Balance Beaming !
Eventually, our Kindergarten class would spend a brief moment with everyone on the balance beam at once – but just trying to get them all up there was pretty entertaining. The climb isn’t always easy but, amidst the struggle, there are often hidden joys!
Among the stories our NdN staff has been following – we’re midway through our Masters of Art workshop and have plenty of photos from days 1 & 2, this week is the big Folk Fair in St. Pete so we’re gearing up for that, plus our Halloween-themed Family Craft & Crêpe Day and more – let’s take a bite out of the week’s news…
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Masters of Art: Frida Kahlo
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We are very pleased to have Johane Bucaille with us for four days to conduct a Masters of Art workshop on Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Johane is an experienced Professeur des Ecole from France and the workshop, which you can read about in more detail here, began Thursday and runs through this Tuesday – it has something for everyone as Johane is able to adapt it to all grade levels and provide instruction en français.
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Johane began the workshop Thursday with slideshow presentations for each class (above), introducing our featured artist, her story and background, and showed examples of her work.
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Then it was into the classrooms to work on techniques suited for each age. Students were engaged from the start and dug right in.
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Working on texturing with crayon and pastels on day 2, students got plenty of practice on the techniques Johane taught, setting the stage for Monday and Tuesday when they will work on a new piece from start to finish. Can’t wait to see everyone’s finished work!
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St. Pete International Folk Fair Ready To Go!
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The 45th St. Petersburg International Folk Fair (SPIFFS) takes over Vinoy Park this Thursday thru Sunday and we are pleased to be participating in many ways at this great event! Students have already entered the art contest and we will have students singing Thursday morning, plus we will be participating in the Folk Fair parade. Here is the schedule of events: Thursday October 24th: Field Trip & Student Performance
Thursday the 24th is School Day at the Fair and our K-8 students will be embarking on a SPIFFS field trip, with the upper elementary and middle schoolers taking the stage to sing French songs at 10:20am. They have been working hard to get ready and we hope you can attend to cheer on our singers!
The winning pieces in the SPIFFS Art Contest will be on display that day as well. We recently sent out details on transportation and timing – if you did not receive it, please contact the office
Saturday October 26th: SPIFFS Parade 2pm
We will have a very busy day on the 26th with our Craft & Crêpe Day in the morning (see below) and the SPIFFS parade in the afternoon, but we hope you all can muster the stamina to do both!
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All Treats At Halloween Craft & Crêpe Day
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Family Craft & Crêpe Day is returning to FASTB this Saturday, October 26 at 10am. Open to the public, it’s a day of creativity, fun and, of course, eating – delicious crêpes made to order by the fabulous Krepelicious. Also, being so close to the big day, we will have a Halloween theme – kids (and adults) are encouraged to dress up, and we will have crafts that reflect the season as well! Hope to see you there!
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New Open House Dates: November 19 & 20
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Quick note on our rescheduled open houses – there will be 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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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 – enjoy!
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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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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.
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The seasons and leaf colors may change in Maine but L’Ecole Française du Maine just keeps going strong, now in Year 19! To keep current on the school up north, 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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