Good morning, my name is Thierry Leterre, I am the associate director of the French School.

Every year, I have the pleasure and the privilege to welcome in my turn students on the opening of the undergraduate program. It is always a very special occasion, and four years as the associate director of Middlebury College French School have not worn out the pleasure, or diminished the sense of privilege which is mine today again. Welcome to the French School ! Bienvenue ! I wish you a very special summer.

Actually, it is a special summer to me also. I cannot help remembering that I came to teach at the French School for the first time exactly 20 years ago. In a way, 2009 is a jubilee year to me. As you know, a jubilee is a nice way of putting straight the fact that a man has reached a phase when he is able to count his life in decades, which might not otherwise be that pleasant a thought. The reward is that time allows perspective. Over the years, new facilities have changed the shape of the campus ; new buildings have grown on the hills, means of communication have improved, and technology projects us in a totally different world. I remember admiring the cool features of the noisy needle printer at the old library, spitting in its pale ink the references I was checking at the library. I guess most of you have only a remote idea, if at all, of what a needle printer is. Believe me, the remembrance of the noise it made makes is no nostalgia to me.

Over the years, things have changed but when I returned, after a long pause of over a decade, I found that the most important had not changed, and this thing that is not changed is very simple : it is the spirit of Middlebury. When I say there is a spirit here, I mean it literally. Yes, I am sure you understand me : we are in a magical school ; we are in a school of magic.

During this summer, you will learn to practice magic, and to cast spells. Astonishing things will follow. You will cast a simple spell, like “passe-moi le sel” and you will see the salt flying to you. More complicated spells involving movies, ipods, essays will be taught to you. Possession spells also, such as “bonjour”. You will see that the person in front of you is suddenly compelled to say “bonjour”. Sometimes, friends or professors will cast stunning jinx. You will see them moving their lips, and however, you will not be able to make sense of what is happening. Do not worry : the ability to cast and to respond to stunning jinxes is part and parcel of the program. You will learn simple counter-jinxes, such as, “Je suis un debutant” or “Pardon ?”. Just do not run away from the person casting the spell, it is considered as very improper.

Now, young witches and sorcerers, I have to let you know about the rules of learning magic. Firstly among the schools of magic in the world, the existence of which has unfortunately been disclosed by a British author, we pride ourselves to be unique in the sense that we are the American School of Magic. This is why, faithful to the democratic inspiration of this country, you are all—I say all—from Muggle’s background.

For that reason, we are all proud to share our abilities with the Muggle world, and many of us, like our director or myself, have even learned the Muggles’ language, which is called here, “English”, and live among Muggles. We find it great, and we appreciate it very much, but we must be aware of some drawbacks it entails. The most obvious issue is that you understand easily the Muggle’s language. It is a great ability and a privilege, I do not deny that : however, for the sake of properly developing your magical skills, you have to commit yourselves not to use the Muggle’s language, but only to communicate through your magical powers. To this effect you have willingly entered a binding spell, called “the Pledge”. It is my most serious duty to warn you that attempting to break this spell would expose you to the most extreme consequences, including a nasty interview with the famous Professor and Vice-President Geisler, who is as we all know, a close cousin of the late and very much regretted Professor Dumbledore.

On this campus you will also meet with other students learning another kind of magic : the Dark Arts. We call them “the students of the other schools”. When properly used and mastered, Dark Arts are fine in themselves. They are often considered as part of the training of a fully accomplished sorcerer. Professor Geisler, whom I just mentioned, is a Master in one area of the Dark Arts which is called “German”. We hope that you will explore in the future with all the recommended prudence this side of magic and extend your knowledge of it. Some of you might even already master some aspects of the Dark Arts. However, for the time being, and for the sake of your training in Magic you are not allowed to practice the Dark Arts for the summer : this also would be against the binding spell you have agreed to.

I think I hardly have to remind you that, as any school of magic, we have magical creatures on campus—magical squirrels and foxes : they are dangerous and you should not touch them. However, we do not normally have centaurs on the premises : should you see somebody naked on a horse, please report this very unlikely event to public safety.

Developing magic is an all-instant process. This is why we want you to practice not only through formal classes with your instructors, but also in what we call “co-curricular activities”. Do not stay stuck with your biting books in your rooms. You would miss a very important part of our program. Instead, join our activities : come and cook potions or even food, exchange about the world, magic or not, play sports. About sports : due to the proximity of the Burlington airport and the National Guard Air Force of Vermont, we cannot accommodate quidditch games on campus and—let me put this straight—you are strongly warned that it is forbidden to play quidditch here. I have to tell you : we watch our brooms very closely. We accommodate other magical games though, such as volley ball and Tennis. We also have what Muggles call “soccer” and that is properly named in our language, football.

As I said, we are proud to be interacting with Muggles’ communities. In some circumstances, it is a necessity. We are unfortunately unable to provide a magical health care service. This is why you should use freely the Muggle’s language for all health related concerns.

We also interact with other Magic communities in the world. Our school has two other establishments, one in France, in Poitiers, and one in Mills, California. To keep the link between our communities, we have two powerful Pensives : one is our Magical Website, the other one our Magical Blog. In the next few days, I will send you a message to explain how the blog works. Please, register and share with our different communities photos, notes, and even videos.

Dear Sorceres and Witches, I think you now are ready to learn and practice magic. I wish you the best for this summer, I mean : a marvelous magical summer in Middlebury.