Artists In Residence
Parades and workshops headline News de Nous this week – as we gear up for the FASTB Halloween Parade Thursday, we look back at the SPIFFS parade over the weekend, which had a French element for the first time in a while; plus, our art workshop concluded last week with a school-wide burst of color and creativity – these stories and more below…
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Parading All Over St. Pete
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You may be aware that Thursday is Halloween – shocker, right? Thursday is also the 2nd annual FASTB Halloween Parade. It will be from 2:15-3:00 here at the school – and family members are welcome to attend. The grueling, 63-step parade of costumes will weave through the playground and end up in our picnic area where we will have some items for the children.
Because it is at the end of the day, students should wear regular clothes to school and bring their costumes – we will provide them time to dress up. See you Thursday!
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Speaking of parades, big thanks FASTB students, parents, staff & volunteers who braved the harsh weather Saturday to participate in the St Pete International Folk Fair Parade of Nations, just before the torrential rains came.
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Special thanks also to volunteer Theo Boylan, who put in a lot of time helping to prepare our chorus for last Thursday’s performance and was right there with us for the parade Saturday! SPIFFS was a great experience this year and definitely one to have on the calendar next year!
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By now, just about everyone has received their school photo proofs and ordering information. Order forms and payments are due November 6th in the envelope provided – you can bring them to the office and we will deliver to Moorman Photographics. On Thursday, November 21, we will have a re-take/class photo day: any students who would like to re-do the photos, or who were absent on photo day, will have the opportunity to do individual portraits. We will also be doing class photos that day.
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Masters of Art: It’s A Wrap
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When we last left Johane Bucaille’s Masters of Art workshop, students had learned about the art of Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, and practiced drawing and texturing techniques using crayon and pastels. This past week, the workshop concluded with students taking what they learned and creating their own art work from scratch (gallery above) – challenged at their own age appropriate level, each student’s piece is unique.
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If you haven’t had a chance, check out everyone’s art work in our lobby – lots of hard (and fun) work, well done everyone! And thank you again to Johane for giving us 4 wonderful days of art!
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Upcoming Open House Dates: November 19 & 20
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Save the dates for two November open houses – an evening session from 5pm to 7pm on Tuesday, November 19, and a morning session from 8:45 to 10:45 on November 20. All are welcome – please pass the word!
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FASTB Calendar A Click Away
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You can click on the image below to download our school 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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Whether you are looking ahead to the 2020-21 school year or still considering 2019-20, please contact us so we can help you through the enrollment process. You can give us a call at (727) 800-2159 or email dan.hannigan@fastb.org. Below is the sequence of steps to apply and enroll at FASTB:
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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
Here are the links:
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L’Ecole des loisirs – FASTB’s French Book Club
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Thank you to all of the families who signed up for our school book club, l’école des loisirs, to enjoy the wonderful offerings from this long-time publisher of children’s books in France. These books feature lively illustrations and text, and have accompanying audio as well. We will notify you when the first books arrive !
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Calling All High School French Scholars
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We are 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 visit our DELF page for more information or click here to view the brochure pdf. Merci !
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Nouvelle Bibliothèque – Donations Accepted
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If you haven’t had a chance yet, please stop by and see 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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French Education Thrives In The US
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In case you missed it, click the image above and check out a terrific article in France-Amérique about the success of French schools in the US. If you’re especially ambitious, there is also a link within the story to another fascinating article by Fabrice Jaumont about the benefits and relevance of being bilingual. Many of the points in these articles reinforce the foundation of our mission here at FASTB.
Merci – passez une bonne semaine !
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2100 62nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Telephone: (727) 800-2159
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