favorite part of the society. Twenty-one pages long, last year’s magazine features everything from a short biography of Napoleon Bonaparte to recipes for crème brulée, all written in French. It is available online at FNHS’s website.

“It’s really impressive,” Gathy said. “[Every student must] contribute either with pictures, or by participating in the writing of an article.”

As president of the society, Samali appreciates the power of studying another culture. She loves French movies and music, especially songs by the artist Stromae.

“America is a meld of multicultural people,” she said. “We’re maybe Asian American, or European American, or French American, but ultimately, even taking French class and being a part of FNHS lets us have that relationship with French culture that we may not have just by studying vocab and grammar.”

The society looks forward to organizing Club Week, planning cultural night and publishing “Sans Limite” in the spring.