Featured in this week's News de Nous: After School Clubs start October 1st, Directory coming soon, a peek into the classrooms, latest enrollment news, Adult Education information, Teacher Zoom Office Hours, plus a PA meeting is planned!! After all of this you'll definitely need a coffee break- so please join us for Café et Conversation under the Tiki Hut!!!. These stories and more are a mere scroll away... |
|
Highlights, Notes and Announcements |
|
Bonjour!
Things are in full swing around FASTB, and we are excited about all of the learning happening every day!
Please see below for informaiton on our upcoming After School Club programming; we are very excited to offer these fun after-school activities!
We are also compiling the School Directory and your response is needed:
If you would like to be included in the FASTB Directory, please complete the Directory form and return it by Friday, September 24th. This will help us be ready for distribution to families by October 1st. Merci!
For those families with napping children (ages 3 and 4), we ask that you please provide a cot sheet and blanket for their rest time. We will send home nap items each Friday to be laundered and returned on Mondays. Merci!
As always, please reach out to Tamye in the office with any questions: tamye.crutchfield@fastb.org or you may call the school between 7:30 am - 3:30 PM.
|
|
This week in Art the students worked on the Coquelicots of Monet. We studied the technique of using dots in painting. The students enjoyed learning about this new way of creating paintings by using their broad imaginations to come up with things they can make using only paint dots. |
|
|
|
Middle School Story Making |
|
Middle school students are making a model. It will serve to tell a new story for kindergarten. Currently, we are adapting the story to make it more exciting and engaging for the children. |
|
Geometry Lesson in Action with Grades 1 and 2 |
|
Geometry Puzzle: How do we plant three "trees" (water bottles) in alignment with the first two while spacing them out as much as possible?
The children had rope, string, and the class ruler as materials.
Challenge taken up with brilliance!
|
|
Creative Writing In Cycle 3 touches on student experience |
|
In cycle 3, the writing prompt this week was very appropriate to the current experience of the class. With the students from New Orleans visiting in the class, the topic was Hurricane Irma.
Imagine the rest of this story:
It's eight in the morning. From the weather forecast, I heard that the bad weather would start around 9 am. I can already hear the wind picking up. Irma approaches ...
|
|
"Café et Conversation" Under the Tiki Hut ! |
|
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting Café et Conversation gatherings for parents under the Tiki Hut on Tuesday mornings from 8:30-9:00 AM. Our first gathering will be on September 21st, and we hope you can join us!
Come on out, grab a cup of coffee and mingle within our FASTB community of families! Nothing formal, no agenda, just time to get to know our community better. We know life has been hectic for the past 18 months, so please take a break amongst friends!
And please feel free to bring some muffins or bagels to share :-)
|
|
Teacher Office Hours on Zoom |
|
 |
As mentioned in our parent meetings, FASTB is resuming our weekly Zoom sessions for parents. Please take advantage of this opportunity to connect directly with the teaching staff and ask any questions you may have. The teachers will observe the following availability schedule:
Cécile
Wednesday's at 8:00 PM
Zoom ID: 947 0153 9812
Zoom Password: 34frwq
Françoise
Thursdays at 5:30 PM
Zoom ID: 958 1921 1829
Zoom Password: Px459m
Marion
Wednesdays at 5:00 PM
Zoom ID: 964 7790 1047
Zoom Password: fastb
Olivier
Tuesdays at 5:00 PM
Zoom ID: 721 415 941
Zoom Password: 20202020
Benjamin
Wednesdays at 5:00 PM
Zoom ID: 890 1747 6038
Zoom Password: college
|
|
|
|
Congrats to Pauline as she awaits the arrival of her new baby! We were excited to celebrate with her and send her off on her new journey with good wishes and fun things to welcome her bundle of joy! We will miss seeing Pauline's smiling face around the building, and we look forward to her return in February! |
|
Parents Association Meeting |
|
All FASTB parents are invited to join our first meeting to welcome new families and plan activities for the 2021-2022 school year!
When: Friday, September 17, 2021
Time: 3:00PM - 4:30PM
Where: Under the Tiki Hut
The PA is looking for parent volunteers to participate this year! We are also looking for new ideas to organize fundraisers, school activities for students, and social events for parents.
FASTB will be providing aftercare for students while parents attend.
Hope to see you there!
|
|
After School Clubs Are Back!
We have been diligently planning our After School Clubs for the past few weeks and we are excited to announce this year's club offerings! We have lined up a fantastic selection of after-school activities that your students will enjoy throughout the year!
Monday: Arts & Crafts with Sami
Tuesday: Spanish with Sarah
Wednesday: Etiquette and Dance with Victoria
Thursday: Gymnastics with Sami
Friday: Funday Friday with Tracy
Cost:
$150/each activity for 10 weekly sessions from 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
You may sign your student up by emailing Tamye. Please be sure to indicate your club choice - you are more than welcome to sign up for multiple clubs as well!
|
|
Music Together In-School Program Begins Year 4 at FASTB! |
|
|
We are thrilled to welcome back Music & Me, offering the Music Together In-School Program at FASTB for 2021-22! Music & Me will work with each class outside under the Tiki Hut, bringing this terrific music appreciation program to our students. This fun, hands-on approach includes everything from basic rhythms with the younger students to songwriting with our middle schoolers. As with every member of our staff, the Music & Me Teacher will have a temperature and wellness check upon arrival each week and, during this COVID time, will not conduct any music lessons inside. |
|
|
|
During the next six weeks, FASTB's teachers will be taking an IB course online: Making the PYP Happen. This course is offered in French and in English, which is ideal for our school community. Congratulations to our staff on this essential first step towards the implementation of the IB Primary Years Programme.
|
|
2021 Good Burger Awards - FASTB is a finalist, please vote for us! |
|
A Good ‘Burger is a business, organization, or individual in greater St. Pete making a positive impact in our community. In honor of a former mayor who referred to his citizens as “burgers” (as in St. Petersburgers), the Good ‘Burger Awards were established to honor those who contribute in a positive way to make our community special.
FASTB is a finalist in the category Arts and Culture, establishing St. Pete as an Arts & Culture destination on the national stage.
Award winners will be determined by popular vote. Voting is open to the public from Monday, August 30, 2021, to Friday, October 1, 2021. Winners will be announced during the 9th Annual Good ‘Burger Awards on Thursday, October 28, 2021. Tickets are required to attend.
Thank you for voting for FASTB; friends and family can vote too :-)
|
|
FASTB Is Still Enrolling: No Prior French Needed for Ages 3-5 |
|
We are continuing to enroll our Preschool & Pre-K students. Over the summer months, we have worked hard to enroll in the Florida VPK Program and are awaiting our contract to be signed. This is a great program that will allow ALL of our 4-year-old students to receive additional resources from the State of Florida! We would love your help to get the word out that we now have this program available, so we offer a Referral Credit of $250 for each student you refer who enrolls before October 15th.
As a reminder: Rising Preschool, Kindergarten, and First Grade students can enter our immersion environment with no previous instruction in French. These years are foundational for language development, and students at this age are particularly suited to thrive in this environment.
At FASTB, Kindergarten students are not only at a great age to learn a second language, but they also have the bonus of being eligible for Florida scholarships (must be 5 on September 1), which are available to students K & up. Please see the latest on Florida scholarships and Step Up for Students in the article above to learn how you could benefit from this great offering in Florida.
Private Virtual Tours
You hear things about language immersion, but what does it actually look like? Well, the best way to see what we do first-hand is to schedule a private virtual tour, which will take you inside our dynamic and safe classrooms to see where it all happens.
We also conduct after-hours in-person tours and will continue to do so through the fall months.
You can also feel free to visit our Admissions page and website to explore further what we offer and learn about our admissions process.
We look forward to hearing from you soon - merci!
|
|
Adult Education and DELF classes are back! |
|
Bonjour!
We are very excited to announce that Adult French classes and DELF preparatory classes return to FASTB this year! Unfortunately, because of Covid precautions, our first semester will be online only. The Fall semester includes 13 classes, from the week of September 13th to December 18th.
Adult Ed:
The classes take place on weekdays, typically between 5-8:30 pm; please send us your availability if you are interested in joining a class!
DELF preparatory classes:
At FASTB, we offer a preparatory course for students from middle school/high school and adults. The classes prepare the students for the DELF exams. The Diplôme d’Etudes de Langue Française (DELF) (English: Diploma in French Studies) is a certification of French-language abilities for non-native speakers of French, administered by the International Centre for French Studies (Centre International d’Etudes Pédagogiques or CIEP) for France’s Ministry of Education.
The French American School of Tampa Bay has also become an official testing center for the DELF and DALF, alleviating the previous need to travel to take the DELF exams. The DELF Exam designed by the CIEP is an official qualification awarded by the French Ministry of Education certifying a level of fluency in French. Such certifications are useful for school records, as well as college and job applications. The classes are an hour and a half each week after school, sometime between 3:30 to 6 pm.
For those interested in finding out more about these classes, we will have a virtual Open House on Tuesday, September 7th at 7 pm on Zoom. Specific log-in details will be sent in the coming days to all who participated last year and those who have expressed interest so far this year. If you would like to be included, please send an email to adulted@fastb.org with your name, contact information, availability, and level in French (beginner, intermediate or advanced).
Merci!
|
|
Soy and Milk Allergies at FASTB |
|
Two students at FASTB have an allergy to Milk and Soy.
Food allergies affect about 6% to 8% of children in the United States. Allergic reactions can be life-threatening, and in rare cases, deadly. While emergency treatment is available for allergic reactions, there is no cure yet. The only treatment for food allergies is the strict avoidance of allergens. Sometimes a small amount of allergen can cause a reaction.
We ask parents to explain to their child/children not to share food with other kids and let them know that other than not eating allergenic food, children with allergies can do everything else!
|
|
FASTB Wellness Team Effort |
|
Thank you to our parents and staff for being vigilant about spotting symptoms, per the Wellness Agreement. It is great to have everyone looking out for one another during this persistent time of COVID cases rising. For those not familiar, our Wellness Agreement is signed by families and staff, pledging to monitor for the prominent COVID-19 symptoms and stay home if these symptoms appear. Additionally, we do temperature checks every day and practice distancing, hand washing, and wearing face coverings to keep each other safe! |
|
COVID-19: Protocols, Recommendations, and Waiver |
|
|
Would you please read carefully and become familiar with the drop-off/pick-up procedures and other guidelines?
Here is a summary of our 2021-2022 protocols and recommendations:
- We encourage all parents/caretakers/older siblings to get vaccinated.
- Masks are strongly encouraged for all members of our school community inside the school during operating hours (teachers and staff, students, and parents, as well as vendors, volunteers, and visitors). In addition, they are recommended outside on the school grounds.
- Masks will be encouraged inside regardless of vaccination status.
- Access to the school building is limited to essential workers and students.
Our number one priority is always to do our best to protect our community. We need to create a safe environment for all our students who do not have the opportunity to be vaccinated.
The school is extremely grateful to the following parents, who are medical professionals, for sharing their time, expertise and for helping us write clear protocols.
At the French American School of Tampa Bay:
Dr. Gaetane Michaud, MD, Pulmonary Critical Care, Tampa General Hospital and USF Tampa
At l'Ecole Française du Maine:
Dr. James Gallea, MD, Emergency Medicine Specialist
Dr. Lisa Lucas, DO, Primary Care Physician
WAIVER: Parents wishing that their child does not wear a mask inside and /or outside may request an exemption from School Director Tamye Crutchfield: tamye.crutchfield@fastb.org
|
|
|
|
Suzuki Guitar with Alex Gammon - Registration is open! |
|
|
Our returning families already know Alex through his role (and popularity) as the Music Together Teacher for the past three years at FASTB. So, you probably already know how much the kids adore him, have heard about his amazing baritone voice and his excellent guitar playing! We are delighted to inform you that Alex will be returning to FASTB but in a new role in 2021-2022. Alex is going to be starting a Suzuki Guitar Program, with his studio located at FASTB!!! Of course, FASTB students will be first in line to sign up for lessons!
It was a treat to meet Alex this summer, in Maine, where he visited L’Ecole Française du Maine and met with the Suzuki Guitar Teacher, Gary Wittner. Gary gave Alex many helpful tips and ideas on how to bring this opportunity of a Suzuki Guitar Program to life in St Pete. It’s very exciting!
Alex got his first guitar at age 13, just for show. Still, when his family thrust him into private lessons with Sarasota guitarist Jami Gee, he centered his life around the instrument, learning jazz, rock, and classical pieces. As a teen, Alex played guitar in the Fogt’s Junior All-Star Band, which performed at Sarasota retirement homes and blues festivals, covering old swing hits and dancey jazz tunes.
After studying Childhood Anthropology at Florida State, Alex was intrigued by Early Childhood Development, which led him to the Music Together program. Blending his passion for Music and Early Childhood Development, Alex passed the Music Together and Canta y Baila Teacher Training in the fall of 2018 and winter of 2019, respectively. He began working with FASTB students in December 2018, teaching the Music Together in School, Rhythm Kids, and Music History/Ukulele curriculums.
He took the role of the FASTB Suzuki guitar teacher in the Fall of 2021, hoping to bring music to the students' lives via his favorite instrument. We are thrilled to have Alex on board, offering this exciting opportunity to our school families. If you are interested in having your child take guitar (or ukulele) from this devoted teacher, you can contact him directly at:
(941) 321-7962
Rest assured- Music Together with Music & Me will also return, and we will introduce you to the new teacher soon :-)
|
|
|
|
The French American School of Tampa Bay
2100 62nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Telephone: (727) 800-2159
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
