November 12, 2020

Our first Parent Teacher Conferences of the year will be held via Zoom tomorrow afternoon for all grades. If you have yet to sign-up for an available slot with your students' teacher, it may not be too late! Zoom ID's and passwords have been shared to the class lists via email directly. If you have not received yours, please email office@frenchschool.me and Emily will send it straight away. Reminder: tomorrow's dismissal is at 11:30 for teachers to host conferences during the afternoon.

Read on for more November news: A review of travel policy in light of the coming holidays and rise of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maine, information on a food drive to help our Freeport community at large, and an announcement of a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee.

An extra reminder, it's getting cold! Please be sure to pack hats, mittens, scarfs, and a warm winter jacket daily as appropriate for all students. Since we are committed to outdoor time in all weather, it is important to have a raincoat on hand at school too. For K and under students, it is time to send in a change of extra clothes that reflects the weather: we'll switch out the back-up shorts and t-shirts for long pants and sweaters. With warm breath in cold weather, students are going through face-mask changes more often. Please be sure to pack extra masks for your student each day!

Thank you and as always, please reach out to Emily in the office with any questions: office@frenchschool.me.

" I rise to recognize the 75th anniversary of D-Day and a Mainer who helped to liberate France and then Europe from Nazi control in World War II during the invasion of Normandy. Charles Norman Shay is a Penobscot Tribal Elder and decorated Veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. He’s received the Bronze Star, Silver Star and Legion of Honor, making him the first Native American in Maine with that distinction.

COVID-19 cases in Maine are taking a startling upward turn as of late. We have made several updates to our daily school guidelines following the Governor's most recent order, adding stricter masking protocols and travel updates to our daily checklist, found below.

We would like all families to be reminded of our Community Pledge. This document was drafted at the start of the school year to ensure all members of our community are aware of how they may do their part in keeping us safe.

If you must travel over the holiday breaks, please keep in mind that current policies exempt only a select few states deemed "safe" for travel at this time-- those being ME, NH, MA and VT.

A 5-DAY QUARANTINE UPON RETURN, FOLLOWED BY A NEGATIVE TEST will be required to return to school.

If traveling, It is recommended you schedule travel-related testing as soon as possible. Even if traveling to exempt states, Maine is highly recommending testing upon returning home.

As the exempt states and rules regarding testing/quarantining continue to update, we will keep families informed.

We realize these protocols are very strict, but our goal is safety first. If we all take the utmost care and precaution, we have the best chance of continuing with uninterrupted in-person classes. Thank you for your cooperation to ensure our community's wellness.

Progress Reports were sent home earlier this week, and Parent Teacher Conferences will take place tomorrow afternoon November 13th.

To allow for lunch at home and travel time, we have arranged for conferences to begin at 1:00pm and extend through the afternoon into the early evening. Due to class sizes, we've made the slots 10 minutes with 5 minutes in between each session, so that there may be an option to extend to up to 15 minutes as needed and allows a chance to deal with technical issues if they arise. (English class sessions will be 5 minutes, with option for all to extend to 10).

To the right you will find links to each classroom's sign-up page. Here you will be able to choose the time-slot that works best for your family. Be sure to sign-up ASAP to get your chosen slot!

Conferences this fall will take place over Zoom. Zoom ID's and passwords for each classroom were shared directly to parents via an email to each class earlier this week.

At the time of your conference, please use the password to log into your teacher's specific Zoom ID. Your teacher/host will accept you from the waiting room at the start time you have selected.

Our friends at Freeport Community Services are asking for the above items to help with their Thanksgiving Food Drive. Our L'Ecole community has really come together in the past to assist those in need with an impressive amount of donations-- let's make this year no different! Boxes for your donated non-perishable items will be available within the glass entry on the parking lot side of the school starting tomorrow. (If you are interested in donating some of the perishable goods listed above, they can be brought directly to FCS in downtown Freeport). Donations will be accepted at L'Ecole until Nov. 20th for the Thanksgiving drop-off, but we already are in communication with FCS regarding another special holiday donation challenge, so be on the lookout for more chances to do good deeds in our community!

Our Annual Appeal for 2020 is now underway. We recently sent out a Special Edition Newsletter asking for your support.

Photos from our original picture day AND re-take day are now available on Danielle Peterson's website for your review and purchase!

Please click the button below to peruse the photos and place your orders.

PS students complete a science project that really makes them think-- will this item sink or float?

Marie's MS/GS class continues to learn a new game almost every day!

We've really enjoyed the unseasonable warmth of the past week! Art classes happened sous la tente!

The CE2, CM1, and CM2 students are outdoing themselves in creativity lately. Our new English classroom with its huge windows has been wonderful to enjoy this week as well!

L'Ecole Française du Maine has begun to have courageous conversations around the most challenging issues of our day, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). ​ This week, the staff watched and discussed a documentary describing the pedagogical projects of Gabrielle-Roy Elementary School in Toronto, Canada. The Department of Education of Ontario and the University of Toronto helped produce the film, which depicts how key notions were introduced in the classroom such as, bias, stereotypes, belonging, anti-racism and privilege.

Several French International Schools in North America have started similar work. Willy has joined the Steering Committee of the Association of French American School of North America (AFSA), which will harmonize the French National Curriculum and North American curriculum on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

The school is forming a DEI Committee.

To join, please contact the school: office@frenchschool.me

Our first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 3rd, at 3:45 PM

This initial meeting will be in person or on zoom - TBA. The committee will be comprised of administrators, teachers and parents and will welcome guest speakers.

Nov. 13th: Early Dismissal, 11:30 am: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Nov. 23rd-24th: Suzuki Concerts: POSTPONED

Nov. 25th-27th: Thanksgiving Holiday: NO SCHOOL

It seems as though it's never been easier to get access to a flu shot. Most pharmacies have a shot available, or you can schedule a visit with your healthcare provider. Find more information about the latest flu statistics on the Maine flu website.

Keeping yourself and those around you safe from the flu includes what we are already doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Please continue to practice social distancing, wear a mask, and stay on top of hand hygiene!

This fall, we are replacing our "Café et Conversation" with "Conversations sous la Tente"! These meetings provide an extra opportunity for our school community to gather and share experiences. We hope you will mark your calendars and join us under the tent as long as the warm weather holds. 8:30 am to 9:00 am

November 2010, ESL (English as a Second Language) class at l'Ecole Française du Maine with teacher Bonnie Hannigan. A French student well on his way to becoming bilingual!