News de Nous is your go-to source for information each week!
We publish this newsletter to keep you informed of what's been happening and what's to come. Our reporters are on the scene with the latest breaking news from the heart of St Pete's youngest French-speaking community.
Please take a few minutes to read it through carefully. - Merci beaucoup!
Featured in this week's News de Nous: Halloween Celebration, a Peek into the Classrooms, Early Release Day tomorrow for Parent- Teacher Conferences. These stories and more are a mere scroll away...
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The Halloween Show, Parade, and Parents Association Gathering was great fun! Bravo to the middle school students for preparing such an extraordinary celebration! In the process of planning, they learned to use iMovie to create the audio for the dance show, made the invitations, and prepared the goodie bags! They emceed the performance and involved the crowd. Everyone pitched in to make the show a huge success! Magali had decorated the scene with beautiful artwork produced by students of all ages in art class. Benjamin led the chorus while Emmy led the dancing and choreography. Olivier helped with the soundtrack, and we all enjoyed the musical selections he chose that got everyone in the spirit of Halloween! Françoise, Cécile, and Kettly led the parade, and Marion assisted with stage exits and entrances. The finale was best of all! Even the spectators could not resist dancing, clapping, and singing along - or at the very least, moving about in their chairs! Everyone loved seeing the children in their costumes, especially some very special older guests who were able to attend. After the show, all of the families were invited for goodies, games and pumpkin painting under the TikiHut, sponsored by the Parents Association. What fun it was - perfect weather, excellent performance, and lots of friends! Bravo to all of the teachers and students for this fun and unique celebration. We have a fantastic community!!!
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Professional Day November 16th for IB |
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Special Guest for Café & Conversation Monday, November 15 at 8:30am under the Tiki Hut Catherine Caillet, former Lower School Division Head at the French American International School of Portland Oregon (FAIS), has been an educator for almost 25 years in France, Louisiana, and Oregon. She is currently a pedagogical advisor for MLF-America network and the former IB PYP coordinator at FAIS. This is her first visit at FASTB !
Professional Day on Tuesday, Nov 16: No School
Please mark your calendar! As you know, we are working diligently towards becoming an IB World School offering the IB PYP- Primary Years Programme, and this is no small undertaking! As an approved Candidate School, we are on our way! Currently, our teachers are enrolled in an IB class, and we will be taking a professional development day for this purpose.
Thank you for supporting our efforts! Merci beaucoup!
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Accreditation with France Ministry of Education expanded |
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Congratulations to the FASTB education team for a job well done. The accreditation application submitted to AEFE Headquarters in Paris in October 2020, and reviewed by MENJS Inspector, Jean-Noël Josse, in May 2021 has been approved; we received the certificate this week! The school is now fully approved by France from PreK to grade 3, and the school submitted an accreditation dossier for grades 4 and 5 this fall as planned. FASTB is on track to be fully approved for its preschool and elementary program by summer 2022. Congratulations to Magali Guilhem for her excellent work last year in grade 1 which was praised by the education inspector, and also Olivier Guilhem, FASTB Curriculum Coordinator, and Willy LeBihan, Head of School, for submitting the accreditation dossier. Our sincere thanks to Dominique Collado at Mission Laïque Française in Paris and the entire MLF-America team in Texas for their support throughout the accreditation process. |
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Adult Education classes in full swing! |
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Emmy's Adult Education classes are meeting on Zoom this fall and everyone is progressing nicely! |
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Le jeu des Questions avec les CP! |
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This week, the First Grade had a lot of questions… and a lot of answers!
In French class with Emmy, the CP class is constantly improving their speaking abilities. This week, they worked on questions and successfully completed the Question Challenge! Click on the link to watch their interactions. Well done, First Graders!
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1st and 2nd grade Math Games |
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The second graders accompanied the first graders in learning the game of Battleship. The objective is to find the coordinates that will allow the player to touch a boat of the opponent. This teaches the students how to find their bearings on a grid while playing this strategic game.
Second graders are learning about multiplication in math and have been playing "Conquer the Field". Each "farmer" rolls two dice that represent the length and width of a rectangle or the sides of a square. The farmer must then draw their field according to the directions given by the dice. When no one else can draw a field, the game ends. The player with the largest area wins the game.
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - Discussions with 4th and 5th graders |
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Starting this month, Olivier’s class is working on children's rights and the notion of equality. After questioning and discussion, the first project began. Students are working independently and in groups with documents of different kinds such as texts, photos, and charts to compare and contrast the lives of children around the world. |
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The Learner Profile: Inquirers & Open-Minded |
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The IB Organization aims to foster internationally-minded students, aware of their impact on their community both locally and globally, and understanding their role in the creation of a better and more peaceful world.
In order to better execute this mission, the IB Organisation created a concept called the Learner Profile, a list of 10 attributes that are valued and upheld by all of the IB World Schools.
As we move forward as a PYP Candidate school, we are also working to incorporate the Learner Profile into our own school community.
Each week we will be taking a look at one of the Learner Profile attributes and seeing how it can help foster responsible members of local, national and global communities.
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The IB Organization describes Inquirers as those who are capable to say:
“We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.”
Nurturing students who are eager to learn and who have the confidence to seek answers to their own questions is a keystone in the education of an IB student. We want to encourage our children to become Inquirers and to help them push to the end of their curiosity as they seek to better understand the world.
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The IB Organization describes Open Mindedness as those who are capable to say:
“We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.”
Educating students to become open to the world around them will help them become more conscientious and kind-hearted citizens in their communities. Not only does open-mindedness highlight qualities of compassion and empathy, it also allows children to ask questions beyond their relm of comfort and to get used to thinking about and seeing their world in different ways.
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Miami Celebrates Joséphine Baker! |
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On Nov. 9, 2021, at 3:00 PM, Open to all - Online.
“Miami Celebrates Joséphine Baker” – 2nd event of the series
A Conversation on Joséphine Baker, the Résistante
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Ahead of Veterans Day, the World Affairs Council of Miami and the French Consulate invite you to participate in a discussion looking at how
Joséphine Baker used her talents to help refugees, support the Allies, free French forces & save lives.
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"Café et Conversation" Under the Tiki Hut ! |
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Please Join Us!
Tuesday mornings from 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Under the Tiki Hut! - All are welcome!
What is it all about anyway?
It's just what it says - Coffee and Conversation!
Best of all, it's a great way to connect and build community relationships in a casual environment. There will be a theme each week, but no real agenda and last-minute drop-ins are welcome :-)
Coming up next Tuesday, November 9th:
Emmy will attend
Join Emmy to learn more about FLE, DELF, Adult Ed, IB PYP
*Many thanks to Dunkin Donuts for generously donating coffee and munchkins for each Tuesday's Cafe et Conversation. Be sure to stop by and thank them for the support of our school at the following locations: 6325 9th St N (MLK St N and 62nd Ave N) or their Pinellas Park location at 7315 US HWY 19 N (34th St N and Park Ave.)
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2021-2022 After-School Clubs |
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After School Clubs Have Started, but it's not too late to join the fun!
We are still taking enrollment in clubs! (fees will be pro-rated for a late start)
Here is a short description of the clubs offered this year:
Monday: Arts & Crafts with Sami - Sami will provide weekly Arts & Crafts activities that will include seasonal crafts, abstract creations, painting, and more!
Tuesday: Spanish with Sarah - Participants will learn basic Spanish words and greetings while exploring unique and particular aspects of various Hispanic countries. Activities will include play, song/music, & arts and crafts that highlight the language and cultures of Latin America and Spain. Sarah is a native Spanish speaker born in Puerto Rico and has over 20 years of experience working with children as a nanny and tutor.
Wednesday: Social & Dining Etiquette and Dance with Victoria - Victoria trained at the Protocol School of Washington, and she specializes in etiquette, starting with children as young as three years old! Her etiquette classes are based on understanding and living with respect. Classes are super fun, filled with activities, interactive lessons, and role-playing games to get the best manners out of our little ones!
Victoria teaches dance classes and workshops nationally and internationally. She will be teaching dance as a free form of self-expression for boys and girls (including hip-hop, modern, and theatrical). We will have a presentation at the end of the semester.
Thursday: Gymnastics with Sami - Sami has been a gymnastic coach for the past three years. She will work with your children on flexibility, tumbling, balance, and coordination techniques! The students will work towards a final performance of their skills after the 10-week session!
Friday: Funday Friday with Tracy - Funday Friday is an opportunity to have a playdate at school! Our students work so hard during the week that they will look forward to playtime with friends to kick off the weekend! The kids will play board games, do outdoor activities, learn some card games, and more!
Tutoring Club with Cécile - Cécile will be here Tuesday - Friday from 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM to assist any student who signs up to receive additional assistance with their school work! The Tutoring Club is available on an "a la carte" basis.
Cost and Schedule:
$150/each activity for 10 weekly sessions
Daily Clubs are from 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM, Tutoring Club from 3:00-3:45
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FASTB Is Still Enrolling: No Prior French Needed for Ages 3-5 |
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FASTB is now offering the Florida VPK Program!
This wonderful program will allow ALL of our 4-year-old students to receive additional resources from the State of Florida!
As a reminder: Preschool and Kindergarten 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.
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 five 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 excellent 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. Please feel free to visit our Admissions page and website to explore further and learn about our admissions process. We look forward to hearing from you! |
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Adult Education and DELF classes are back! |
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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.
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FASTB Wellness Team Effort |
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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 daily temperature checks, practice distancing, frequent hand washing, and encourage wearing face coverings to keep each other safe! |
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COVID-19: Protocols, Recommendations, and Waiver |
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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
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Suzuki Guitar with Alex Gammon - Registration is open! |
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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 that Alex has returned to FASTB in a new role in 2021-2022. Alex has begun a Suzuki Guitar Program, with his studio located at FASTB!!! Of course, FASTB students will be first in line to sign up for lessons!
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
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The French American School of Tampa Bay
2100 62nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Telephone: (727) 800-2159
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