Nous aimons aller à l’école !
Bonjour ! Unlike the main character in our Pre-K students’ favorite book, “Simon ne veut pas aller à l’école” (Simon doesn’t want to go to school), our FASTBians (new word) came willingly and ready for another busy week!
Wide ranging activities in our Elementary & Pre-K classes, plus our Suzuki Concert and more; and, looking ahead, Grandparents & Special Friends Day, Jazz Day, Camp FASTB and 2019-20 enrollment info. This week’s Nous de Nous… starts now!
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Grandparents and Special Friends Day – This Monday!
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Grandparents and Special Friends Day is just a few days away and we are very excited to begin what will be an annual tradition, celebrating the integral role these family matriarchs, patriarchs and friends play in the lives and education of our students, and, by extension, our school!
The start time is 10:00 and grandparents & special friends will be able to sit in class with their student and get an up close look at what they are doing in the classroom – and our students will be very happy to show you all they know!
We look forward to seeing everyone on this coming Monday, the 15th – if you have any questions or need any special considerations, please do not hesitate to contact the school at 727-800-2159. Merci !
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National Public Radio affiliate WUSF 89.7FM put FASTB front and center Monday with 2 airings of Kerry Sheridan’s wonderful feature about our school. If you haven’t had a chance to hear it, read the article, or see the photos, please visit the WUSF website to check it out. Everyone Kerry interviewed did a great job (students in class too!) and it was very nice to hear and read independent voices speaking to the benefits of bilingual and multilingual education! Thank you to Kerry and NPR/WUSF for recognizing the value in what we offer here at FASTB and telling our story!
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Suzuki Students Use Bow, Take Bow
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Audience interaction and solo playing were among the highlights of our second Suzuki Violin performance last Friday. Students began the event by using pencils to teach audience members the proper way to hold the bow (below).
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Performers then proceeded to grasp violin & bow and play a mix of solo and group pieces (above and below) with their fearless leader, Miss Jenny, accompanying on keys.
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Excellent job by all – progress continues as the final six-week group lesson block has begun, leading to our final performance in May. For those interested in a peek at what the future holds for our hard-working students, Miss Jenny’s private studio students will be performing in the Suzuki Strings Spring Concert Saturday, April 27th at 11am – all are welcome, a great inspiration for our young players!
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We are finalizing things for this summer, but it’s not too late to throw your name in – visit our Camp FASTB page on FASTB.org to get information and access to our 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
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: Online Application Form & Steps to Enroll
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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. 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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Pre-K – Elevating Body & Mind
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Another active week among the Pre-K set as they incorporated plenty of physical play both outdoors (above) and in (below). As students count in these games, they naturally do so en français – bravo !
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Counting and other math activities emerged in the classroom as well (below) with students matching up the correct number of clothes pins to the number on the card (and loving it!), and also applying the correct number of bottle caps to each row in their activity center.
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An important part of each day is group play as students learn to cooperate, take turns and work together as they are in the puzzle below. Yes, we know where that piece goes too 🙂
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Elementary Class – Day in the Life
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Mornings in Claire’s Elementary class include writing (above), reading and math (below). The cursive writing of our students has improved greatly over the course of the year, developing a skill that has great value (fine motor skills, improved neural connections, learning retention, self-discipline) but is largely lost in US.
Students continue to improve in both speaking and reading in French and also work through French math problems and grouping exercises – all making for busy mornings, with recess, Music & Me and Suzuki there to help add some variety!
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After lunch (and recess #2), poetry, science and Discovery of the World kick things off before students make their way to the art tables – in the examples below, some artistry for the upcoming Grandparents & Special Friends Day (left) and FASTB Jazz Day (right) – Bravo les étudiants !
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Speaking of jazz, our first-ever FASTB International Jazz Day Jam, co-sponsored by our friends at Music & Me, is coming up on April 30th at 1:30 right here at FASTB. International Jazz Day will see hundreds of events in 190 countries around the world that day – you’ll see FASTB among those in the U.S. here on the official site. We’re also on the map on the home page. Jazz Day is presented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. We will have more info as the big day draws closer, but mark the date – jazz is all about inclusiveness and bringing cultures together so we plan to involve everyone in the jam!
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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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Cultural Exchange – Host a French Student
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Peggy Labat (center) with Constance (right), a French student who visited Florida in February, and Zsofia (left) whose family hosted Constance
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Recently, we enjoyed a visit from Peggy Labat, who has developed a new high school exchange program between her hometown of Le Havre, France and Tampa Bay, through which students spend a few weeks with a host family, completely immersed in a new language and culture!
Are you interested in hosting a French student for a few weeks? Do you, or someone you know, have a high school child that might want to visit France for a few weeks? If so, please take a look at this summary of Peggy’s program and feel free to reach out to her by email at peggy@englishnstuff.com. We also have a few pamphlets that describe the program here at the school if you’d like to stop by and pick one up. Merci !
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Sometimes it’s hard to tell… snowed yesterday! 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!!
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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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