September 23rd, 2021

Bonjour,

We had a great time last Friday during our Wolfe's Neck Bike trip! Even the younger students at school had a fun time with extended recesses and being the biggest kids at school for a day. This week, DELF and Adult Education enrollment is now open! Reminders for music lessons, the final chance to enroll in l'ecole des loisirs book club, and to mark your calendar for Picture Day coming soon on September 29th.

If you have yet to connect, all links for SeeSaw classroom communications are included in this issue. Updates and reminders for upcoming calendar events can be found below too!

Looking ahead to October vacation, we are trying to gather interest and childcare needs during the Tues-Fri Oct. 12th-25th. If enough demand, we will try to host a vacation camp! Would you mind replying with your needs at the survey linked here?

As always, please reach out to Emily in the office with any questions: office@frenchschool.me
Another lovely day at Wolfe's Neck Center
We continue to have the best luck in choosing dates for our Wolfe's Neck bike trips! Students, teachers, and chaperones had a wonderful time with the beautiful weather and wonderful scenery last Friday. These trips always remind us how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful place.
Thank you to all our chaperones for making this day possible. It was a pleasure to enjoy the farm and all of the beautiful trails Wolfe's Neck Center has to offer!
Picture Day - Wednesday September 29th
Mark your calendar for this year's school Picture Day! We have a new school photographer this year who will continue the tradition of taking individual portrait shots of each student, as well as sibling sets, which will be available online for purchase at your choosing. Grant Reid is a local photographer who does portraits and special occasion photography. His vast experience will certainly produce some quality memories for your family. These portrait photos will also serve later in the year for our yearbook!

Be sure to wear your best Wednesday, September 29th. For those who might be absent or are curious about possible re-takes, another date in October will be available for those who missed picture day, TBD.
Call for donations-- Tools!
texture-hammer-header.jpg
It came to our attention during the bike trip that L'Ecole needs to build its toolbox! Do you have any extra screwdrivers, hammers, or other tools that could still be useful in a new home? Please consider bringing your donations of tools and hardware to school for us to build our collection. A box will be available in the glass entryway for any tools you are willing to donate. Thanks for taking a look in your garage, and we look forward to seeing what you find!

We will also put the tools to great use for an upcoming building project. We are lucky to have a "Builder Papa Extraordinaire" in the EFDM family- and he has agreed to help our students build a Little Free Library. These free libraries, listed on a nationwide map, encourage reading for all ages!
Thanks, Doug! (Papa to Noa, Tessa, and Nelson) - More details to come!
DELF & Adult Ed Enrollment
Enrollment is now open for both our DELF continuing education program and Adult Education classes in the 2021-2022 school year. Information for both, including schedules as well as enrollment opportunities, can be found via the links below:


Last chance- L'Ecole des loisirs- book club subscription
Being a member of our school community, you benefit from the most advantageous rate for the French Max Book Club. The MAX subscription offers 8 books a year from November to June with audios to listen to the stories, and activities.

You will have received a paper copy brochure (as well as an online link below) for your review. If you are interested in enrolling, please fill the GROUP form (discounted rate) at the end of the brochure and give it back to your child’s teacher with your payment- check in order to l'école des loisirs- or proof of payment online made on www.regroupmax.com

A complete English presentation on the book club is available at : https://www.ecoledesmax.com/en-version.php

The books will arrive at school each month and will be given to your child.

CHOSE YOUR LEVEL, HAVE A LOOK AT THE BROCHURES with a click :

BEBEMAX preschool, very easy words, nice to start
TITOUMAX great for kindergarten, easy stories that use familiar words and humor
MINIMAX slightly longer stories, heroes for big adventures. Great for GRADE 1 and maybe 2
KILIMAX more complex storytelling where images and text are strongly linked. That helps to understand. GRADE 2 to 4
ANIMAX illustrated novels, albums, and comics built around funny and fantastic worlds GRADE 3 to 5
MAXIMAX  For those who love adventure and world discovery. GRADE 5 to 7
SUPERMAX and MEDIUM MAX ; amazing heroes, comics and novels for teens
"Café et Conversation" sous la tente
This fall, our "Café et Conversation" resumes "sous la tente" each Wednesday morning from 8:30-9:00, and as long as the weather is cooperative! These meetings provide an extra opportunity for our school community to gather and share experiences. We hope you will mark your calendars and try to attend. As before, a theme each week but no real agenda, and last-minute drop-ins are welcome :-)

Wednesday morning from 8:30-9:00
September 29: Moyenne Section ~ EC4 with Marie and Martine
October 6: Grande Section ~ Kindergarten with Victorien
October 20: Grades 1-2 with Elodie and Raphaël
October 27: Grade 3-4-5 with Simon and Alex and Raphaël
Peek Into the Classrooms
So many fun art projects are beginning to decorate our Petite Section classroom! Students are using a variety of materials and mediums to make all sorts of creations.
In the MS classroom, students work on recognizing the letters in the names of their peers, and continue their monthly tradition of drawing a Bonhomme! It's fun to look back and see the progress in their drawing and pre-writing skills throughout the year.
This week in GS, students tried their hand at gardening! This thoughtfully prepared activity brings with it lots of processes to carry the students through their days, and touches upon learning in math, language, and science.
CP students are hard at work practicing their reading, while CE1 students enjoy writing about topics that interest them.
On display in the hallway this week, the most recent artwork of Simon's CE2, CM1, and CM2 classes. We loved our day at the farm!
Making the IB PYP Happen
During the next six weeks, l'Ecole Française du Maine'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.
Synthesis Trio with Shaina Graff
Thank you, Shaina and the Synthesis Trio, for a fabulous concert at "La Maison Française," offering beautiful chamber music to a well-attended audience, with pieces from Haydn, Mozart, Couperin, and more. The free concert finished with Celtic tunes celebrating the arrival of Autumn. Hopefully, the weather will allow for more front porch performances. Thank you, Shaina and friends, for keeping the music alive during the pandemic!
Upcoming Calendar Events
Please find the most recent version of our school calendar here.

Upcoming dates to keep in mind:

  • Wed. September 29th: School Picture Day
  • Grandparents Day previously scheduled for Oct. 4th has been postponed at this time.
  • Fri. October 8th: Early Release, dismissal at 11:30
  • Mon. October 11th: Indigenous People's Day (no school)
  • Mon. Oct. 11-Fri. Oct. 15th: October Vacation (no school)
  • Friday Oct. 29th: Halloween Parade!
Suzuki Enrichment
Suzuki music lessons began this week for piano and violin. Guitar and cello are also to come!

Please reach out to Emily in the office with interest, or reach out to one of our teachers below! We'll work to get your student into the music lesson scheduled during a weekday slot.

Peter Dugas (piano)  dugas3@gmail.com
Shaina Graff (violin)  shainastrings@gmail.com
Ben Noyes (cello) b9noisy1@me.com
guitar teacher TBD, with enough interest!
Seesaw Links- Connect with your student's teacher
You may have already been able to connect to this year's Seesaw classroom-- for those who have not yet, or are new to L'Ecole or unfamiliar with Seesaw, the idea is that teachers can upload images frequently from classwork, projects, and assignments that appear on student's profiles within Seesaw. You'll only have access to the posts created by your student's teacher for your student's profile. Parents will have access to snapshots from their students' day to spark conversations at home and with teachers.

Below please find links provided by your classroom teacher. Choose your child from the class list and create your account, if you do not already have one. After this, teachers will approve and verify your account and sharing will begin! 

If you already have an account from last year, or you have more than one child (or teacher!) using Seesaw, click the 'Sign in' tab at the top of the screen. You will not need to create a new account.

After you sign up, download the free Seesaw Family app and sign in anytime!


Amy - English
Allergy Alerts for 2021-2022
Thank you for returning health forms and emergency forms! After a thorough review of each student's forms, please be sure to take note of the following allergies:

We remain a TREE NUT FREE FACILITY. There is a severe allergy to Tree Nuts within our school community. Despite extra efforts of cleaning and assuring no sharing of food this year more than ever, we are asking all classes to refrain from packing a lunch with any "trace of tree nuts". Almonds specifically are OK, as are peanuts.

Teachers (and older students!) are already in the habit of checking ingredient lists, but please be aware that many granola bars and similar snacks often contain traces of tree nuts. Refrain from packing these kinds of snacks. These snacks will not be allowed to be opened at school. Please only pack snacks that have clearly listed ingredient labels, or are made up of or from obviously tree-nut free ingredients.

There are no other serious allergies that families need to be cognizant of this year.
Covid Protocols and Recommendations
To reinstate our protocols for this year, please be sure to familiarize yourself with the following presentation:
Download ==> 2021-2022 protocols and recommendations.pdf 
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.
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
Window to the past ... just for fun
October 2013- Wolfe Neck Bike Trip...Does anyone recognize one of this summer's Camp Counselors in this photo?