Cercle de la Vie
Bonjour – One week we marvel as caterpillars become butterflies, the next we help a mother duck watch her 13 eggs along the shore of our lake – the circle of life continues!
Life at FASTB continues as well – and News de Nous has the stories: Family Craft & Crêpe Day is mere days away, mouths already watering; we jump from celebrating 100 Days to preparing for Carnaval – plus class notes and Congressional notes, special guest visits and more…
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Family Craft & Crêpe Day – This Saturday!
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The countdown has begun – in just three days, FASTB becomes the world focal point for Crêpes! We can’t wait to see you at our first-ever Family Craft & Crêpe Day, this Saturday morning from 10-noon – and eating crêpes from the Krepelicious food truck is just the beginning.
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We will have some craft activities set up and the artists from Tony the Balloon Guy will be here to paint faces and bring smiles to faces with their amazing balloon creations. Our playground will also be open to all and if anyone wants to peek inside the school to look around, we can make that happen too! March is the official month of Francophonie 2019, an international celebration of French language and Francophone culture so what better way to kick it off? You don’t need to know French to participate – but you’ll get a hefty dose of la langue Française so you might just pick up a little while you’re here (don’t worry, the accent only lasts a few days)!
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On Monday, we were very pleased to welcome three special guests to FASTB. Kamel and Chérifa Fekiri will be joining Team FASTB in 2019-20 as teachers and Kamel will also serve as the school’s Director of French Curriculum, which includes the critical role of being the school’s primary contact with the French Ministry of Education and Mission Laïque Française. Currently teachers in schools in Greater Paris, Kamel and Chérifa bring many years of teaching experience with the Ministère de l’Education Nationale (MEN) to FASTB, with Kamel also serving as Principal in his current school. Welcome Kamel, Chérifa and family to our FASTB family!!
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From Left: Chérifa Fekiri, 2019-20 FASTB Teacher; Jérôme Train, Mission Laïque Française, Kamel Fekiri, 2019-20 FASTB Director of French Curriculum; and Willy LeBihan, FASTB Head of School
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Monday also marked a return visit for Jérôme Train of Mission Laïque Française to meet again with our teachers and continue their professional development. You may recall that Jérôme spent two days with our teachers in November.
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The visit also enabled Jérôme to meet Chérifa and Kamel – Jérôme and Kamel will be working together closely in the upcoming year.
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Visit our new Camp FASTB page on FASTB.org where you will find a camp online inquiry form. Please fill that out and submit so we can get an idea of enrollment. Even if you have already contacted us informally about your interest, we ask that you fill in the form so that we have consistent information for everyone – Merci!! Camp FASTB Details: Beginning June 10, we will offer up to 6 weeks of French Immersion camp broken down as follows:
- Full Day – 9am-3pm $300 per child, per week
- Half Day – 9am-Noon $200 per child, per week
- Extended care will be available at an additional cost. We are targeting the weeks beginning June 10, June 17, June 24, July 8, July 15 and July 22.
Campers must be at least 5 years old before 9/1/19
Ultimately, enrollment will dictate what we will be able to offer so please let us know as soon as you can.
We are also accepting applications for French speaking camp counselors so if you or someone you know is interested, please let us know – merci!
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2019-20 Enrollment: New Application Form & Steps to Enroll
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Speaking of enrollment, we are in the middle of our enrollment period for 2019-20, so if you are thinking about applying (or know someone who may be interested), please consider a visit and tour – we have had a lot lately! Below is the sequence of events for our application process (please note that there is a new online application form):
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- Inquiry: Submit the Application Inquiry Form on our web site and we will contact you to set up a school visit to give you more information about FASTB and answer questions
- Apply: Click here for our new online Enrollment Application which offers the convenience of applying and paying the fee entirely online
- Interview: After receiving the completed application we set up a parent or guardian and child interview to assess readiness and ability to benefit from our program
- Acceptance & Enrollment: Upon acceptance, an Enrollment Contract must be signed and deposit paid to secure a spot for the upcoming year
Please visit FASTB.org and click on the Admission tab for more on the process, tuition, financial aid and more – we look forward to hearing from you!
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FASTB Adds Digit – Celebrates 100 Days!
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Our 100th Day celebration was a lot of fun as both classes were all-in on the big milestone! Art work, math, science, 100 words of vocabulary… you name it, it was all 100, all day!
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News de Nous regulars no doubt remember Congressman Charlie Crist’s visit to FASTB last month. This past week we received a great note from the Congressman (above), complimentary of our mission and hospitality – a very nice approval rating!
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Class Reports – Carnaval & Making Way for Future Ducklings
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Next Tuesday, we will be celebrating Carnaval and once again our Pre-K and Elementary classes are enthusiastic participants!
Dressing up is a big deal for this one and Priscilla’s Pre-K class was hard at work with paint brush in hand (below) to create some impressive masks (above)!
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Claire’s class isn’t letting the mask-making opportunity go by but they have also added some Carnaval-themed poetry and art work.
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It’s also nice when you can walk outside and watch nature at work, which is what happened this week with the discovery of several duck eggs, right next to our picnic area! Mama duck was not far away and moved in to keep her offspring safe as the students looked on. We will monitor this developing story and if news (or an egg) breaks, we will be there!
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FASTB Calendars 2018-19 AND 2019-20
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We have released our academic calendar for 2019-20 and you will note that the timing is more in line with area schools (no construction project thissummer!). To access the new 2019-20 calendar, click on the image below left and you can download a pdf. For this year’s calendar, click the image below right. Please also check the Events tab on FASTB.org periodically for more specific information on certain events. Merci !
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To keep tabs on activities of our hearty friends up north, don’t forget to visit the Blog and Instagram of our school in Maine, L’Ecole Française du Maine – Year 18 is rolling along!! All of us on the News de Nous staff wish you a great week and a Happy Valentin’s Day – Merci!
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The French American School of Tampa Bay, (FASTB), founded in February 2017 by Elizabeth and Willy LeBihan, offers a unique immersion school experience to students from Early Childhood through grade 12.
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2100 62nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Telephone: (727) 800-2159
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