Herricks High School sophomores Kristen Aloysius and Carrie Hsu took first and second place, respectively, in level three of a French poetry competition, coordinated by the American Association of Teachers of French’s Nassau County Chapter.

The contest took place on Dec. 6 at Hofstra University and judged students’ recitation of sophisticated, famous, college-level poems. A separate category assessed original poetry. Kristen and Carrie both entered the recitation event; Kristen featured “Harmonie du soir” by Charles Baudelaire, and Carrie delivered “Chez la fleuriste” by Jacques Prévert. They were rated based on pronunciation/intonation, timing/pacing, poise/posture and overall interpretation.

Both students have been studying French for five years and currently take level three French with teacher Kari Schiano. They spent approximately two weeks learning the poems and preparing for the event.

“It’s a pleasure every year to see students participate in French events, and to see them succeed is really rewarding,” Schiano said. “They put in all this work on their own.”