the
PHARCYDE
THE BENJAMIN SCHOOL NEWSPAPER
@thepharcyde_tbs
4875 Grandiflora Road, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418
17 March 2023
@thepharcyde_tbs
Volume 44
Issue 05
Skits, Speeches, Sobresalientes Bucs Win 3rd Place at Conferencia Haley Roth Staff Writer Conferencia is an annual Spanish-speaking and fluency competition held in Orlando; this year 16 estudiantes participated in the event which took place at The Wyndham Resort on Mar. 9-11. “The FSSC is a state competition that invites schools from all over Florida, and they bring up to 16 students to compete. There are two major divisions: One is called A and B, which is for kids that are non-native speakers. The other one is called C and D, which is for kids who are native or heritage speakers,” said Sra. Gonzalez-Lopez. This competition tests students’ Spanish abilities through a variety of challenging and rewarding disciplines. “The students get to compete for two days in two different types of competitions. One is called Impromptu Speeches. You are given three of the 16 topics randomly and you choose whichever one of those three that you want to do. In the second competition, you have to either recite a declamation or be a part of a play,” added Sra. Gonzalez Lopez.
The students who went to Conferencia enjoyed all the different events they had to prepare for. There were group and individual competitions, which allowed everyone to participate for both themselves and the school. “In Conferencia, we went and we performed a play with the entire group. We also performed, individually, either impromptu speeches or poems that we had to memorize,” said sophomore Jonathan Vidal. Conferencia teaches students more about Hispanic culture and helps them perfect their language skills. “I thought it was a great experience to help enrich my Spanish understanding and overall connect more to the culture,” shared Vidal, “I learned many new things at Conferencia and was able to practice my Spanish in a positive environment.” Those on the Conferencia team were very happy with their performance, as they improved from last year and received many “sobresalientes,” or perfect scores. Vidal was thrilled, “I got a perfect score, or a 40 out of 40, and on the play, we got a 37 out of 40. That is
a sobresaliente, which is the highest award. Overall, our play improved from last year. We won third in our division.” This year’s Conferencia was a success; everyone on the trip enjoyed bonding with their classmates and going somewhere new. ¡Felicitaciones al equipo!
Top: Team members hang out on the hotel grounds before attending an evening social. Bottom: The Conferencia team performed the play Los Fantoches, earning a sobresaliente for their efforts. Photos courtesy of Sra. Gonzalez-Lopez.
“Nous avons gagnè” French Takes First at Congrès Sage Ponchock Staff Writer
Spring Break Begins Amanda Duguay Staff Writer Spring break is finally here! Whether going skiing, taking a cruise, or just enjoying the luxury of staying home, this break is sure to be relaxing and rejuvenating for all. The Benjamin community has a very large range of plans this March. Some students are going on school trips to Europe and the Grenadines. Others are planning on staying in Florida and going to the beach. Florida, one of the nation’s most popular spring break destinations, has sand, sun, and sea. This makes students and teachers compelled to stay home and enjoy the warm weather. “Mrs. Kane and I are having a staycation, we’ll be in Tequesta for the break. We plan on doing some day trips going up to Stuart, and we may take a ride up to St. Augustine as well. If I see a good game on the schedule down in Miami, I may jump on the Brightline and go to a baseball game or basketball game,” said English teacher Mr. Ronald Kane.
Many students and their families are visiting college campuses. This will give them an idea of what their coming year could be like as well as show them new places. Freshman Liam Duffy shared, “I am going to Georgia to visit a college with my brother.” Chauncey Bowens is also going to explore some colleges: Georgia, Flor-ida, Tennessee, and Alabama. Other students, dedicated to their extracurriculars, have packed schedules with sports practices and tournaments. Many Benjamin athletes have spring break events and important games. “I play Varsity Lacrosse this year. I’m going to practices and a tournament over spring break. I am going to Tampa for a tournament and I’m very excited. I am looking forward to spending time with my teammates during the break,” said Freshman Eric Nutter. The entire Benjamin community is ecstatic just thinking about spring break as it makes many think of the upcoming summer vacation.
From March 9-11, an eclectic collection of young French enthusiasts traveled to Orlando for the annual Congrès de la culture Française en Floride (CCFF). Congrès is a competition during which students can take tests, recite poems, sing songs, perform a drama, and showcase their speaking skills, all in French. This year’s team was composed of twelve students from various French classes. They all did exceptionally well. Congrès’s grading system has four levels: mention honorable, bon, excellent, and supérieur. Benjamin returned home with nine supérieur ribbons and six excellent. Benjamin also took home the first-place trophy for Division A (Small Group). Competitions are intimidating and high intensity, but Benjamin students came to Congrès confident due to their months of practice. Mlle. Donnelly headed the trip and made sure everyone was well prepared.
French students performed act three of Cyrano de Bergerac as their entry in the play category this year. The group earned an excellent for their efforts.
The competition included a banquet in which several more French-related talents were showcased, and competitors were able to meet. Students had a fantastic time competing and forming new friendships with their fellow French speakers. Students were ecstatic about the win and are excited to return next year.
Members of the team gather for a quick photo before heading off to compete. The group earned several awards throughout the compettition, including a firstplace team trophy.
Album Keane Adam: supérieur Art Project Evelyn Peyovich: excellent Declamation Keane Adam: supérieur Jia Guan:excellent Easley Hughes: supérieur Lucy Molnar: excellent RJ Pierman: supérieur Sage Ponchock: excellent Angie Townsend: supérieur Play: excellent Ishe Makoni Lucy Molnar RJ Pierman Angie Townsend Nicole Walsh Written Exam Ishe Makoni: supérieur Hailey McCabe: supérieur Evelyn Peyovich: supérieur Lauren Slyh: excellent Nicole Walsh: supérieur