A Day of Remembrance & Inspiration
The day off today allows us an opportunity to commemorate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would have been 91 today. His massive contributions to the Civil Rights movement and American society continue to inspire today. Our students have been studying Dr. King and civil rights in English class and we have that story below.
Plus, News de Nous has news from our classrooms, an open house date to add to your calendar, a scholarship enrollment update, an chance to host an intern, the 2020-21 school calendar and more!
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Focus On MLK & Civil Rights
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Our English Language Arts class has devoted much of January to the study of Martin Luther King and the American Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century, with our elementary students reading about Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in Washington D.C. in 1963 (above) and our middle school students (below) taking notes on the events leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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Bringing Dr. King’s message to the present, the photo above shows students listening to Ben Harper’s song, “With My Own Two Hands,” (video below) and they shared ideas for things they can do to make our world a better and kinder place.
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Open House & Soirée – Tuesday, February 4th 6pm-8pm
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Please join us for a FASTB Open House & Soirée on Tuesday, February 4 at 6pm. You will have opportunities to tour the school, meet teachers and ask plenty of questions – please feel free to spread the word.
Enjoy live music too, plus wine & cheese and other tasty items.
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En classe: Points, Peaks & Projects
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Erika had her preschool class hopping this week with all kinds of activity – the 4-year olds tested their math abilities in the card game, “la Bataille” (above), in which the player with the highest card wins. If you put the same card down, a “battle” ensues until you have different cards – the two students in front engaged in a triple battle, which is a new school record.
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Preschoolers also did some practice runs for the new garden outside (see garden article a little further down). With soil on hand and small containers, students (above) planted seeds and carefully watered in anticipation of seeing the first signs of life soon!
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Progressing in learning their ABC’s, the 4-year olds completed their “I” page (above) by finding images when the heard the “i” sound and pasting them into the book. Meanwhile the 3-year olds continued to make their color book by creating the Rose page (below). To add the color, they used toothbrushes to spray the paint onto the page – the American Dental Association did not return calls for comment on this particular use of a toothbrush.
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Avid readers of News de Nous will recall that last week, Olivier’s elementary class began a project to recreate the work of Georges Seurat, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” using his “pointillist” technique (above). Students continued all week and completed the work (below), which is now on display in our lobby.
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A little further down the hall, the Force was particularly strong in Emmy’s art & media middle school class where students began work on recreating the latest Star Wars poster, that they renamed, “Star Wars: The FRENCH Awakens”. Students each have a role and will work both in painting/drawing activities and also in computer editing.
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And in Magali’s Kindergarten class, they continued their work on the forest, using the technique “gomme aribique” which begins with using gomme, or drawing gum, to paint the initial picture of trees (below).
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Then, after dry, students painted over it with white paint (above) and when ready, they peel the original gum off the page (below)…
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And, voila – the finished piece, on display in our hallway. Bravo – well done!
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Host Families Needed Soon: FASTB Interns Arrive In February
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The French American School of Tampa Bay (FASTB) is an official partner of the Teacher Training Institute (INSPE: Institut National Supérieur du Professorat et de l’Education) at the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon, France.
This coming semester, we are delighted to welcome two French graduate students, who are pursuing Master’s Degrees in Elementary Education. This “stage” Practicum is an essential first step in completing the Master MEEF 1er degré – to become a certified teacher for the French Ministry of Education (Professeur des écoles). Olivier Guilhem, Pedagogical Coordinator at FASTB, and Pascale Crispin, Professor at the Université de Bourgogne, will supervise these internships.
Let’s meet the Interns:
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Emilie Bonneau, 22, comes from a small village, Pougues-les-Eaux, in the Nièvre region of Central France. She is studying to become a primary school teacher at the Université de Bourgogne. She loves pets and spending time with her family, enjoys cooking & shopping, and is a big fan of Harry Potter & Disney movies!
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Alice Meiner, 21, has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree to become a certified teacher for the French Ministry of Education. Alice grew up in Nevers, in the Nièvre Region of Central France and, like Emilie, is a Harry Potter & Disney fan. She also enjoys reading, animals, discovering new things and traveling, as well as spending time with friends and family.
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Emilie and Alice will be with us from February 8 to March 5 and we need to secure host families quickly. If you are interested and would like to know more about host family roles and duties, please contact Willy LeBihan at wlebihan@frenchschool.me.
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Over the past few weeks, we have welcomed many visitors to tour our school, looking ahead to 2020-21 or still considering a mid-year 2019-20 enrollment. If you or someone you know would like to learn more about our school and campus, please feel free to contact us to schedule a private tour or plan to come to our February 4th Open House. 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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2020-21 Scholarship: Renewal Enrollment Open Now!
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For those currently enrolled in Florida income-based scholarship programs, you can begin the renewal process NOW by going to the Step Up for Students or AAA Scholarship websites (see the links below). For new income-based scholarship applicants, you can sign up here to be notifiedonce the enrollment period begins. FASTB accepts Florida state scholarships and we are a participating school on the Step Up for Students, AAA Scholarships, Family Empowerment andMcKay Scholarship websites, so when you apply and you are awarded a scholarship, you can opt for our school there.
Please note that there are two income based scholarship offered by the state of Florida: the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and the Family Empowerment Scholarship, which was created just last year. Key points for the FES 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 will definitely be worth filling out the free online FES application to see if you qualify.
The total number of scholarship programs that we will accept in 2019-20 and 2020-21 is five:
- Florida Tax Credit
- Family Empowerment
- McKay
- Gardiner
- Hope
Here are the links:
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2020-21 FASTB Calendar Ready to Download
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2020-21 Calendar 2019-20 Calendar
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Our FASTB calendar for the 2020-21 school year has been released – you can click on the calendar image on the left above to find out when school starts and ends, and everything else in between. For those living in the present, the 2019-20 calendar is still available and you can click on the image on the right for that. Our Events page is also a good source of what’s up in FASTB land.
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Café et Conversation Draws Crowds
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Great to see lots of parents turning out for our Café et Conversation sessions! Each week, a different topic is discussed, involving a teacher, administrator or another program leader. These informal meetups go from 8:30-9:00 every Thursday morning – the upcoming schedule includes:
- Jan 23: Kindergarten & Art – Magali
- Jan 30: Adult Education & DELF – Emmy
- Feb 6: Parent-Student Handbook – Willy
- Feb 13: Suzuki Music – Jenny
- Feb 20: Elementary Class – Olivier
- Feb 27: Preschool Class – Erika
- Mar 5: Music & Me – Mr. Alex
All parents are welcome to attend these sessions, which provide an opportunity to discuss the topic of the week in a relaxed environment – over coffee, of course.
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Le Jardin de l’école: Nous avons du sol !
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Now we’re talking – location and framework done, and now soil done after the big dirt dump this week. While students will eventually do the planting, weeding and watering, we would like this to be a school community endeavor, so we welcome parent involvement: if you have any time, gardening expertise, small tools for the children, etc., please let us know and we can get started right away. Merci !
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Le Courrier de Floride is a Must-Read
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If you want to get a French take on all things Florida, you should check out Le Courrier de Floride – we have several copies on hand in our lobby.
Founded by Gwendal Gauthier (left), Le Courrier de Floride is published in Florida and serves the millions of French-speaking inhabitants and visitors in the state, both in hard-copy form and online. News, politics, culture, sports, tourism and more are covered monthly – feel free to pick up a copy!
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DELF For Advanced High School French Students
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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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Book Smart? Volunteers Needed to Organize Library
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Thank you to all who have donated this year. We just received 4 more boxes of French children’s books this weekend from a generous donor! Donations of French or English children’s books are always welcomed, and very much appreciated.
We would love to have some volunteers come in to help organize our library – if you are interested, please contact the school at (727) 800-2159. Merci !
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French Education Thrives In The US
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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.
Passe une bonne semaine !
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2100 62nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Telephone: (727) 800-2159
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