The Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s French Honor Society, or Société Honoraire de Français (SHF), held its first meeting of the year on September 26.

Club officers explained the process of becoming a full member of the society and highlighted all the French cultural opportunities the society provides.

The officer board, which consists of co-Presidents Diya Inta and Harjas Saini, Vice President Aritra Banerjee, Secretary Christine Xu, and Treasurer Siddhanth Viswanathan (all officers are seniors), hosted the meeting along with the society’s advisor Madame Haff in the large cafeteria. They first reviewed the requirements for prospective members to join, including GPA and French class grade requirements, attend a French cultural activity and have five hours of community service.

Then, they explained the many opportunities the society offers, most of which also provide community service hours. These include assisting with bake sales to fundraise, tutoring any peers who need help in the subject, creating French cultural bulletin boards and helping coordinate the logistics for the annual French-language competition “the Grand Concours.”

Moreover, the bulletin boards are created every month for various French traditions or holidays, such as Easter and Mardi Gras. This year, the society also plans to make a much larger display for French Week, which is in November.

Harjas Saini, a senior and co-President of the society, explained the objective of the club. “We aim to deepen our connection to the Francophone world and foster a sense of community among members,” she said.

Vikrant Khanvilkar, a sophomore and prospective member also commented. “I feel that SHF is an organization full of dedicated members and leaders. I plan to work with other members to ensure that we can keep promoting French culture throughout Bridgewater and beyond,” they said.

From here, after members work on club activities throughout the year, new members will be inducted in May, at the same time as those of all other language honors societies. Soon after, returning members will vote on next year’s officer board, concluding the activities for the society this academic year.