Floating Off Into Summer !
Bonnes Vacances ! It’s now officially summer vacation after we brought the 2018-19 school year to a close at our Graduation Ceremony last Friday! A celebration of our first year and all who made it happen, especially our students – full recap below.
Plus, we have a photo ordering extension, enrollment & Camp FASTB info, and our usually dormant sports department has suddenly awoken with news from the worlds of soccer and baseball! News de Nous has these stories and more…
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Smiles were plentiful Friday as we held our first-ever FASTB Graduation ceremony with a large group of family and friends looking on in support of our preschool and elementary students. Head of School, Willy LeBihan, opened with words of thanks to all in attendance – singling out our wonderful parents and families, teachers Priscilla Perez Martinez, Claire Bergera and Pauline Delobelle, and, of course, our hard working students, who deserved particular credit. “It’s not easy,” said Willy, “to be placed in an environment where you the language being spoken is not your own – they did it and succeeded.”
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Preschool and elementary students performed songs and poetry in their individual classes and as a combined group (above), and then received their Certificates of Achievement from their teachers (below) to enthusiastic applause and photography.
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The ceremony closed with Mr. Alex from Music & Me leading students in the Goodbye Song – a fitting farewell to the school year. Thank you to our entire FASTB family, near and far, whose support and belief in our mission, helped make this first year an amazing one – see you in August!!
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Families: Photo Orders Extended One Week
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2018-19 FASTB families – Just about all of the order forms are in but if you haven’t submitted yours yet, please do so by this Friday, June 14. If you have questions about the ordering process and options, you can contact Moorman Photographics directly at 727-527-1237. Merci !
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2018-19 Closes, Door Open to Enroll for 2019-20 Today
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We are finalizing 2019-20 applications and enrollments for Pre-K through 8th grade! Wherever you may be in the application process below, or if you are just now considering applying, please contact us so we can work with you to bring things to completion as soon as possible. We want to make sure we have enough time to plan for materials and staffing, and have everything in place for FASTB Year 2. You can give us a call at (727) 800-2159 or email dan.hannigan@fastb.org. 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 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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Florida Scholarships Available for Grades K & Up!
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FASTB has been given the “all clear” to accept Florida state scholarships in 2019-20. As we previously reported, there is now a second income based scholarship offered by the state of Florida: the Family Empowerment Scholarship, which will also be administered by Step Up for Students. Key points for this scholarship are:
- For students currently in public schools OR students entering Kindergarten
- Income thresholds are higher than those in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship
If you meet the criteria in the first item above, it is definitely worth filling out the free online application to see if you qualify.
This brings the number of scholarships that we will accept in 2019-20 to five:
- Florida Tax Credit
- Family Empowerment
- McKay
- Gardiner
- Hope
It is very important that you apply now if you want one of these scholarships – the way it works is that your free application is reviewed and the scholarship is awarded before you choose a school, so you can get started right away. Here are the links:
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NdN Sports: Play Ball (And Music)!!
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The Florida Music Institute, which draws Suzuki musicians from around the country and around the world each summer, is currently in session and will be playing the National Anthem on the field at the Tampa Bay Rays game, tonight (Thursday) at 7pm. Among the musicians will be students of Jenny Diedrich’s Suzuki Strings studio, including one of our own FASTB students!!
You can email Jenny about tickets – if you join in with her group, a portion of the proceeds go to the Florida Music Institute. Head on over to the Trop next Thursday to cheer on these musicians (and the Rays)!
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NdN Sports: Women’s World Cup Takes Over France
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The 2019 Women’s World Cup kicked off last Friday and is taking France by storm – nine cities are hosting matches and so far the viewership has been off the charts. Almost 100 million fans worldwide are tuning in – a great statement about the popularity of women’s sports!
It’s the eighth edition of the Women’s World Cup Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and while the US is defending champion (below, in 2015) and the favorite this year, France, Germany, England and Japan will be strong challengers. The month-long tournament wraps up with the Final on July 7 – check it out!
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Camp FASTB – Weeks of July 8 and July 15
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We have updated our Camp FASTB schedule for this summer – the weeks of camp will be July 8-12 and July 15-19. If you, or someone you know, is interested in signing up, you can enroll on our website by clicking here – it’s not too late. Camp is for ages 5 and up (must be 5 by 9/1/19). We are looking forward to a great first summer of Camp FASTB – hope you will join us!
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Attention Adults – French Classes Are Coming To FASTB!
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We are excited to announce that French classes for adults will be coming soon to FASTB – we have to finish working out a few details and once that is done, there will be a sign-up on our website for those interested! Stay tuned…
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Attention High School French Scholars
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We are also pleased to announce that, beginning this fall, we will be offering after school advanced French classes for high school students, who wish to pursue a greater proficiency in the language. The Diplôme d’Etudes de Langue Française (DELF) is a certification of French language abilities for non-native speakers, administered by the International Centre for French Studies for the French Ministry of Education.
The program includes six different units (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2), with each leading to an exam and, if passed, a French diploma. The last levels of the program can give access to French universities without having to take another proficiency test before enrolling. US colleges also recognize the value of these diplomas and they are also be very valuable professionally as proof of fluency in French.
If you or someone you know might be interested in this program, please contact the school. You can click on the photo above, or here, to view the brochure pdf. Merci !
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To access our 2019-20 calendar, click on the image below and you can download a pdf. As we get closer to the beginning of school, be sure to check the Events tab on FASTB.org periodically for more specific information on certain events. Merci !
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Maine School Nears End of Year 18
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Our school in Maine, L’Ecole Française du Maine, holds its graduation ceremony this Friday to bring a close to year 18! Congratulations to the students, staff and families up north! To keep current on the school, you can visit EFDM’s Blog and Instagram!
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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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