News de Nous - 11/2/20 - French American School of Tampa Bay

November 2, 2020

What a Week!

FASTB was on the go this past week, spending four big days at Fort De Soto and capping off the week by looking adorable at our Halloween performance and parade!

We have recaps and video evidence of both headlining events below, plus – School Council election day is tomorrow, it’s not too late to get in on the l’école des loisirs book club, school photo day is around the corner, and we have some admissions news to share. All in our first Monday before the first Tuesday of November edition of News de Nous…

FASTB At The Fort: A Smashing Success!

Four amazing days at Fort De Soto wrapped up Thursday – it was a week that was jam packed with activities in three different locations in the park. The brainchild of our Pedagogical Coordinator, Olivier Guilhem, students were on the go from Monday morning through Thursday afternoon biking, fishing, orienteering, hiking, learning from park rangers, dancing, finding treasures and geocaches, touring the fort, finding shells, creating art and so much more.

Bravo to Olivier and our teachers – Cécile, Emmy, Magali, Pauline and Mindy – as well as our parents who provided transportation and served as chaperones, and our students for your enthusiasm for learning and trying new things! The park rangers were excellent as well, and very welcoming.

We posted each day’s photo gallery on our Instagram and Facebook sites last week and you can check out the FASTB At The Fort trailer below for a taste of what it was like to be at the park last week.

Halloween 2020: Dancing and Cuteness Steal the Show

A beautiful Friday afternoon for our Halloween Performance and Parade with plenty of fancy costumes worn by students and staff (below).

Each class performed for families, with the elementary class putting on a fashion show – students wrote and recorded descriptions of their costumes in French! Lots of choreography and dancing as well – the video below gives a sampling of our youngest and oldest students on stage!

Admissions News: Growing and Room to Grow More

We have turned the corner into November, with a wonderful school project now behind us – one that shows just what is possible for a small, supportive community that pulls together. Is this something you are looking for in a school? Since day one, we have had strict COVID protocols in place that have been embraced by staff and families and our small size enables us to adapt to changing circumstances that could occur at any time with COVID-19. All of this, plus our students are making great strides in French, fully immersed in the language thanks to our terrific teachers.

If you think FASTB might be a good fit for your child and you would like to take a live virtual tour to learn more about our unique school, please contact our Director of Admissions, Audrey Talarico and she will be happy to set one up for you. As always, you can feel free to visit our Admissions page and website to explore what we have to offer – a French immersion and multicultural educational environment that is the only one of its kind in this region.

FASTB also accepts Florida scholarships through Step Up for Students, which is still accepting applications for the 2020-21 school year for grades K & up, and French Bourses for students with a French passport. We look forward to hearing from you!

School Council Election Day is Tomorrow

Many of you received your School Council ballots on Friday at our Halloween event. For those that did not, we will distribute them today – please return the completed ballots at either drop-off or pick-up on Tuesday (tomorrow). Merci.

Moment of Silence Observed

Many of you are aware of the two recent terror attacks in France and our thoughts are with the families of all of those killed. The victim of the first attack on October 16th was professor Samuel Paty. Our Head of School, Willy LeBihan, prepared the statement below regarding the observance of a moment of silence for Professor Paty:

Un moment de recueillement a été observé le 20 octobre par les 53 chefs d’établissement des écoles homologuées AEFE du Canada et des Etats-Unis, après la mort du professeur d’histoire-géographie Samuel Paty, vendredi 16 octobre près de son collège de Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, en France.

Willy LeBihan, Chef d’Etablissement, participait à cet hommage rendu par Olivier Boasson, Chef du service des établissements scolaires à l’ Ambassade de France à Washington, DC. La communauté de l’école adresse ses condoléances à la famille de la victime et son soutien au collège de Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.

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A moment of silence was observed on October 20 by the 53 heads of AEFE-approved schools in Canada and the United States after the death of history and geography professor Samuel Paty on Friday, October 16, near his college in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, France.

Willy LeBihan, Head of School, participated in this tribute paid by Olivier Boasson, Head of the School Department at the French Embassy in Washington, DC. The school community extends its condolences to the victim’s family and its support to the College of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.

French Book Club Enrollment Still Open

Parents who still wish to sign up for l’école des loisirs book club can still do so. Although the deadline passed for you to receive the November books in November, if you sign up now, you will receive the November books with the December books.

Two parent emails went out on October 8 and October 12 with details on the ordering procedure and pricing – if you can’t locate these, please contact Dan Hannigan to get the information.

School Photo Day – Friday, November 13

Last, but not least, we will have school photo day during the morning of November 13. Individual student phots will be taken, as well as class photos. Moorman Photographics is returning to help us with this, but there is a change to how the photos will be ordered. All ordering is now done online and photos will be sent to your home.

Have a wonderful week!