Lessons in resilience

Dear Families, 

I hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. For the last twenty years, I have sent a "Summer Letter" in August to inform families of the school's new organization and, foremost, to wish everyone a wonderful school year.

Last spring, many of us got vaccinated, thinking the pandemic was fading away and that our life without masks and social distancing would resume shortly. So it was a deception for me to realize in July that vaccinated adults and children will still have to wear masks! It is, however, the right thing to do, based on scientific data.

I spent part of this summer in St Petersburg, Florida, where I volunteered most evenings for the seaturtletrackers.org on St Pete Beach. Too many beachgoers leave large holes in the sand, unaware of the danger they represent for sea turtles' hatchlings. Every evening there are new holes to fill for the rare volunteers fulfilling this absurd task, one that could compare to French philosopher Albert Camus' myth of Sisyphus, a poor soul condemned to push a boulder up a mountain for eternity, only to see it roll down again. On July 6, Hurricane Elsa, the first storm in 200 years to hit Tampa Bay in July, destroyed all sea turtle nests we had protected since May 1st. How do you move forward after such a deception? How terrible is it to see your hard work vanished in a senseless act? On the evening of July 8th, I was back on the beach, and the courage I found was certainly inspired by the resilience of our students, families, and staff who attended school last year, each day fearless, prepared, and determined. The pandemic has caused the death of 7 million; however, it has prepared our students not to give up. Yuval Noah Harari, the author of Sapiens and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, has suggested that resilience might be the most important skill our children will need ... in 20 years as young adults. This horrible pandemic may have provided some lessons in resilience. As of August 6th, 40 new nests have been secured on St Pete Beach and should yield hundreds of baby sea turtles in September to swim toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Covid experts have predicted that children aged 3 to 12 could get the vaccine this fall; until then, vaccinated adults and caretakers and masks are the only protection our children have. So please get the vaccine and the recommended boosters, and hopefully, as children gradually get the vaccine, the pandemic should start to recede significantly after Thanksgiving. Of course, we cannot predict the future, but there is hope.

Congratulations to School Director Emily Smith and our fabulous team of Summer Camp counselors for providing such a fun and enriching experience! The camp was a huge success!

In closing, I want to say how happy I am to see so many families coming back to school. Your trust in us at this difficult time is not something that I take for granted. I'd also like to offer a warm welcome to the many new families who have joined our school community this year.

Bienvenue à L'Ecole Française du Maine!
Je souhaite à toute la communauté de l'école une très bonne rentrée 2021 et soyez assurés de notre determination avec l'équipe enseignante pour que cette année scolaire soit réussie malgré la crise sanitaire.

Bien cordialement,

Willy LeBihan
Founder and Head of School

Covid Protocols and Recommendations
In preparation for the start of the school year, we have been carefully considering how we can implement the CDC recommendations to the fullest extent possible. We are pleased to report that all the staff at school is fully vaccinated! First, however, we ask that you assist us by encouraging your child to wear a mask as recommended by the medical professionals to prevent the spread of the virus. Children need to interact with their peers, play, follow a daily routine, and improve their social and communication skills away from electronic devices. Our school can offer just that; therefore, masks are a small sacrifice for these huge benefits.

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 will be required 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) and are recommended outside on the school grounds.
  • Masks will be required inside regardless of vaccination status.
  • Access to the school building is limited to essential workers and students.
  • COVID 19 PCR will not be required before school starts.
  • Domestic travel doesn't require testing either before or afterward. 
  • International travel requires testing 3-5 days after return.

Procedures if Someone Becomes Ill or Exposed to COVID-19
  1. If a child becomes ill during the day, they will be isolated in the room near the main office, and the school will notify parents to pick them up immediately.
  2. If a staff member becomes ill during the day, they must go home.
  3. If a child or staff member is diagnosed with COVID-19, the school will notify the entire school community. Possible outcomes include staying open, closing a classroom temporarily, or closing the school temporarily. Regardless, rigorous cleaning and sanitizing of the school, inside and out, will precede any return of students and staff.

Guidelines for quarantine after exposure to a person with COVID-19:
  1. Exposure to COVID is defined as having close (within 6 feet) contact with a COVID-positive person for a period of at least 15 minutes in a 24 hour during which they would be considered contagious. Persons are considered contagious beginning 48 hours before exposure. The use of masks decreases but does not fully remove the risk of transmission and therefore is not taken into consideration when defining an exposure.
  2. If an unvaccinated parent is exposed to a person with COVID-19, the parent must quarantine for 10 days, consistent with state and federal CDC guidance. A PCR COVID test 7 days into the quarantine is recommended to help assure that an exposed person is not an asymptomatic carrier. The negative test does not shorten the quarantine period of 10 days per Maine CDC recommendations. Children of exposed parents do not need to quarantine UNLESS the parent develops symptoms or tests positive for COVID. These children would still be permitted to attend school provided they can be safely picked up and dropped off by someone not under quarantine.
  3. If a vaccinated parent is exposed to a person with COVID-19, the parent is NOT required to quarantine but must monitor their symptoms and get tested if any symptoms develop. It is also strongly recommended that vaccinated persons exposed to COVID-19 wear a mask whenever around others for a period of 10 days.
  4. Students at EFDM who are exposed directly to someone with COVID-19 must follow the guidelines for unvaccinated parents above. As vaccinations for children are available, the school will issue updated guidance on quarantine for vaccinated 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 large event tent offers a naturally ventilated space, with 8 large 8-foot tables for lunch and class activities. This outdoor classroom will be utilized by all classes at different times for various activities, weather permitting. This space will also be used for parents meeting with staff, teachers, and administrators.

Congratulations to Doug Piehl, principal of Maine House Pro for a fantastic remodeling of the school bathrooms! With the pandemic still upon us, we will appreciate the new facilities. The new bathrooms feature long sinks with multiple touch-free faucets and soap dispensers. Also, a special air filtering system has been installed to increase airflow and air quality. The new system constantly exchanges the indoor air with fresh outdoor air, completely changing the air several times a day. The bathroom design is adapted to make it convenient for even the smallest children to use the facilities easily. Thank you, Doug and crew! (see article below for details!)

Parents interested in visiting the school building may do so in small groups, outside of school hours, per appointment. Please get in touch with Emily if you would like to arrange a time.

"La Maison," the house next to the school, offers additional classroom space and a unisex bathroom. This extra space allows us to spread out the students for many activities such as reading groups, instrumental music lessons, and more.

Extra cleaning routines are established, and hand washing is frequent. School water fountains are off-limits, and we will eat outdoors as much as possible. We ask that you please send food that the children can manage easily and as independently as possible.

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 l'Ecole Française du Maine:
Dr. James Gallea, MD, Emergency Medicine Specialist
Dr. Lisa Lucas, DO, Primary Care Physician
At the French American School of Tampa Bay:
Dr. Gaetane Michaud, MD, Pulmonary Critical Care, Tampa General Hospital and USF Tampa
2021-2022 School organization
The 2021-2022 school organization is as follows: Please click here to see our staff bios!

Toute Petite Section/Petite Section - EC3 (age 2.5 - 3)
Teacher: Alison Soleilhac
Assistante Maternelle: Angélique Rutega
Assistante Maternelle: Molly Doccola

Moyenne Section - Pre-K - EC4 (age 4)
Teacher: Marie Da Silva
Assistante Maternelle: Martine Goldberg

Grande Section: Kindergarten
Teacher: Victorien Rami
Assistant Maternelle: Jacob Simard

CP/CE1- Grades 1-2
Teacher: Elodie Chancelier
English Language Arts Teacher: Amy Johansen
Assistant Teachers: Alex Silver and Raphaël Robin

Grades 3,4,5 
Teacher: Simon Aubert
English Language Arts Teacher: Amy Johansen
Assistant Teacher: Raphaël Robin

School-wide Tutor and Classroom Support Teacher: Alex Silver
Raphaël Robin will coordinate the Physical Education programs.

School Director: 
Emily Smith
Congratulations to Emily, who got married this summer! We are very happy for her.
Emily will continue to be your "go-to" person for just about everything, and if she can't help you, she will get you to the person who can! Emily handles all school files, emergency forms, vaccination records, etc., and as our School Director, she is familiar with all CDC protocols and best practices. When in doubt, ask Emily!
office@frenchschool.me 207-865-3308

Curriculum Coordinator, French Ministry of Education, AEFE, and MLF
Victorien Rami
Victorien will continue to serve as the school's Curriculum Coordinator. He leads the staff in implementing the French Curriculum and provides leadership and mentoring to the teachers. In addition, he coordinates and communicates with the French Diplomatie, the AEFE, and MLF to provide professional development for the staff. If you have questions about the classroom curriculum, first, ask your child's teacher, of course, but also know you can count on Victorien to help. Thank you, Victorien, for your professional contributions to the school in this role.

Amy Johansen is the English Language Arts teacher and Certified Orton Gillingham Reading Tutor. In addition, Amy brings years of experience as an Elementary Classroom Teacher and reading specialist. Do not hesitate to contact her. 

The school will resume its popular programs like Suzuki music, Adult Education, and DELF shortly. More details coming soon.
Calendar and upcoming events
When we created our school calendar last spring on the brink of vaccinations, we were excited to include our traditional community gatherings, meals, and larger specials events. However, as we face the start of the school year, the reality of having once more to remove some of those events from our calendar became necessary.

Please find the most recently updated school calendar here. The traditional Welcome Gathering usually extended to all incoming families has been removed from the events. Instead, if you are new-to-L'Ecole as an incoming family and are curious to stop by before the first day of school, feel free to reach out to Emily to schedule a brief visit.

Teachers will be back in their classrooms for professional days on August 19th and 20th and will be ready to welcome all students for our first day of school Monday, August 23rd!
Bathroom Upgrade
One of the major perks of being located in a historic fishing village on the coast of Maine, we get to introduce our facility as having been one of the historical public schools of the Town of Freeport. The George C. Soule School was built in 1955 and until recently had its original bathrooms, still functioning and regularly maintained, but with a loose tile or two here and there.

This summer, with great thanks to our donors during our 2020 Annual Appeal, we were finally able to give the bathrooms a sparkling and long-awaited remodel. The makeover included new, easy-to-clean wall coverings and non-slip rubber commercial flooring. New partitions, ceilings, and toilet/urinal fixtures were also installed, including toilets for bodies of all sizes - from little preschooler-sized toilets to full-size handicapped-accessible ones.

Another important upgrade was the installation of a new air-filtration system. (Specifically an AEV Series Air to Air Ventilator). This unit provides outside fresh air that has been circulated through a MERV13 filter to help provide fresh air and prevent the spread of Covid-19 and other germs, viruses, bacteria, and allergens. This unit has a constant heat exchanger for “ Good Engineering Practice” in energy usage. This exchanger will change all of the air in the bathrooms at a 40-minute interval and the entire school at a three-hour interval.

The best part of all is the installation of new, long, custom-made sinks that are easily accessible for children of all sizes. The sinks feature touch-free taps and soap dispensers for safe and independent hand-washing. With a few extra faucets and a more streamlined paper towel and trash can design, the sleek new bathrooms will be perfect for continuing our extra-heightened hygiene routines during this new school year!!!
Important paperwork reminder, update to vaccine form, and supplies-- merci
Earlier this spring, an email was sent with all required downloadable forms for school and other items to review. A link can be found here for your convenience.

Please be sure to complete and scan/send/drop off all of the following before your child's first day: If you have already done so- Merci!!

  • Emergency Form
  • Health Forms (to be completed by a healthcare provider)
  • Universal Field Trip Permission Form
  • Directory Information
  • Handbook Sign-off sheet
  • Photo Release (new families only)
  • Prescription Medication Form (as applicable)

You will also find the link to enroll in our pre-pay option of before/aftercare. This option to receive the year-long discount will only remain in effect before the start of school. After August 23rd, the form will no longer be accessible, and all before/aftercare will be billed monthly at the normal rate.

******Please note that there is a change to the vaccine exempt form used in years past. Due to recent changes in statutory requirements for student immunization, if your child's healthcare provider signs off that your student is not fully vaccinated according to the state requirement, you will have to meet one of the listed exemption criteria to attend school. Please reach out to Emily if you have any questions. This new form is also subject to change as we hear more from our contacts at the Department of Education. Please see the updated form below.


All supplies listed on the supplemental forms can be brought with you on the first day of school. In addition, feel free to drop supplies (like paper towels, markers, glue sticks, wipes, etc.) from the list in the glass entryway of the school near the parking lot before bringing your student to the playground gate for drop-off.

Other extras like your child's go-kit and extra change of clothes can be included in their backpack-- teachers will take these and place them in designated areas of the classroom for regular use.
Summer Camp Souvenirs
Why must summer be so fleeting? We cannot believe how quickly 10 weeks of L'Ecole camp flew by! We are so grateful to our excellent and fun team of counselors for all of their hard work to keep these kiddos busy in all types of weather.

Here are a few lasting memories to hang on to as we turn the corner into a new season!
Concert à "La Maison"
Shaina Graff, the violin teacher at EFDM, has been offering violin lessons and even concerts in the village of South Freeport on the front porch of "La Maison" facing South Freeport Rd. Thank you, Shaina, for keeping the music alive during these unprecedented times.