FHS Foreign Language Department

 

Franklin High School offers all levels of courses in French, German, and Spanish.

 

The Foreign Language Department is comprised of a dedicated faculty who continually seeks to enhance its body of knowledge through professional development and participation in state, national, and international organizations.  Several of our teachers consistently present workshops at the local, state, and regional levels.  Our educators, who collectively have over 100 years of teaching experience, strive to provide our students with the most effective methods of language instruction.  Enrichment activities such as honor societies, community involvement, and travel abroad are also offered.

 

 

Department Members (clicking the name will provide more information about each teacher)

Charmaine Briggs, German (class webpage)

Pamela Garrett, Spanish (class webpage)

Maria Gellis, Spanish (class webpage)

Lindsey McEwen, Spanish (class webpage)

Allison Nixon, French (class webpage)

Tracy Poole, Spanish (class webpage)

Kelly Scheetz, Spanish (class webpage), Department Chair

Betsy Taylor, French (class webpage)

Shelley Walker, Spanish (class webpage)

 

Courses offered:

French I, II, III, I Honors, II Honors, III Honors, IV Honors, AP Language, IB

German I, II, I Honors, II Honors

Spanish I, II, III, IV, I Honors, II Honors, III Honors, IV Honors, AP Language, IB, AP Literature on alternating years

 

Clubs and honor societies sponsored by the department:

French Club

German Club

National Honor Society for High School Students of German

Société Honoraire de Français

Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica – webpage

Spanish Club

 

For information about Spanish tutoring, click here.

 

To return to the FHS Homepage, click here.

 

 

Links

National Spanish Exam Practice

Spanish Honors & AP classes will be taking the National Spanish Exam in the computer labs in March.

If prompted for a password, the user name is “practice” and the password is “free”

 

Conjuguemos

Practice verb conjugations in all languages.

If it is required for a grade, you must log in with 178 as the school ID and select your teacher.

To submit for a grade, click “Record / Send” at the end of the quiz and print a hard copy.

 

French textlink

Online activities and quizzes that accompany each chapter of the French text

 

PHSchool Spanish activities

Online activities that accompany each concept in the Realidades textbooks.  Use the webcodes found throughout the textbook or workbook.

 

Spanish online textbook

The entire Spanish I, II, and III textbooks are on line.  Register using the codes from your Spanish teacher.

 

Mrs. Garrett’s Quia Webpage

Spanish I and II activities created or selected by Mrs. Garrett

 

Mrs. Walker’s Quia Webpage

Spanish I and III activities created or selected by Mrs. Walker

 

Mrs. Briggs’ Quia Webpages:

German I

German II

German II

 

German activities created or selected by Mrs. Briggs.

Study Spanish

Provides explanations of grammatical concepts accompanied by quizzes and tests

 

 

 

Department highlights:

May-June 2009 – Student trip to France and Italy

May 2009 – Capítulo Operación Triunfo, the FHS chapter of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, is named 2009 Chapter of the Year by the national honor society.  The chapter also received third place in the short-term activity of the year contest

May 2009 – Sarah Heacock, FHS freshman, receives 3rd place in the Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association’s poster contest

April 2009 – Eric Weldy, FHS senior, is awarded a $2000 scholarship from the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica; FHS junior Kaeli Toalston is awarded a trip to Peru from the same organization

March 2009 – FHS teachers Kelly Scheetz and Betsy Taylor represent the state of Tennessee as they present a session at the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) in Atlanta, GA

November 2008 – FHS teachers Allison Nixon, Tracy Poole, Kelly Scheetz, and Betsy Taylor present sessions to foreign language teachers from across the state in three separate sessions at the Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association (TFLTA) Conference.  Students from the FHS French and Spanish honor societies also attended the conference to encourage other foreign language teachers to start their own chapters of their respective honor societies.

November 2008 – Betsy Taylor is elected president of the TN chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF); Kelly Scheetz is elected to the board of TFLTA and is named Middle TN representative to the board of the TN chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP)

July 2008 – Shelley Walker spent three weeks studying in Argentina; Allison Nixon and Betsy Taylor attend the American Association of Teachers of French conference in Liege, Belgium

May-June 2008 – student trip to France

April 2008 – Eric Weldy, FHS junior, is awarded a trip to Mexico from the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica

November 2007 – FHS teachers Allison Nixon, Kelly Scheetz, and Betsy Taylor train foreign language teachers from across the state in three sessions at the Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association (TFLTA) Conference.

May-June 2007 – “Franco-Germans” student trip to Europe

November 2006 – Tracy Poole presents a session to teachers from around the country at the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) national conference.

2005-present – International and exchange students enrolled in language classes

May-June 2006 – “Cote a Cote” student trip to France

2005-2006 –2 students study in Paris, one at the secondary level, one at the university level

Spring 2006 – French Honor Society’s first inauguration

Spring 2006 – National Honor Society for High School Students of German’s first inauguration

March 2006 – Kelly Scheetz & Betsy Taylor represent the state of Tennessee as they present a session at the Central States Foreign Language Conference in Chicago, IL

November 2005 – FHS teachers Charmaine Briggs, Cheryl Chandler, Tracy Poole, Kelly Scheetz, and Betsy Taylor train foreign language teachers from across the state in four separate sessions at the Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association (TFLTA) Conference.

November 2002-November 2005 – Betsy Taylor served on the TFLTA  Board

May-June 2005 – Student trip to France

May-June 2005 – Student trip to Germany

2005 – Cheryl Chandler named FHS Teacher of the Year

2005 – Charmaine Briggs is the recipient of the 2005 Poet of Merit and Finalist Award from the International Library of Poetry

November 2004 – Kelly Scheetz & Betsy Taylor present a session at TFLTA Conference

May-June 2004 – Student Trip to France, Spain, and Italy

2004 – Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica’s first inauguration

2001 and 2003 – Summer study programs in Cuernavaca, Mexico

 

Teacher information:

 

 

 

Charmaine Briggs

615-472-4451 ext.  3431

charmaineb@wcs.edu

Birthday:  December 29

Schedule – all classes in room 203

First Period

7:30 - 8:18

English III

Second Period

8:23-9:11

German I Honors

Third Period

9:18 - 10:12

German I

Fourth Period

10:17 – 11:05

German II Honors

Fifth Period

11:10 – 11:58

German II

Sixth Period

12:03 – 12:51

Lunch

Seventh Period

12:55 - 1:44

Planning

Eighth Period

1:49 - 2:37

Service Learning (201)

Degrees, Certifications, Special Trainings, etc.:

2005 Poet of Merit and Finalist-International Library of Poetry

IB training, 2000

M. Ed. In Instruction Effectiveness, Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, TN (2000)

AP German & English training

B.A. Roanoke College, Salem, VA (1989)

Certification:  English, German, and Reading

 

 

 

Pamela Garrett

615-472-4451 ext.3510

pamelag@wcs.edu

Birthday: March 19

Schedule – all classes in room 909

First Period

7:30 - 8:18

Spanish I

Second Period

8:23-9:11

Spanish I

Third Period

9:18 - 10:12

Planning

Fourth Period

10:17 – 11:05

Spanish II

Fifth Period

11:10 – 11:58

Spanish II

Sixth Period

12:03 – 12:51

Lunch

Seventh Period

12:55 - 1:44

Spanish II

Eighth Period

1:49 - 2:37

Spanish II

Degrees, Certifications, Special Trainings, etc.:

M.A.  Curriculum and Instruction, Tennessee State University

B.S.  Education, Middle Tennessee State University

 

 

Maria Gellis

615-472-4451 ext.3406

mariag@wcs.edu

Birthday: June 19

Schedule

First Period

7:30 - 8:18

Spanish II (room 708)

Second Period

8:23-9:11

Spanish I Honors (room 708)

Third Period

9:18 - 10:12

Spanish II (room 708)

Fourth Period

10:17 – 11:05

Planning

Fifth Period

11:10 – 11:58

Study Hall (auditorium)

Sixth Period

12:03 – 12:51

Lunch

Seventh Period

12:55 - 1:44

Spanish II Honors (room 907)

Eighth Period

1:49 - 2:37

Spanish II Honors (room 907)

Degrees, Certifications, Special Trainings, etc.:

B.S. Spanish (Middle Tennessee State University)

Worked as an Editorial Assistant for “El Interprete” magazine

Taught Spanish at Berlitz

Lived in Lima, Perú for 24 years

 

 

Lindsey McEwen

615-472-4451 ext.3574

lindseym@wcs.edu

Birthday: October 6

Schedule

First Period

7:30 - 8:18

Spanish I  room 207

Second Period

8:23-9:11

Planning

Third Period

9:18 - 10:12

Spanish I  room 102

Fourth Period

10:17 – 11:05

Spanish I  room 102

Fifth Period

11:10 – 11:58

Lunch

Sixth Period

12:03 – 12:51

Spanish I  room 203

Seventh Period

12:55 - 1:44

Spanish II  room 203

Eighth Period

1:49 - 2:37

Spanish II  room 203

Degrees, Certifications, Special Trainings, etc.:

BA in Spanish from Tennessee Technological University

 

 

Allison Nixon

615-472-4451 ext.3508

allisonn1@wcs.edu

Birthday: November 19

Schedule – all classes in room 903

First Period

7:30 - 8:18

French II Honors

Second Period

8:23-9:11

French II Honors

Third Period

9:18 - 10:12

French II

Fourth Period

10:17 – 11:05

Planning

Fifth Period

11:10 – 11:58

French II

Sixth Period

12:03 – 12:51

Lunch

Seventh Period

12:55 - 1:44

French I Honors

Eighth Period

1:49 - 2:37

French  I

Degrees, Certifications, Special Trainings, etc.:

BS in French-Middle Tennessee State University

Studied in Besançon, France

Taught English in Roanne, France

 

 

Tracy Poole

615-472-4451 ext.3429

tracyp@wcs.edu

Birthday: January 24

Schedule – all classes in room 209

First Period

7:30 - 8:18

Study Hall

Second Period

8:23-9:11

AP Spanish Language

Third Period

9:18 - 10:12

AP Spanish Language

Fourth Period

10:17 – 11:05

IB Spanish

Fifth Period

11:10 – 11:58

IB Spanish

Sixth Period

12:03 – 12:51

Lunch

Seventh Period

12:55 - 1:44

Spanish III

Eighth Period

1:49 - 2:37

Planning

Degrees, Certifications, Special Trainings, etc.:

B.A. in Spanish at University of Tennesse (1989)

Certification in French and Spanish

MA in Spanish Language Teaching at Southern Oregon University (2011)

AP Spanish Language Training

IB Spanish Language Training

AP Spanish Language Reader

Coca Cola Educator of Distinction Award for Exemplary Dedication

to the Field of Education  (2000)

League of United Latin American Citizens Mentor

 

 

Kelly Scheetz

615-472-4451 ext. 3452

kellys@wcs.edu

Birthday: April 4

Schedule – all classes in room 309

First Period

7:30 - 8:18

Spanish IV Honors

Second Period

8:23-9:11

Spanish IV Honors

Third Period

9:18 - 10:12

Spanish III

Fourth Period

10:17 – 11:05

Spanish II Honors

Fifth Period

11:10 – 11:58

Spanish II Honors

Sixth Period

12:03 – 12:51

Lunch

Seventh Period

12:55 - 1:44

Planning

Eighth Period

1:49 - 2:37

Department Chair Duties

Degrees, Certifications, Special Trainings, etc.:

National Board Certified Teacher – World Languages Other than English / Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood

AP Spanish Literature training (2007)

MATL, Spanish – University of Southern Mississippi (2002) – some credit hours completed in Madrid, Spain

BA in Spanish – University of Mobile, Alabama (1999)

Additional credits earned through the Universidad de Deusto, Bilbao, Spain (2003)

 

 

Betsy Taylor

615-472-4451 ext. 3420

betsyt@wcs.edu

Birthday: March 15

Schedule – all classes in room 214

First Period

7:30 - 8:18

Planning

Second Period

8:23-9:11

French IV Honors

Third Period

9:18 - 10:12

French AP

Fourth Period

10:17 – 11:05

French IB

Fifth Period

11:10 – 11:58

French III Honors

Sixth Period

12:03 – 12:51

Lunch

Seventh Period

12:55 - 1:44

French III Honors

Eighth Period

1:49 - 2:37

French III

Degrees, Certifications, Special Trainings, etc.:

IB Training (2000 & 2006)

AP Training (2006)

MS in Education, University of Tennessee (1999)

BA in French, University of Tennessee (1998)

Diplome de langue et de culture—Université d’Angers, France (1997)

 

 

Shelley Walker

615-472-4451 ext. 3430

shelleyw1@wcs.edu

Birthday: February 16

Schedule – all classes in room 207

First Period

7:30 - 8:18

Planning

Second Period

8:23-9:11

Spanish III Pre-AP

Third Period

9:18 - 10:12

Spanish III Pre-AP

Fourth Period

10:17 – 11:05

Spanish III Honors

Fifth Period

11:10 – 11:58

Spanish III Honors

Sixth Period

12:03 – 12:51

Lunch

Seventh Period

12:55 - 1:44

Spanish I

Eighth Period

1:49 - 2:37

Spanish I

Degrees, Certifications, Special Trainings, etc.:

 Worked as Spanish translator in Washington, D.C. and Panama City, Panama for 3 years

MBA, Garvin Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird)

BA, Spanish, Brigham Young University

Studied in Saltillo, Mexico; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Madrid, Spain

IB training