News de Nous – 5/15/20

May 15, 2020
Hair We Go !
 The end of the school year is usually a crazy time, so why not help celebrate Spirit Week with Crazy Hair Day as we get ready for the last day of school next Friday?
 The week also featured the sharing of some student talent videos, a combined class breakfast – virtual of course – and plenty of cool schoolwork at home. Plus, we have some new information on Camp FASTB, enrollment and scholarship info for the 2020-21 school year and we take center stage in this week’s FASTB Flashback…
L’Ecole à la Maison – A French, Food & Fun Finale !
They say it’s the most important meal of the day, so why not have it together? Olivier’s elementary class teamed up with Emmy’s middle school for petit déjeuner this morning and pleasant conversation en français. Combining French and food – a tasty way to start the day and wrap up Spirit Week !
Also on display this week and next are the many talents of our students. They have submitted videos for our school-wide talent show – featuring singing, climbing, biking, barrel walking (above) and more – which are being shared with all of our classes so everyone can get a look at their fellow FASTBians in action.
Meanwhile, at home, students continue their various projects – whether artsy, bubbly or yummy! They are not only hard at work, but also quite proud of their creations. Well done, and bravo to parents as well for providing the space, material and patience to allow the creativity to flourish!
Camp FASTB 2020: Important Update
Camp FASTB Year 2 is still on track to begin in July and you can enroll your child today by visiting the camp page on our website. If we are forced to cancel camp due to COVID-19, those that have enrolled will receive a full refund – there will not be any online programming for Camp FASTB.
Our French Immersion camp is open to children ages 5 to 12 (must turn 5 as of Sept 1, 2020) and will begin the week of July 6, and run 4 consecutive weeks to the end of the month – you can sign up for 1, 2 , 3 or 4 weeks and we have both full & half day options. Please contact dan.hannigan@fastb.org if you have any questions – Merci !
FASTB 2020-21
For many of you considering FASTB for your child or children in the 2020-21 school year, we understand that the current situation has created many uncertainties in your lives. You may also be wondering what the impact will be on our school – our plan is to begin the year on our campus on August 12. We would be happy to talk to you about the upcoming year and your plans to enroll – please feel free to email dan.hannigan@fastb.org to set up a conversation.
We are currently accepting applications for 2020-21 and below you will find the sequence of steps to apply and enroll at FASTB:
  1. 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
  2. Apply: Click here for our online Enrollment Application which offers the convenience of applying and paying the fee entirely online
  3. 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
  4. 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!
2020 Florida Scholarships – Accepting Applications Now
The current crisis has impacted many of you financially and our Florida scholarship partners have announced that, despite the disruptions in schools, they are accepting and processing applications for 2020-21 – all are welcome to apply.
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:
  1. For students currently in public schools OR students entering Kindergarten
  2. 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:
  1. Florida Tax Credit
  2. Family Empowerment
  3. McKay
  4. Gardiner
  5. Hope
Here are the links:
Step Up For Students (Florida Tax Credit, Gardiner, Hope Scholarships): https://www.stepupforstudents.org/for-parents/
AAA Scholarships (Florida Tax Credit, Gardiner, Hope Scholarships): https://www.aaascholarships.org/
School Calendar 2020-21
Our FASTB calendar for the 2020-21 school year is available for your viewing pleasure – you can click on the calendar image above to find out when school starts and ends, and everything else in between.
FASTB Flashback: When FASTB was Looking SPIFFy
Turning back the clock all the way to the horse and buggy days – October 24, 2019 when our elementary and middle school students hit the road to participate in the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair (SPIFFS) at Vinoy Park. Students did an outstanding job, performing 2 French songs on the big stage, under the direction of choral volunteer leaders Camille Martin and Theo Boylan.
FASTB students K & up also entered the SPIFFS “Fruits of the World” Art Contest, taking home two second place prizes (below) and several honorable mentions. A great first foray into SPIFFS, first of many to come!
Feeding Tampa Bay at this Critical Time
Countless heroes have emerged during this pandemic and among them are the staff and volunteers at Feeding Tampa Bay, the beneficiary of FASTB’s Food Drive last fall. Feeding Tampa Bay has been helping young and old receive nutritious food during this uncertain time, serving 10 counties in West & Central Florida. Below you’ll find ways suggestions on how to help, if you can – just click the text to learn more.
Plongez-vous dans la Culture Française
“Immerse yourself in French Culture” is the message from Gaëtan Bruel, the Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy in the United States, and he has put together a very large selection of online offerings for those of you looking for a bit of an escape from stay at home life. Click here and see the Embassy’s list of links that will transport you to the best of French art, music, dance, film, drama, literature and virtual reality. The page is continually updated so check back every so often to see what is new.
FASTB Featured in February Courrier de Floride
In the February edition of Le Courrier de Floride, you’ll find a terrific feature story about FASTB, written by founder Gwendal Gauthier, who interviewed FASTB Head of School, Willy LeBihan, and teachers Olivier & Magali Guilhem, about the progression of our school in year two, as well as the evolution of French education and how it works in our immersion environment.
There is also an online version of the story, which includes many more photos. Click on either of the photos above to access the online version – for those who lean l’anglais, you can view the English translation here.
Thank you to Le Courrier de Floride for this wonderful article !
Until next time, wishing you all good health and safety – merci !
2100 62nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Telephone: (727) 800-2159
Dan Hannigan: School Director dan.hannigan@fastb.org
Elizabeth LeBihan: Founder and Admission Director admission@fastb.org
Willy LeBihan: Founder and Head of School director@fastb.org
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