Huntington Hosts Celebration of French Language & Culture

Huntington High School recently welcomed Canadian hip-hop artist David Dufour, known as D-Track, from Gatineau, Quebec. He performed for over 400 French students from various schools, including Babylon, Baldwin, Northport-East Northport, East Williston, Holy Child Academy, Plainview-Old Bethpage, Walt Whitman and J. Taylor Finley Middle School. The performance helped celebrate International Francophonie Day.

Billed as Célébration de la Journée de la Francophonie, the event was coordinated by Huntington teacher and French Honor Society faculty advisor Gina-Marie Molvaut and produced by the Centre de la Francophonie des Amériques, in collaboration with La Société Honoraire de Français of Huntington and the Suffolk chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French.

Last week’s event commenced with Madame Molvaut, the project organizer and president of AATF-Suffolk, highlighting the importance of uniting French speakers to celebrate the power of the French language and the shared appreciation for francophone cultures in local communities. There are over 369 million French speakers on Earth.

CFA ambassador Max Jean-Louis discussed the mission of the Centre de la Francophonie des Amériques and his personal connection to La Francophonie, noting the 33 million Francophones and Francophiles in the Americas.

D-Track, alongside his talented DJ, Luis Durand delivered an electrifying interactive performance that included songs, improvised slam poetry and engaging exchanges with students, all conducted in French.

Teachers, students and administrators all came together in a show of solidarity to promote French as a world language. “This live performance with D-Track was a memorable and enriching cultural experience for the francophone community on Long Island,” Madame Molvaut said.

More than a dozen buses ferried visiting students to Huntington High School for the big event.

“We extend our gratitude to the program organizers from the Centre de la Francophonie des Ameriques, Élise Bégin and Flavie-Isabelle Hade for their sponsorship and organizational efforts,” Madame Molvaut said. “We also recognize the outstanding collaboration between the Huntington School District’s administrators and staff, including Principal Rochelle Brown, Assistant Principal Gamal Smith, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Rubie Harris, Director of World Languages Judy Moroff and Director of Security Jarrett Stein and the entire security team. Special thanks to the Vice President of the AATF-Suffolk Chapter Marleine Guiose Chiofalo, the SHF-HHS members and all administrators, teachers and staff from the participating school districts whose combined efforts made this event a success.”