Leaping Into the Final Month !
Our FASTB Beach Olympics were but one of many great activities we squeezed into our recent two-day excursion to Fort De Soto. Plenty more FDS below – plus Camp FASTB is taking shape with new details and an intro to our camp director; and we have breaking news on increased state scholarship funding and how Step Up for Students is responding.
Also on the docket: admissions news, spirit week & graduation day details and a tribute to our teachers – all below in this week’s News de Nous…
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Camp FASTB on the Horizon
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Hard to believe but Camp FASTB is just over a month away! If you are interested in a bilingual summer camp experience for your child, please visit our Camp FASTB web page to view the details and enroll. We have some openings – ages 3-12 are welcome and our camp runs from June 21 through August 6. Those who frequent the Camp FASTB page must have noticed by now the addition of daily calendars which give you an idea of the activities we have planned in our Expédition Française d’été. Click on the calendars below to view and download the pdf files.
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We are also pleased to welcome Tamye Crutchfield as our new Camp Director this summer! Tamye brings 30 years of experience in early childhood education, serving most recently as both school director of Villa Montessori in Ohio and regional director, overseeing schools in two states operated by the same owner.
Tamye is excited to move back to Florida, having previously owned and operated a preschool in Destin. We are finalizing our staff and will be ready to welcome campers on June 21. A wonderful opportunity for your child to learn some French in the context of a wide variety of fun activities – we hope to see you this summer!
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Big announcement this week that the state of Florida has expanded access to its scholarship funds for the 2021-22 school year. The income ceiling for a family of four to qualify for the Florida Tax Credit and Family Empowerment scholarships is now nearly $100,000. For our current families or those considering FASTB, please click on the letter below to read the details – and click here to go right to the Step Up for Students application page to benefit from this expanded offering.
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FASTB Admissions: No Prior French Needed for Ages 3-8
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Not only is this school year coming to a close a month from today, the next school year begins just over 3 months from today! We have grown throughout this past year and we already know we are adding a lot of new students in 2021-22, but we do have some slots available so please contact us ASAP to set up a virtual tour.
Rising Preschool, Kindergarten and First Grade students can enter our immersion environment with no previous instruction in French. These years are foundational for language development and students at this age are particularly suited to thrive in this environment.
At FASTB, Kindergarten students are not only at a great age to learn a second language, they have the added bonus of being eligible for Florida scholarships (must be 5 on September 1), which we offer to students K & up. Please see the latest on Florida scholarships and Step Up for Students in the article above to learn how you could benefit from this great offering in Florida. Private Virtual Tours
You hear things about language immersion, but what does it actually look like? Well, the best way to see what we do first-hand is to schedule a private virtual tour, which will take you inside our dynamic and safe classrooms to see where it all happens. Our Director of Admissions, Audrey Talarico, is regularly conducting these tours, offering you a live look at our school in action – see and hear what French immersion is all about, observe the structure and content of lessons, view our welcoming environment and student artwork and tour the rest of the school and playground as well. You will see what makes our school unique in this region, so please contact Audrey to schedule a virtual tour.
You can also feel free to visit our Admissions page and website to further explore what we have to offer, and learn about our admissions process. We look forward to hearing from you soon – merci !
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Fort De Soto II: We Love This Place !
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Round Two of FASTB at the Fort may have been more brief but it was packed with activity as, once again, our teachers, under the leadership of Olivier Guilhem did a fabulous job. Big thanks to our parents for adapting to dropping off/picking up and chaperoning, and our friends on the Park staff for making us feel welcome again!
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Day 1 highlights included frisbee games, yoga with Magali, music with Mr. Alex of Music & Me and the first of a 2-day boat building project/competition among the elementary & middle school students.
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Day 2 got off to a fast start with our Olympic Games – running, jumping, throwing and sand castle building, with tug o’ war (above) making its Olympic debut as well. The PS, MS, GS & CP classes enjoyed presentations by FDS park rangers, who brought some cool items to share, and the boat building competition wrapped up in exciting fashion, especially for the three on the team below!
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Then, bringing the trip to a close, Miss Emmy led all of our students in the FASTB Flash Mob dance (below). Super job by everyone – bravo!
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Great job by our Parent Association, providing an after school picnic for our teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week – a tasty spread from Bacchus – much deserved, thank you parents !
Our staff has done a wonderful job this year, particularly adapting the challenges presented by COVID. They are all creative, caring, kind, resourceful and true professionals – best of all, they have formed a great team, capable of accomplishing anything together!
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Coming Soon in June: Spirit Week & Graduation
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June 7-11 is FASTB Spirit Week, during which each day has a different theme. Emmy’s middle school class is taking the lead and presented the schedule (right) to the school this week.
A bit challenging out of the gate with Musical Monday, sometimes known as Lyrical Lundi, Not only will everyone need to dress musically, but all interactions among staff and students that day will be in song. News de Nous has researched this and we believe that this is the first time it has been attempted. Vegas oddsmakers have us returning to talking by 9:15 that morning, but we say it can be done!
Pyjama Day Tuesday, Throwback Wednesday (can dress as a historical figure or just someone from way back in the 1990’s), Crazy Hair Thursday and Fancy Friday round out the week. Student reaction to the middle school presentation was very enthusiastic!
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Graduation Day – June 15 9:00am
We are pleased to announce that our playground will be the setting for our in-person School Graduation on Tuesday, June 15th at 9:00am. Our school community is invited to this celebration of our students to wrap up the school year. There will also be lengthy brief remarks, and performances. More details to follow but please circle the date.
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Pretty nice spot for a garden – Magali’s CP class got their hands dirty planting some herbs and vegetables in the FASTB garden. Unlike the writer of this newsletter, our students have been continuing to water and care for the garden since planting day – well done!
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Meanwhile, over on the playground, what appeared to be just another day of ping pong on our old, slightly crooked (perhaps warped) table, turned out to be quite a surprise for our budding ping pong pros…
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FASTB Embarks on IB/PYP Journey
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The French American School of Tampa Bay is honored to be a Candidate School for the Primary Years Programme (PYP), officially pursuing authorization as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. IB World Schools share a common philosophy – a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that FASTB believes is important for our students and aligns very well with our mission. Please click on the video below about PYP from the perspective of educators.
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This is a great initial step in a process that could take up to five years for full accreditation, however, beginning this fall, we will incorporate the program into our curriculum, both in English and in French, and start building toward full authorization.
For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org.
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Last month, we were privileged to receive the Ambassador of France to the United States, Philippe Etienne, to our school for our inauguration and recognition of the French accreditation we earned last year. It was a great day that we were able to share with our school community – in the video below, M. Etienne shares some complimentary words about our school and the Tampa Bay area.
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All AFSA schools are accredited by the French Ministry of Education and the association’s goals include:
- Professional support
- The exchange of practices and ideas
- Training and development for heads of school
- Acquiring and publishing educational, administrative and legal information relevant to best management and governance practices
Our sister school, L’École Française du Maine, has been a member for many years and Head of School Willy LeBihan is an active participant in conferences and on committees. This is a key affiliation for FASTB, along with AEFE (see video below) and MLF – benefitting our students and staff, and solidifying our standing within the large network of outstanding French schools.
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We have our school calendar for 2021-22 available on our website. You will find start dates, holidays and more – just click on the image above and you can download the calendar.
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AEFE: témoignages d’anciens élèves
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Les élèves, anciens élèves, personnels et parents d’élèves du réseau AEFE ont la parole ! À travers leurs expériences et leurs regards, des témoins partagent ce que sont pour eux les forces du réseau AEFE, fort de 540 établissements dans 138 pays et rassemblant plus de 365 000 élèves, et les atouts du système éducatif français, qui participent au rayonnement de la France à l’étranger.
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Students, alumni, staff, and parents of students of the AEFE network have their say! Through their experiences and views, witnesses share the AEFE network’s strengths, with 540 schools in 138 countries and more than 365,000 students. The French education system’s assets, which contribute to France’s influence abroad, are for them. Video 2 below has English subtitles.
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2100 62nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Telephone: (727) 800-2159
Elizabeth LeBihan: Founder and CFO
Willy LeBihan: Founder and Head of School
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