Salut, News de Nous !
A perfectly-timed, drop in smile will usually rise to the top of the NdN page and this week is no exception. But before you think that everyone just goes around smiling all day (they do), you should know that there was work to do, problems to solve and obstacles to overcome in our classes this week, all documented below.
Plus, Suzuki Music slots are filling up and adults wanting to learn French are pumped up – we’ll tell you why, and much much more…
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Classe Action-Elementary Students Doing All Write & Other Tales
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The written word, the art of cursive writing are big components of the French curriculum and our elementary class students, taught by Claire Bergera, worked hard to develop their writing skills this week (above & below).
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Meanwhile, Kamel Fekiri’s K-1 group was ready (above), but for what? To do math? Yes they were (below) – solving problems and working on vocabulary with color coded answers…
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… They also had time for “La course des couleurs” (The Color Race, below), a game of quick thinking and quick feet – combining sport with color vocabulary!
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Chérifa Fekiri’s Preschoolers also made good use of our lobby space to create a course d’obstacle, where students went through, over and under various obstacles, developing gross motor skills, balance and strength.
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Down the hall, and around a couple corners, our middle school students were traveling back in time, studying early human civilizations and the development (and massive impact) of metallurgy, the science of separating metals from their ores and modifying them for use. Emmy Decker led the class in this history and science discussion in French, helping non-fluent students piece together words that share English & French similarities, so all could grasp the concepts.
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For those FASTB parents interested in starting your child in Suzuki violin or piano lessons this Fall, we still have some time slots available during the school day, so if you have not done so, please download the enrollment formand return it to our instructor, Jennifer Diedrich, by the end of day today. Thank you for you attention to this – classes begin next week so we want to make sure we have enough time to schedule everyone, and you have enough time to have your child’s instrument ready.
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Family Picnic Moves To September & Other Calendar Updates
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We have made a couple of adjustments to our school calendar – the Family Picnic is now from 1-3pm on Wednesday, September 25, when we hope it will be cooler. We have also added and adjusted the dates of our Suzuki performances.
You can click on the image below to download the updated calendar and, as always, be sure to check the Events tab on FASTB.org periodically for more specific information on certain events. Merci !
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Éducation Française pour Adultes – More Details
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Attention Adult French Learners – there will be an Open House for our Adult Education program on Tuesday evening, September 10, at 7pm at FASTB!Please note that we have updated our Adult Education web page to include additional information on our costs and the date range of our two semesters. Also, the event is on our Facebook page. If you, or someone you know, wish to learn French as a beginner, to take your French to the next level, or to reconnect with the language you once knew so well, please email your RSVP to Dan Hannigan or on Facebook, so we can get an approximate headcount. See you on the 10th at 7 !
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Enroll For 2019-20 Today – Not Too Late
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Even though we have started the school year, we continue to receive inquiries and it’s not too late to enroll for Pre-K through 8th grade! Please contact us so we can help you through the process as soon as possible. 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 :
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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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Apply for Florida Scholarships, Grades K & Up
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FASTB accepts Florida state scholarships and we are now listed as a participating school on the Step Up for Students, AAA Scholarships and McKay Scholarship websites, so if you have already applied and have been awarded a scholarship, you can opt for our school there.
Please note, too, that 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 ASAP 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. Here are the links:
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Immerse Your Home – Host a French Student
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Our friend, Peggy Labat, is here in the Tampa Bay area this week to conduct information sessions (first one is tonight!) about her exchange program between high school students in the Tampa Bay area and their counterparts in sister city, Le Havre, in the Normandy region of France. If this is something you have thought about, you should try to attend one of her sessions. Don’t have a high school aged child? Ask Peggy about just hosting now.
Just click on the image below to download the PDF. Merci !
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Calling All High School French Scholars
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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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Nouvelle Bibliothèque – Donations Accepted
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Visitors to FASTB this year will not only notice the large increase in students, they will also notice the large increase in books in our beautiful new library! Over the summer, we acquired over 2,000 books that reside on our brand new shelves and we are very pleased to be able to provide both French & English books for our students to utilize in school or borrow to take home.
Even with that many books, we still have some room to add on – if you have any children’s books, in French or English, that you would like to donate, we would gladly accept them for our library. Please contact us at the school (727-800-2159) to arrange to drop them off. Thank you in advance for your help!
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Our school in Maine, L’Ecole Française du Maine, is still enjoying summer break and looking forward to 2019-20. To keep current on our northern outpost, 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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