As we prepare to embark on our whole school outing to Fort De Soto on April 11th, I wanted to send a few updates from the past two weeks here at FASTB.

In this edition of the News De Nous, you will follow our students as they discover new mediums to create art as they begin to work with ceramics, join them as they build their confidence on wheels in our expanded rollerskating program, and as they work to discover the science behind the upcoming eclipse which is scheduled to arrive on Monday, April 8th!

I would also like to thank all of the parents who worked to help the staff as they pulled a very FASTB April 1st prank on our students by convincing them that they would be taking swim lessons in our beautiful pond.

I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful weekend, and I am greatly looking forward to seeing you all again soon.

This week, our students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades participated in a new art activity involving clay! The students worked to create hand built pinch pots!

Once the shape had been established, the students worked to create patterns and unique markings on their pieces, even attaching new components with slip, a liquid clay which is used to adhere two pieces of clay together.

In preparation of the very special partial Solar Eclipse expected to be visible from FASTB on April 8th, we have acquired a school set of special viewing goggles for students and teachers!

Should you not want your child to participate, please send us a message at office@fastb.org

As we prepare for the eclipse, Donna, the grandmother of one of our first graders, joined the class to explain to them the science, and importance of the upcoming event.

Her wonderful presentation worked to illustrate the scale of our solar system, what an eclipse is, and how everything has to be just right for an event such as this to take place.

With our Fort De Soto trip scheduled for next week, we cannot wait to hit the sand and participate in our very own Olympic Games!

As the countdown to the games begins, we are still looking for chaperones who are willing to help our student teams transition from station to station on the day of the event.

These parents will be joined by their child, and a student from our older grades, who will help ensure all participants are accounted for and ready to participate in the next activity!

Should you be interested, please reach out to your classroom teacher via SeeSaw before Tuesday, April 9th, or by sending a message to office@fastb.org

Inspired by the exploits of the Kindergarten class, Jenny's CE1 and CE2 students have taken to the parking lot to begin their own Rollerskating Program!

With an initial session under their belts, the groups confidence continues to be bolstered by games and activities, as well as the expertise of our visiting rollerskating specialist Enola.

To celebrate April 1st, our staff told the elementary students that a new mandate had just been handed down from the French government, stating that the school had to evaluate their swimming abilities!

Our students rose to the occasion, and partook in a swimming warmup with our resident swimmer Benjamin. They made it all the way to the pond gate before the teachers decided it was too cold, and another attempt would be made later that day!

This worked to extend the prank until much later in the day.

I would like to thank all of the families who participated, and to our staff for coming up with such an amazing idea.

Happy April Fools!

This picture of these two cute critters was captured by one of our very own CM1 students! With this image now enshrined in the NDN, his next photo is sure to make the cover of National Geographic.