On April 1st, our community welcomed Corinne Güngör as our new Head of School. The first impression of Corinne is definitely one of enthusiasm! She has spent her first two weeks busily getting to know every aspect of the school and she has already made her mark in so many positive ways. FASTB is so very fortunate to have Corinne on board to lead the school!
We thank the Parents Association for preparing such a lovely welcoming event. We also thank Jean-Charles Faust, Honorary Consul of France for Tampa Bay, for attending to mark this important milestone for the school.
Corinne Güngör is the Founder and former Head of The French American School of Princeton (FASP), located in New Jersey. A former teacher herself, her passion for teaching and education in general, particularly bilingual education, transformed FASP in unique ways. Today, it is an educational institution of excellence, highly recognized in the highly competitive region of Princeton. Moreover, FASP occupies a magnificent campus thanks to Corinne’s ambition and service to the academic community.
She received prestigious recognition from the French Government, being awarded the title of Chevalier, then Officier des Palmes Académiques et Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite, a Knighthood Order of Chivalry of France presented to exemplary academics and educators.
Corinne, her four children, and her spouse constantly communicate in three languages. She is delighted and honored to join and serve the educational community of FASTB.
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It could have been an amazing April Fool's prank! But no, Mister Dan was back on campus, for real! All the students were delighted to see Dan and to introduce their new classmates and teachers. As it was April 1st after all, a few "Poissons d'avril" made their way onto Dan's back!
Dan Hannigan served as the first administrator of FASTB, overseeing the construction and remodeling of the school building in 2018, planning its initial opening, and serving as the School Director for the first three academic years. This was a great opportunity for Corinne and Dan to meet and exchange ideas on the unique mission of FASTB and its incredible potential for the future.
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Congratulations to Mindy on her achievement! |
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We are so proud of Mindy for earning her Florida Childcare Director's Credential with VPK endorsement! This is no small feat, especially to do so while working full-time!! To earn this credential, Mindy had to complete many classes through the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Early Learning Coalition and pass the necessary exams. Her strong background in teaching and related college work helped as much of this coursework and experience could be applied to her childcare transcript, but she still had lots to do. Early Childhood Education is very specialized and the Rules and Regulations are very specific. Mindy had to demonstrate strong knowledge in all areas. To earn this credential, Mindy also attended a special intensive National Childcare Administrator's course in Orlando that required submitting a major project and passing an exam. The VPK Director endorsement requires even more additional work, and Mindy did it all in record time. This status is excellent news for the School as now both Mindy and Beth hold these credentials, so we are always sure to have a credentialed Director on hand. Thank you, Mindy, for the enormous effort, and congratulations on your success!!
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Election Présidentielle 2022 |
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Ce bureau regroupe les électeurs domiciliés dans les comtés de Charlotte, Citrus, De Soto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk – hormis la ville de Poinciana rattachée au bureau de vote d’Orlando et Sarasota.
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French American Business Chamber of the West Coast of Florida |
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FASTB will be hosting the annual meeting of FRAMCO next month!
Connecting Business Owners For Over 20 Years
FRAMCO facilitates connections and cooperation between expatriate-owned and other businesses in the Tampa Bay area and connects these businesses with international organizations.
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Photosynthesis in Kindergarten |
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Learning about photosynthesis is fun in Kindergarten! Thank you, Françoise, for combining hands-on science activities with written lessons and vocabulary in your classes.
Students learned that our atmosphere consists of a whole range of different gases. But the one gas that all living things need to survive is oxygen. As humans, we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.
Students participated in hands-on dissection activities and other exciting plant experiments. For example, dissecting a flower is a great way to visually show the different parts of a flower, which can be hard to picture from a diagram in a book.
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Bravo to the Kindergarten parents as well who followed up on the classroom learning with some beautiful and interesting projects on flowers and plants at home! |
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French Books for Schools in Haiti! |
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Schools in Haiti lack supplies, and we are thrilled to have made a large donation of French books and school materials. It is always an enormous challenge to find transportation of materials to Haiti and we are so happy to have found an organization to help with this. We worked with the Jerusalem SDA Church, a Haitian church in St. Petersburg. We are delighted to know that this large supply of school manuals and resource books will find its way into the hands of students in Haiti! |
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Black History Month Celebrated at FASTB |
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In Kindergarten, Françoise chose to talk about Wangari Maathai, also called MAMA MITI, to celebrate Black History Month and honor all of her actions to reforest Kenya. Her history matches quite perfectly with the Kindergarten's IB Unit on plant adaptation. |
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Wangari Muta Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental and political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Wangari Maathai is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights, and environmental conservation. She has addressed the UN on several occasions and spoke on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly for the five-year review of the Earth summit. The kindergarten class enjoyed reading books about Wangari Maathai and discussing all of her accomplishments.
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In Cycle 3 (grades 3,4, and 5) and Middle School, as part of Black History Month, the students welcomed Captain James Van Thach, a parent of a student from FASTB. Captain James came to present a famous American: Eugene Bullard.
Eugene Bullard (1895 – 1961) was among the first Black military pilots in the world. There were around five Black military pilots in World War I, and Bullard was the only American.
Eugene Bullard lived a fascinating life. Born in Georgia, he determined at the age of 8 that he would leave the South for a place where he would not be treated differently because of the color of his skin. For him, that place was France.
To read the amazing story of his inspiring life, please refer to this article- or even better- ask your student to tell you!
The students really appreciated this interesting presentation very much. The life lesson that everyone should draw from this story: you have to persevere, and everyone can achieve their dreams. An African proverb says: Perseverance is a talisman for life.
Thanks to Captain James for such an amazing lesson!!
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Students at FASTB continued to hone their rollerblading skills in preparation for our return to a week of outdoor education at the Fort de Soto State Park this week! Stay tuned for highlights of this week full of outdoor learning in the next edition of News de Nous! |
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Congratulations to Shaina's Graff's Violin Studio, Shaina's Strings, and the students of FASTB's sister school, L'Ecole Française du Maine. The violin students performed a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem of Ukraine at the Maine Mariners Hockey Game. This was a combined effort with the Maine Retail Association that raised funds for Ukraine. Bravo!
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Full Year Aftercare Enrollment for 2022-2023 |
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Sign Up and Save on Aftercare in 2022-2023
Recognizing that working families require consistent aftercare, The French American School of Tampa Bay offers a 25% discount on full-time prepaid childcare enrollment. We intend to help families who depend on their child's regular attendance in extended day hours throughout the school year.
This discounted rate does not replace the "a la carte" hourly option, which is still available if preferred. The $10/hr "a la carte" option for aftercare is billed monthly and does not require prepayment. We do appreciate advance notice if possible if your child requires extended day services, but we understand that sometimes the need arises unexpectedly.
Customize aftercare to meet your needs:
Design your own plan:
You pick the days and hours you need aftercare during the school year.
Select 1,2,3,4, or 5 days of aftercare per week.
Choose to enroll for 1,2 or 2.5 hours/day.
This discount will be available until the end of July, and we hope your family can benefit from this opportunity.
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During these past few weeks, the MS and GS students continued to work on our project: nature and art. For this, we relied on the pictorial works of Claude Monet.
Claude Monet's Giverny Garden provided an opportunity to study flowers: water lilies, irises, wisteria, and impressionistic representations. Different pictorial techniques were approached, such as inks but also a collage. The GS made a bas-relief of seeds, soil, leaves, and turmeric.
CP and CE1 students produced ephemeral works and Land art in the school.
The college observes nature to represent the external light. For this, we studied the academic sketch and the coloring effects of ink or coffee on paper. This is a beautiful project that we are going to continue in greater depth in the future.
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The Kindergarten students discovered natural coloring techniques through turmeric, beetroot juice, coffee, and tea leaves. Then, they experimented and painted with these dyes on different supports (paper, wool, fabrics).
To get even closer to nature and Land Art artists, we collected leaves, acorns, and wood from our school grounds to create bas-reliefs works. We will continue this beautiful artistic and scientific Land project to develop small ephemeral installations.
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Belongings Left at School |
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PLEASE remind your child to take their things home each day so we can keep our school neat and tidy. Many kids are leaving lunch boxes, water bottles, coats and bags in the hallway. We will continue to gather items left behind for you to claim at the drop-off circle. Thank you for your help!
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The Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (VPK) is a free program for all 4 and 5 year-olds who reside in Florida and are four years old on or before September 1 of each year.
- If your child will be of age for VPK next year (2022-2023), enrollment is already open, so please do not delay. Apply for your certificate today!
Here is the Family Portal link to enroll:
Florida VPK results in considerable savings for your family. VPK is a free program so you will receive a tuition credit for your child's participation. All Florida families qualify, regardless of income. Your child's tuition account will be adjusted each month once you are enrolled in VPK and provide FASTB with your VPK certificate. The current VPK certificate value is $2,486 a year!
Participating in VPK is not a change to your child's program:
Using our French immersion approach, we are teaching the same, high-quality French curriculum your child loves in the same fun, hands-on way. One added element is the individual VPK learning assessments used to monitor your child's progress and readiness for Kindergarten. Kettly has taught VPK for several years, and she will be completing these assessments with your child in a relaxed, one-on-one setting. As far as we know- FASTB is the only French immersion VPK offered in Florida, and we are proud to offer this fantastic opportunity to your child.
To enroll in VPK for next year, your child must be age 4 on or before September 1, 2022.
*The cutoff dates are determined by Florida VPK, not FASTB.
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Re-Enrollment Success- Enrollment Open to New Families |
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We want to thank our returning FASTB families for the tremendous response to our request for re-enrollment! As a growing international school, our planning needs require extra time, so your timely re-enrollment is one of the best ways to support the school. We look forward to continuing this journey to bilingualism with your family again in 2022-2023! Merci beaucoup!
We are now opening enrollment to new families! If you know of a family interested in our school- please have them contact us!
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Students explain the IB PYP Programme |
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The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) was introduced in 1997. The PYP was developed through the vision and effort, sustained over ten years, of the former International Schools Curriculum Project (ISCP). The goal was to produce a common curriculum framework, for students in the 3-12 age range, which would provide continuity of learning within each school and ensure that the curriculum developed international-mindedness on the part of learners.
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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!
Weekly coffees at FASTB are 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 :-)
We are no longer receiving the coffee and donuts generously donated by Dunkin' Donuts previously, so we now ask that you please bring your own coffee and join us under the Tiki Hut.
Please consider attending a meeting with a teacher from a class other than your own child's current grade. This is a fantastic way to learn directly from the teachers about what to expect in future grades!
Calendar of Upcoming Guests:
April 26th- IB PYP Programme with IB Coordinator, Emmy Decker
May 3rd- Head of School Corinne Güngör
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Bilingual Childcare / Summer Camps
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Bilingual Childcare/Summer Camps at The French American School of Tampa Bay! We offer summer childcare/camps from June 13, 2022 - August 5, 2022. If you are looking for a safe place for your kids to enjoy the summer, please join us! Mornings will include a fun French activity, and afternoons are filled with arts & crafts, games, and plenty of time for free play. Early Childhood children will be offered time for rest in the afternoon. Hours: 8:30-3:30, with extended days offered from 3:30-5:30.
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Got a question? Let us help! |
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Reminder to Parents:
Please use the email address office@fastb.org for general school correspondence. Questions and requests sent to this address are forwarded as needed. We do our best to respond to emails as quickly as possible; thank you for your patience.
Thank you for checking your school contact information to ensure you are using this email address. We are finding that some emails are heading to other accounts, and while they eventually land in our inbox, this may result in a delay in our response time.
Alternately, please know you can call us anytime for an immediate response! School Office Phone: (727) 800-2159
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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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