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Quick Links
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Girard Gourmet Lunches:
NEW:
MyStudentsProgress
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Online Lunch
Reservation Module
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Girard Gourmet offers school lunches that are healthy, balanced, and natural. Girard Gourmet prepares, delivers and serves the meals to the school each full school day. Girard Gourmet often uses fresh organic produce locally grown on their farm in Julian. The menus may change based on seasonally available fresh produce. Girard Gourmet will provide non-disposable or eco-friendly utensils.
Click
You can now choose and order your meal plan from Girard Gourmet using the updated ordering system
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San Diego French-American School is delighted to be able to offer your family our transportation service to and from North County. You can take time off your morning or afternoon commutes by putting your children on the school bus, which makes two stops in North County in Encinitas and Carmel Valley. For the 2016-17 academic year, we have implemented additional options including one-way and individual tickets.
For more information, please click HERE
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After School Activity (ASA)
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Please find attached the link for the After School Activity (ASA) program for the fall session 2017.
Registration is
online only
and will be open until Monday September 4th. It will be completed upon full payment before beginning of the class (except for Homework class and the conservatory of Music). On
Tuesday Sept. 5
th
a $50 late registration fee
per family will be added to your total.
Classes' prices will not be prorated for late registration except if your child starts school later.
Adult French & English classes are available to our community. French classes are listed as adult classes on the website.
For the English classes it will be on Tuesday & Thursday evenings, please inquire to me.
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French Conservatory of Music at SDFAS
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Bringing over 90 years of expertise in music education from Paris to San Diego!
Starting in September 2017
Click
HERE for more informations
If you want to see more articles Click HERE
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Extended Care is available from 12:00 noon until 6 pm. Remember to bring a lunch as there is no Girard Gourmet lunch on minimum day. Registration is mandatory for min before Friday Sept. 8
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. Please send an email to: [email protected]
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Back to School mandatory registration before Friday Sept. 8
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. One hour of Extended care will be charged per family per day. Please send an email to:
[email protected]
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Adolescent Social Development
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Have a Middle School student?
Interested in social skills and social competencies?
Join
this event
for an evening on Adolescent Social Development - Help your teen develop social competence and overcome social challenges.
Thursday, August 31st from 6-7:30 pm
at the Fusion University City Campus, 5060 Shoreham Place, Suite 130, San Diego, CA 92122
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Come out and watch the French film AFTER LOVE playing at the
Media Arts Center San Diego's Digital Gym Cinema (DGC) in North Park. The film will be screened from Friday, September 1st to Thursday, September 7th. You can learn more about this film at the DGC website: http://digitalgym.org/after-love/ And watch the official trailer here:
https://youtu.be/CcK_NHE9CAk. SDFAS community benefits from a special ticket price by using promo code "
DGCCP" during online ticket purchase checkout process or by mentioning San Diego French-American School if buying in person at the box office.
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PRE-ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL BLOG
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For Pre-Elementary School information and updates
Click
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ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL BLOG
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For Elementary School information and updates
Click
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MIDDLE
SCHOOL BLOG
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For Middle School information and updates
Click
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ASA BLOG
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 Follow us to receive our pictures, update and stories from our instructors and your children.
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VISIT OUR SDFAS FACEBOOK PAGE
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 Don't forget to like and follow us on Facebook!
Thank you for your support.
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Follow us on Twitter
@SDFrenchSchool
Click
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SDFAS is sharing pictures
Click
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SDFAS is sharing Videos
Click
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We are also sharing the blogs for each division:
It takes only a few clicks to subscribe!
Access the blogs from our homepage:
Click
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QUESTIONS?
COMMENTS?
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If you have any questions or comments regarding this publication, please contact our editor, Audrey Blanchard at
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Click
for the French American Chamber of Commerce website.
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SDFAS Pedagogic Team 2017-2018
L'équipe pédagogique de SDFAS 2017-2018
There was a lot of excitement last week and the campus was back to full activities as teachers started the preparation of back to school: meeting, training, team discussion and getting the classrooms ready to welcome the students.
Everyone is looking forward to a new school year with students eager to learn, make new discoveries and new friends!
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Our New Blacktop
Notre Nouvelle Cour de Récréation
Following a recent facelift, the blacktop is now offering a variety of fun zones dedicated to sports and play (hopscotch, four square, tetherball and chess.) The basketball court has been leveled and enlarged to standard regulation.
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ÉDITO
On behalf of the SDFAS Board of Trustees and the entire SDFAS community, I am pleased to welcome Mark Rosenblum, our newly appointed Head of School! Mark arrived on campus on August 1st after completing his final year as Head of High School at French-American School of New York and moving his family to La Jolla. On arrival, Mark enthusiastically dove into work at SDFAS, bringing with him not only extensive school leadership experience and a deep commitment to French-American education, but also palpable warmth, humility, and a strong desire to champion our school's mission and values.
As is customary for a new Head, Mark will spend his first year learning SDFAS's culture, customs, people and practices. At the same time, he will actively guide our school's ongoing growth and development. To assist him in realizing our aspirations for this year and beyond, Mark and the Board of Trustees have developed the
attached Transition Plan. The plan is the product of community input from the Head of School search, faculty, administrators, parents, and our former Head of School.
Please look for opportunities to meet with Mark and add your voice to his exploration of SDFAS. The Back to School Picnic on September 9th and upcoming Back to School nights are terrific opportunities to meet with Mark and his family. We look forward to seeing you throughout the year at these and all of SDFAS's wonderful events. Thank you for giving Mark and his family such a warm welcome to our community. They are excited to be here, and we are thrilled to have them!
Finally, we wish you and your children a terrific school year. This year commemorates not only the start of our third Head of School, but also marks SDFAS's 30th anniversary. We look forward to celebrating with you throughout this special year in SDFAS's history.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Silver, Chair of the Board of Trustees
On behalf of the SDFAS Board of Trustees and Transition Team
In my first year as Head of School, it is my pleasure to welcome you back to a new school year at SDFAS. Together with editor Audrey Blanchard, we are pleased to present this special edition of the Écho, your school's newsletter.
You will find within this edition of the Écho photos of the renovated playground and new track and field. We thank everyone who generously contributed to make these projects a reality. In addition, you will find links to important information: Back-to-School Information Packet, Parent-Student Handbook, September Menu for Girard Gourmet, MyStudentsProgress, and more.
In this edition of the Écho, we also take pride in introducing our teachers who are new to the community, as well as our new Pre-Elementary Director Véronique Bevali (see photos and bios below). The SDFAS team is ready and excited to begin the school year and to provide your children with an excellent international education on our dynamic campus!
For my part, I look forward to meeting and getting to know all of you in the weeks to come. And I want to thank everyone for the very warm welcome I've received so far.
Mark Rosenblum, Head of school
Chers parents,
Au nom du Conseil d'Administration et de toute la communauté de SDFAS, j'aimerais souhaiter la bienvenue à notre nouveau chef d'établissement Mark Rosenblum ! Mark est arrivé sur le campus le 1er août, ayant achevé sa dernière année en tant que directeur du lycée de l'École Franco-Américaine de New York et après avoir déménagé avec sa famille à La Jolla. Une fois arrivé, Mark s'est immédiatement plongé dans le travail à SDFAS, apportant non seulement une expérience conséquente en leadership et un engagement profond vis-à-vis de l'éducation franco-américaine, mais aussi chaleur, humilité, et un désir ardent de promouvoir la mission et les valeurs de notre école.
Comme tout nouveau chef d'établissement, Mark passera sa première année à se familiariser avec la culture, les pratiques et les individus qui constituent la communauté de SDFAS. En même temps, il accompagnera de façon active le développement actuel de notre école. Afin de l'aider à réaliser nos aspirations pour cette année et au delà, Mark et le Conseil d'Administration ont rédigé ensemble
le Plan de
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Ce plan représente un travail collectif venant tout d'abord du processus de recrutement du nouveau chef d'établissement et également des contributions des professeurs, des administrateurs, des parents, et de notre ancien chef d'établissement.
Vous êtes invités à saisir toute occasion de rencontrer Mark et d'ajouter vos lumières à sa compréhension de la communauté de SDFAS. Le pique-nique de la rentrée le 9 septembre et les soirées Back-to-School mi-septembre représentent de bonnes opportunités pour passer un moment avec Mark et sa famille. J'ai hâte de vous voir nombreux à ces évènements ainsi qu'aux autres événements de SDFAS tout au long de l'année. Je vous remercie de réserver à Mark et à sa famille un accueil des plus chaleureux au sein de notre communauté. Ils sont très contents d'être enfin arrivés et nous sommes très heureux de les compter parmi nous !
Enfin, nous aimerions vous souhaiter ainsi qu'à vos enfants une merveilleuse année scolaire. Cette année commémore non seulement le début du mandat de notre troisième chef d'établissement, mais démarque aussi le 30ème anniversaire de l'école. Nous serons très heureux de célébrer cet anniversaire avec vous tout au long de cette année très spéciale dans l'histoire de SDFAS.
Cordialement,
Jennifer Silver
De la part du Conseil d'Administration et du Comité de Transition
Chers parents,
Bienvenue à tous pour une nouvelle année scolaire !
En cette première année en tant que chef d'établissement, j'ai le plaisir de vous souhaiter la bienvenue pour une nouvelle année scolaire. La rédactrice Audrey Blanchard et moi-même sommes heureux de vous présenter cette édition spéciale de l'Écho, votre lettre d'information.
Vous trouverez dans cette édition de l'Écho des photos de la cour de récréation rénovée et du nouveau terrain de foot avec piste d'athlétisme. Nous remercions tous ceux qui ont généreusement contribué à la réalisation de ces projets. Vous trouverez également des liens vers des informations importantes : Guide de la Rentrée, Manuel Parents-Élèves, Menu Girard Gourmet pour le mois de septembre, MyStudentsProgress, et plus encore.
Dans cette édition de l'Écho, nous souhaitons aussi présenter à la communauté les professeurs nouvellement arrivés dans l'école ainsi que notre nouvelle directrice de la maternelle Véronique Bevali (voir photos et biographies ci-dessous). L'équipe de SDFAS est prête et se réjouit de débuter l'année scolaire afin d'offrir à vos enfants une éducation internationale de qualité sur notre campus dynamique !
Pour ma part, j'ai hâte de faire la connaissance de tous les membres de la communauté. Je voudrais également remercier SDFAS pour l'accueil chaleureux dont j'ai bénéficié jusqu'à présent.
Mark Rosenblum, Chef d'établissement
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Front Row of Group Photo kneeling from left to right: Anne Ferton, Mark Rosenblum, Elise Ronfard, Isabelle Senecal, Alice Kong, Caroline Dumas, Claire Selva, Alexandra Lette
Back Row of Group Photo standing from left to right: François Baron, Binetou Badiane Maggio, Marie-Pier Goulet, Shelby Aseltine, Marie Claire Kouakou, Rodney Lafaye, Sophie Nehoua, Véronique Bevali, Paula (Security)
- Shelby Aseltine (MS)
Originally from the state of Maine, Shelby earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Bowdoin College in 2015, where she also minored in Teaching Studies. After graduating, she immediately started graduate courses at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While earning her M.Ed, she spent a year teaching both middle and upper school English classes at Berwick Academy, an independent school in southern Maine. While studying at Lesley, she focused heavily on multicultural pedagogy and effective teaching strategies for working with a diverse student body. She spent a year teaching middle school Language Arts and eleventh grade English at the Marshall School, an independent school in Duluth, Minnesota. Outside of teaching, Shelby has served as a coach for cross country running, Nordic skiing, and crew. She was the captain of the NCAA Division I Nordic Ski team while at Bowdoin College and will take any opportunity to find snow or jump in a race. She enjoys training for half marathons, Reading literature from around the globe, drinking Oolong tea, hiking, and trying new restaurants with her husband-to-be.
- Binetou Badiane Maggio (3rd Grade)
Binetou was born and raised in Paris, France. She received her B.S degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Toulouse le Mirail, in the south of France, and completed her teaching certificate two years later (CRPE). She is an alumna of the Southeastern Louisiana University (M.Ed) and is a certified elementary teacher (K-5) both in France and in the U.S. She has worked as a French teacher, Cycle Coordinator, and Academic Coordinator in New Orleans, LA. When she is not teaching, Binetou enjoys outdoor activities and spending time with her family.
- François Baron (MS)
Originally from Brittany, François pursued his studies in History-Geography in Rennes, where he received his Master's degree and then his CAPES (Certificate for teaching in secondary education) in 2003. After student teaching in a Middle School, he then taught for seven years in a High School near Paris. In 2009, he had the opportunity to spend 6 months in San Diego, as a volunteer for a company involved with the development and revitalization of downtown. From 2011 to 2014, he taught History-Geography at the Dallas International School, at all levels, from 6th to 12th grade. Upon returning to France, he passed his DNL certification, authorizing him to teach History-Geography in English.
François enjoys varying his pedagogical methods in order to encourage his students to become autonomous, curious, and reflect upon and formulate questions about the world in which they live.
Outside of school, he is passionate about traveling and discovering other cultures. He has had the good fortune to be able to travel to all of the continents. His other hobbies are guitar, running, reading, and spending time with friends.
- Caroline Dumas (2nd Grade)
Caroline was born in and worked in the Paris region. After studying English at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, she obtained her teaching degree at l'IUFM d'Etiolles. Her teaching career began in France, in Essonne, where she worked for four years in the elementary grades, from 1st to 5th. Her desire to pursue her career abroad brought her to the U.S., first to the Lycée Français de Los Angeles where she taught for three years, and then to the Dominican Republic, at the Lycée Français de Saint Domingue.
In the classroom, she places a high level of importance on creating a pleasant working environment: her wish is for her students to feel comfortable and safe, to blossom, and to feel like they are part of a second family.
Caroline enjoys sports, especially hiking, jogging, and badminton. She also enjoys créative activities, such as making jewelry and decorative objects.
- Anne Ferton (Kindergarten)
Anne is French, born in northern France and raised in the Alps. In 1994 she completed her Master of Science degree in Management at the Lyon School of Management (EM Lyon), with an emphasis on Marketing and Communication. For the next 18 years she worked in leadership roles at several international companies, before accompanying her husband to San Diego where he was transferred for professional reasons. It was at this point that she decided to put her passion for working with and serving children into action, shifting her career in the direction of education. She earned her Teaching Certificate in Early Childhood Education (ECE) at San Diego's Miramar College, followed by a French elementary teaching diploma with the La Mission Laïque Française and the University of Caen. She began working at SDFAS as a substitute teacher in the Preschool and Elementary School, and then became a PK2 Assistant. With her varied work experience as a strength informing her approach, Anne emphasizes cross-disciplinary teaching with a sense of responsibility for the environment and for humankind, and respects the individuality of each child, preparing her students to become stewards of the earth and citizens of the world. Mother to three young children, Anne is passionate and engaged. Sports have always been a part of her life, highlighted by numerous volleyball and Snowboarding competitions. Free time is now devoted to outdoor sports, individually or with her family: surfing, paragliding, skiing, and snowboarding. Anne studied music and piano from the age of 7, and was a singer in a rock band for 10 years before coming to the U.S.
- Marie-Pier Goulet-Lyle (Learning Specialist)
Marie-Pier was born in a francophone community in Quebec City, Canada, where she developed a diverse work history in education with teaching experiences across multiple disciplines, including kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and university. While completing a four-year bachelor degree in Elementary Education, Marie-Pier explored different opportunities like tutoring in Africa and teaching in disadvantaged areas of Montreal. Her passion to make a difference in education led her to pursue a Master's Degree focusing on specific links that exist between reading skills and mathematical word problem performance. The results of her Master's thesis led her to undertake a Ph.D. in Education. With her doctoral studies completion, Marie-Pier undertook two additional online courses to expand her knowledge in the field of learning differences, resulting in certificates related to ADHD and dyslexia in students. Marie-Pier previously worked for six years as a research assistant at the University of Quebec in Rimouski, where she also taught Mathematics Education for five years to future primary school teachers pursuing a Bachelor of Elementary Education and Special Education. Based in San Diego County with her husband since 2016, Marie-Pier enjoys hiking and running under the California sunshine, as well as trying new restaurants/foods. She is also a soccer player and a former soccer coach.
- Alexandra Lette (PK1)
Alexandra worked in France as a Primary teacher and with various non-profits, tutoring and promoting reading amongst disadvantaged children, before joining SDFAS in 2007 and teaching PK1 for 3 years. She thoroughly enjoyed the team spirit and learned a great deal about bilingualism. Her first class graduated from 8th Grade in June, 2017!
After her first stint at SDFAS, she left on a voyage with her husband on their sailboat Shalimar, traveling the South Pacific. During that time she experienced life at a slow pace, the strength, magnificence and richness of the sea, self-sufficiency, Polynesian culture, and the generosity of Islanders. Teaching stuck with her; she tutored along the way, collecting books and having children visit the boat and its library. She also experienced bilingualism first-hand when she had her daughter, Stella.
Alexandra and her family returned to San Diego in 2016. She worked on a book and a course about French civilization at UCSD, taught Art in French at the French Montessori Preschool of San Diego, and tutored Middle and High School students. She also moved into a house where she loves to work on renovating projects and the yard. Her family is also embracing life in San Diego, visiting museums, the theater, exhibits, and, not forgetting the great outdoors, going back to rock climbing, camping and visiting National Parks.
- Sophie Nehoua Natiha (4th Grade)
French and a native of la Réunion, Sophie has lived mainly on the islands in the Indian Ocean between Mayotte and la Réunion. After obtaining her teaching degree, she decided to specialize, working with students with special educational needs and/or students learning French as a Second Language. Her professional development and training, her travels, and her work experience in Chile allowed her to become extremely adaptable, in addition to becoming multi-lingual (English, Spanish, Sign Language).
The strong points in her approach to teaching are her ability to adapt depending on the tools available - using digital resources in particular, her commitment to individualizing lessons depending on students' needs, and creating pedagogical projects which are motivational for students, and collaborative with her educational team.
Her main areas of interest are volleyball, kayaking, diving, photography, world cuisines, and sewing.
- Alice Kong (3rd Grade English)
Originally from Hong Kong, Alice moved to Los Angeles at the age of six. She holds a Master's Degree in Education from UC San Diego with additional certifications in Bilingual Education, Business Management, and Computer Concepts. She is trilingual in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. A firm believer in teaching subjects in a cross-curricular setting, Alice plans lessons that integrate art, music, math, science, history, and language arts. She loves to ignite her students' curiosity with engaging, purposeful, and hands-on projects. Alice enjoys teaching all subjects, especially science, mathematics and technology. Her goal as an educator is to provide instruction in all the ways that her students need, whether they are spatial (visual), aural (auditory-musical), linguistic (verbal), kinesthetic (physical), logical (mathematical), and/or interpersonal (social or solitary) learners. Alice lives in La Jolla with her husband, three children, and a lovable chihuahua-terrier named Lilo. She comes to SDFAS with teaching experience at elementary schools in Poway, San Diego, National City, and Oceanside.
- Elise Ronfard
(Kindergarden English)
Originally from France, Elise Ronford moved to Boston with her family when she was eight years old. Her passion for languages, cultures and teaching have always played an essential role in her life. While she pursued her bachelor's degree in Spanish and Arabic at Concordia University in Montreal, she started working as a Spanish teacher's assistant. After graduating, she moved to Thailand, where she was the head Kindergarten teacher for two years at a private bilingual school. She then went on to teach ESL at a private language school in Vietnam and most recently was teaching ESL at the University of San Diego. She is an enthusiastic and supportive teacher, always striving to create a positive environment where knowledge can be shared. In her spare time she likes hiking, doing yoga, dancing, cooking and eating delicious food!
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Our new Pre-Elementary Director Véronique Bevali
Notre nouvelle directrice de la maternelle Véronique Bevali
V
é
ronique graduated from the University of Aix-Marseille, and
became a certified teacher for the French Ministry of Education. In the US she taught at the International school of Arizona, before becoming the Director of the French Program. She then took the direction of a Montessori preschool group. In addition to her pre-elementary education credentials and experience, Véronique strongly believes in the importance of learning languages at an early age. In the classrooms she promotes project and inquiry-based teaching, using the latest research in education and neuroscience. Her aim is to provide children with a challenging and supportive learning environment, balancing emotional and social development as well as academic growth.
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A
snapshot of campus improvements
Un aperçu des travaux sur le campus pendant l'été
Thanks to our fundraising effort during the 2016-2017 school year, we are proud to welcome students
back with an overhauled blacktop and a new track and field.
Over the summer, our facilities team coordinated the extensive scope of work. Students will start using the field mid-September once the sod's good root establishment has taken place and the stripping of the lanes is done. We can't wait to see our sport league host track and field meets and competition, as well as basketball games on campus.
Our beloved coach, Diesa Seidel, now has adequate facilities to further develop the physical education program and the character building curriculum associated with sport. Thank you to the entire school community who has been so supportive. Your generosity has truly made a difference!
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Nouveaux Artistes à SDFAS
 Ilana Queiroz
is a Center for World Music teaching artist from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. She teaches Capoeira and music, two constant elements in her life for the last 25 years. She has been teaching Capoeira and music since 2000, working in more than a dozen schools in the San Diego area.
In Ilana's Capoeira music classes, she teaches rhythms and different instruments through Capoeira songs. Children learn how to play the agogô, pandeiro, atabaque (drum), reco-reco, caxixi and sometimes the berimbau. The students learn to work in harmony with other players, because in Capoeira we play and respond to the chorus. The lyrics are in Portuguese, so the children have the chance to get in touch with a new language, bringing a new experience to her students.
"Capoeira is a complete art. It teaches timing, spatial perception, eye contact, respect, community, and partnership. It teaches children to be courageous and to try a new art, in a different discipline."
Ilana is trained as an anthropologist, and has a profound interest in culture. She began teaching Capoeira because she noticed that this practice had begun to spread all over the world, but in the process, it was losing its focus on the history, lyrics, meaning and purpose of the artform. She loves to use music as an approach to history and meaning, and as a dancer and a Capoeira player, she brings dance stretches, yoga, and strength movement to her classes. As an anthropologist, she sees Capoeira as much more than just movement, and she tries to share this life experience and show the respect that every culture deserves.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/2015/09/ilana-queiroz-brazilian-capoeira-dance-and-music/
 Stefanie Schmitz
has been a part of the San Diego music scene since 2001
, and has taught Brazilian music and songs in Portuguese for the Center for World Music since 2014. Clarinet, tenor saxophone, and Brazilian percussion are among the instruments with which she expresses her eclectic platform of genres including jazz, classical, samba, choro, funk, Klezmer, Balkan, musical theatre and more. Stefanie attended UC San Diego where she received bachelor's degrees in Music Performance and French Language Studies. She directs and performs with a number of San Diego based music groups. The same knowledge and enthusiasm she exhibits as a band leader she inspires in her students, teaching private and group lessons on clarinet, saxophone, and percussion to a range of ages and levels.
After college, Stefanie's love affair with Brazilian music began when she took a samba drumming class. She started San Diego's first choro group called Choro Sotaque in 2009, performing traditional Brazilian folk music on clarinet. She also performed with and led a community based Brazilian drum and dance group called Super Sonic Samba School which performs regularly for festivals and events around San Diego. Eager to keep learning and growing, Stefanie seeks out her yearly fix of new inspiration at California Brazil Camp, a weeklong music and dance camp in the redwoods. In 2013 she left her day job to embark on a six-month musical odyssey to Brazil where she absorbed Brazilian language and culture and studied with masters of samba and choro in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Olinda, and Jericoacoara. She is a recent graduate of the Teaching Artist Institute, conducted by Arts For Learning San Diego.
 Kourosh Taghavi
was born in Gorgan, Iran in 1965, and has been an artist-in-residence for the Center for World Music since 2010.After his migration to the United States in 1984, he studied the setar and Persian classical music with two of the greatest master musicians of Iran today: Ostad Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Ostad Hossein Alizadeh. These continuing studies remain the source of his passionate approach to the classical music of Iran-the foundation of his many collaborations and recordings with numerous artists, performing both traditional and modern art Persian music. He has been teaching the setar throughout California to introduce and promote classical music of Iran. Lectures, composing original music for plays, compositions on the contemporary poetry of Iran, and passionate solo recordings are only a few of his accomplishments toward his goals of promoting Persian Classical Music.
 Center for World Music artist-teacher Sufi Raina
is a Silver Medalist in Masters in Kathak (Indian classical dance). She studied under the tutelage of Dr. Santosh Vyas from Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, India. Trained in the Jaipur Gharana tradition, Sufi taught Kathak as a lecturer at KMV College Jalandhar for three years. During her tenure she choreographed national-level youth festivals and brought home many awards. She was invited to England by the North Somerset Music Service through a cultural exchange program to perform and teach Kathak in schools, and to introduce students there to Indian classical dance. She has choreographed many dance performances for stage and national television, and was an assistant choreographer for the Punjabi movie "Heer Ranjha." An innovative choreographer, Sufi is also trained in folk dance forms of India. A lifelong learner and a teacher by choice, she is the founder and artistic director of Tej Dance Studio, a Kathak studio in San Diego, California, USA. Her love for Kathak and countless hours of riyaaz (intense, disciplined practice) have brought her to many stages across the world, enthralling a global audience with the nuances of this classical Indian dance form.
 Nomsa Burkhardt
is an extraordinary dancer, folk singer and percussionist of Zulu heritage, born in Soweto, South Africa. Nomsa has taught for the Center for World Music since 2011. She spent most of her formative years in KwaZulu, Natal, a region famous for its rich Zulu heritage and culture. There, she studied various traditional dance styles with master dancers, such as Indlamu, ukuQhobosha and ukuSina. She immigrated to Philadelphia, where she co-founded HIMOSHA, an African dance troupe. Her artistic skills and passion for dance propelled her into becoming the director and lead choreographer for the troupe for 7 years. She worked with well-known Philadelphia-based South African multi-instrumentalist and artist Mogauwane Mahloele at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Walt Whitman Cultural Arts Center, and at many universities and schools. She also performed and conducted workshops annually at the Philly Dance Africa Project. In 2000 she returned to South Africa to study with the accomplished ethnomusicologist Prof. Meki Nzewi at the University of Pretoria. Upon her return to the USA in 2004, she joined the Grammy-nominated South African band Sharon Katz & The Peace Train. As part of the Peace Train Project at the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, Nomsa helped develop a teacher-training program on South African history, and conducted a series of educational performances. Nomsa has toured throughout the USA, South Africa, Israel, Italy, and Germany. She is the co-founder of IZINDE, an Afro-fusion band made up of artists from around the world.
 Center for World Music artist-teacher Hirotaka Inuzuka
teaches and performs Indonesian gamelan music. Hiro began studying Balinese gamelan during his undergraduate studies in Ethnomusicology at UCLA; he continued to deepen his knowledge of Indonesian music and dance at California Institute of the Arts under the mentorship of I Nyoman Wenten, where he earned his MFA in World Music Performance. He continues to travel to Bali regularly, to expand his expertise and study with Bali's most renowned artists and teachers. Currently he is a prominent member of many gamelan groups in the greater Los Angeles area, such as Burat Wangi, Pandan Arum, and Bhuwana Kumala. He has performed in The United States, Japan, and Bali, participating in events such as Pesta Kesenian Bali (Bali Arts Festival), Bali Mandara Mahalango, and Performing Indonesia at the Smithsonian Institute. He has taught gamelan privately, as well as at workshops and community classes in Southern California, including the "Music of Bali" series at ArtShare LA in 2014, and at Glendale Community College in 2015. In 2014, he established Sekaa Gambuh Los Angeles, a group dedicated to play the music of Gambuh dance drama, one of the oldest surviving Balinese dance forms, which is facing extinction due to Bali's modernization. With his focus on teaching and performing gamelan music, he has opened his own community gamelan studio in Tujunga, California, where he teaches and trains new players, in order to further the preservation and performance of gamelan music in North America.
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WHAT'S COMING UP
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- September 29: First Day of School
- September 4:
Labor Day - No School
- September 9: Back to School Picnic at 11:30 am - 3 pm
- September 13:
Back-to-school Night for PK2, 4th & 5th Grade at 5:30 pm
- September 14: BTS Night for Middle school
- September 15: Minimum day
- September 18: BTS Night for PK0, Kindergarten and 1st Grade
- September 19:
BTS Night for PK1, 2nd and 3rd Grade
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