Dear FIPA Family,
First off, we hope that you and your families, both here and abroad, are all safe and sound.
While the school year has taken a different turn than expected, we are nearing the end and it’s time for us to give you an update.
This year, once again, FIPA helped the French program fund sereval initiatives :
- 3 assistants were brought from France : Noemie at Coconut Grove, Olivier at Sunset and Marine at Carver
- A part time position at Coconut Grove for the full year
- Laptops at Carver (last year at ISCHS and Sunset)
- Cinemagique sessions for all schools
Our « Welcome Picnic » in August was attended by many families, old and new, and in October we had a rainy yet successful « Parents Night Out » which many enjoyed. We proposed conferences of interest to many parents whose children attend the five schools we help (for example, one that discussed the difficulties of communicating with teenage children, and another on potential future careers). We also organized cultural events such as the "Galette des Rois" and "Crepes Party", to bring awareness to French customs and have the students enjoy some delicious French treats.
All of these events were made possible THANKS to your support through memberships and donations.
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Of course, no picnic this month but for sure, we ll meet you at the end of August for the traditional first picnic of the school year. We ll give you the details later.
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Usually, we have the General Meeting in May.
Again, we cannot organize it now and have to postpone it until the beginning of the next school year.
Many open positions this year :
- Vice-President
- Secretary
- Co-Treasurer
- Event Planner (2 people)
- School Liaison at Coconut, Sunset, Ischs
- Communication Director
- Web manager
We are all volunteers and are working hard to help maintain a great French Program in our schools. Please, come and join the board of directors. Fipa needs you to continue its actions. Please contact us at :
fipa@fipamiami.org
for more information or to apply.
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We had high hopes for the Gala this year, as it was going to be held in a new venue : the Miami Tower, with a beautiful terrace and view of downtown Miami.
Unfortunately, things took a different turn and we were forced to cancel it. Many of you opted to donate your ticket fee, and thanks to your generosity, the Gala that never took place still raised funds for FIPA !
Once again, thanks to your support and generosity, and your continuous bids on the silent auction items.
We are also incredibly grateful to our sponsors who chose to let FIPA keep their donations knowing that the Gala was canceled.
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A group of FIPA members, Jennifer Palanque, Nathalie Legendre and Cecile Melanie (Sunset Moms) and our super supportive French interns, Olivier and Marine started a series of
Zoom sessions in French to help non-native French students with conversation
.
At Sunset Elementary, most French teachers conduct daily 30 minute Zoom meetings, which is admirable considering how many classes they are hosting. For children without French speaking parents, it isn’t nearly enough time to practice.
A short survey was sent on Fipa group chats for
Coconut and Sunset elementary and 6th graders at Carver
. About 75 students responded and sessions started last week.
A total of 12 sessions of 45 min per week are planned until the end of school.
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Parents and children are happy for the extra support, and as a mom wrote today :
“M
y son just had his first session with Jennifer and it was incredible - He was so engaged and afterwards he said he wanted her to be his teacher - that she was so nice and complimentary - LOVED her!!! Such an incredible resource particularly for non-natives!!! Thank you thank you
“
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Learning French during quarantine...
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Sarek Ranadive
is a fifth grader at Sunset Elementary, an excellent and accomplished student with many awards involved in Safety Patrol, Geography Team, History team, Science bowl and outside of school Scouts and Lions Soccer.
What awards did you win this year?
This year I won 1
st
place in the geography district bee with my team. We won every game in the first round, and then moved to the second round where we played and beat the other Sunset team. We finally played Pinecrest and won the whole competition without losing one game.
What’s your experience learning French during the Quarantine?
I think that during the quarantine, the French teachers are handling this situation very well. There is not really anything I would want to change except my zoom schedule. I have 3 Zooms on Tuesday, 2 of which are French back-to-back.
What do you like about being bilingual?
I like being bilingual because it improves my language skills and helps me communicate with other people who speak French. I can also pick up some words in other languages like Spanish, and a few words in Latin.
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Teacher appreciation week
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The first week of May is traditionally when the students and their parents show the teachers how grateful they are. Kids and families offer presents, flowers, cards or drawings to thanks them.
Since the beginning of the #stayhome order in Miami Dade, the five schools with the French program have been fully dedicated to make sure their students keep their curriculum up. Many Zoom classes have been scheduled and new methods of studying were provided to the kids to ensure they finish the program in the best conditions. The teachers have shown professionalism, patience and attention to each child during those hard and difficult times, FIPA wanted to show its appreciation. We offered an Amazon e-gift card to each French teacher. The teachers were very grateful and hope to be back to school soon.
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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”
Nelson Mandela
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FIPA supports Miami-Dade County Public School Free-Meals Program
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Despite school closures, Miami-Dade County Public Schools decided to continue its breakfast and lunch program.
The district has been distributing food at 50 schools throughout the county and 1,000,000 meals have been already offered to families thanks to that action. FIPA and Miami-Dade Schools have been partners for more than 15 years to support the French program in some public schools. In these difficult times, FIPA decided to support this action by offering 200 meals. Amazing parents from G.W Carver offered 100 lunches to families from Miami-Dade Schools.
Most of the lunches have been prepared by Semilla, a French restaurant from Miami Beach. The Chef and owner, Frederic Joulin accepted the challenge to cook 300 delicious meals with a French touch at a fair price. Then, he was helped by the Chef from M&V Café (North Miami Beach) and Cecile Bakery (Sunset Place, South Miami).
During this uncertain period, the French community responded right away to the call and FIPA is very proud to have been able to be there for those families in need.
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Our Partners for the operation :
Semilla
, Miami Beach
M&V Café
, North Miami Beach
Cécile Bakery
, South Miami
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Here are some tips to continue to practice French until we all return to school
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Smartphone app :
DUOLINGO
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If you want to entertain your kid AND improve their French, please find here some virtual camps
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You already received a special "bloc note" about
“
My fabulous Storyteller
” aka - “
Ma Fabuleuse Fabrique à Histoire
” - by
Lunii
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15% DISCOUNT
for all FIPA members
(offer valid up to August 15th)
HOW TO ORDER:
directly on the website
lunii.com
, with the promo code:
FIPALOVE
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If you've already participated in a FIPA event, you know Lea Grandvalet. She is the "official" and complimentary photographer of FIPA, thanks again Lea!
She is participating in the national #FrontStepsProject. Be ready to smile in front of her camera...
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