One Foot Out The Door !
Bonjour ! Hard to believe we are just a few steps away from completing our first year – and we’ve got the footprints to prove it! News de Nous takes you into the classrooms during this exciting final week of 2018-19 – plus, info on the graduation ceremony Friday; school photo deadlines; enrollment, scholarship and Camp FASTB updates, and much much more…
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Friday is our last day of school and we will close the curtain on the 2018-19 school year with our first-ever Graduation Ceremony at 2pm! The event will feature student presentations and the distribution of certificates of achievement as we look back on this historic first year of The French American School of Tampa Bay.
We invite all of our families to join us to celebrate the success of your children in Year 1 – refreshments will be served after the ceremony. We hope to see you there!
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Families: Photo Orders Due This Week
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2018-19 FASTB families – Friday is not only graduation day, but also the deadline to order your school photos. If you need the link to view the photos or the order form, please contact the school. If you have questions about the ordering process and options, you can contact Moorman Photographics directly at 727-527-1237. Merci !
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We had some unexpected visitors on the FASTB side of the picnic area fence this week as a mother duck and her ducklings suddenly appeared, initially catching our preschoolers off-guard (above). They quickly composed themselves, however, and, with the help of Pauline and Priscilla, helped la famille des canards return to surroundings with more water and fewer humans. News de Nous awards Pauline extra points for not only rescuing the family but photographing the drama as well!
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Meanwhile, inside the classroom, no foot was safe as Priscilla lathered soles with paint (above) for an art project/secret gift. Giggles and squirming made hitting every spot difficult, but she was up for the challenge – and the preschool feet produced great results (below)!
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Elementary Class Draws A Crowd
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We are very grateful for all of our volunteers this year and this past week, we enjoyed the presence of Corey from USF St. Pete, who has been with us for several months, plus high school students Charlene and Audry, who made their FASTB debut and helped with a Father’s Day project (above) – lots of special attention for our elementary students!
These same students continue to work on and develop skills in reading, comprehension and cursive writing (below) – all of which will serve them well as they transition to their next grades. We are very proud of the great strides that all of our students, both elementary and preschool, have made over the course of the year – bravo !
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2018-19 Almost Done, Enroll for 2019-20 Today
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With the last day of this school year two days away, we are finalizing 2019-20 applications and enrollments for Pre-K through 8th grade! Wherever you may be in the application process below, or if you are just now considering applying, please contact us so we can work with you to bring things to completion this week, if possible. We want to make sure we have enough time to plan for materials and staffing, and have everything in place for FASTB Year 2. You can give us a call at (727) 800-2159 or email dan.hannigan@fastb.org. Below is the sequence of events for our application process (please note that there is a new online application form):
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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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Florida Scholarships Available for Grades K & Up!
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FASTB has been given the “all clear” to accept Florida state scholarships in 2019-20. As we previously reported, 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
It is very important that you apply now if you want one of these scholarships – the way it works is that your free application is reviewed and the scholarship is awarded before you choose a school, so you can get started right away. Here are the links:
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French Government Votes for FASTB
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FASTB was proud to be selected and serve as an official French polling center for the European Parliament elections that took place May 25th. French citizens from all over the region stopped in to place their vote – special thank you’s to Consulate General of France in Miami, Clément Leclerc, for selecting us, and to Honorary Consul of France for Western Florida, Jean-Charles Faust, for his on-site leadership of the election day proceedings.
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The Florida Music Institute, which draws Suzuki musicians from around the country and around the world each summer, will be playing the National Anthem on the field at the Tampa Bay Rays game, next Thursday June 13 at 7pm. Among the musicians will be students of Jenny Diedrich’s Suzuki Strings studio, including one of our own FASTB students!!
You can email Jenny about tickets – if you join in with her group, a portion of the proceeds go to the Florida Music Institute. Head on over to the Trop next Thursday to cheer on these musicians (and the Rays)!
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Camp FASTB – Weeks of July 8 and July 15
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We have updated our Camp FASTB schedule for this summer – the weeks of camp will be July 8-12 and July 15-19. If you, or someone you know, is interested in signing up, you can enroll on our website by clicking here – it’s not too late. Camp is for ages 5 and up (must be 5 by 9/1/19). We are looking forward to a great first summer of Camp FASTB – hope you will join us!
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Attention Adults – French Classes Are Coming To FASTB!
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We are excited to announce that French classes for adults will be coming soon to FASTB – we have to finish working out a few details and once that is done, there will be a sign-up on our website for those interested! Stay tuned…
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Attention High School French Scholars
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We are also pleased to announce that, beginning this fall, we will be 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 click on the photo above, or here, to view the brochure pdf. Merci !
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To access our 2019-20 calendar, click on the image below and you can download a pdf. As we get closer to the beginning of school, be sure to check the Events tab on FASTB.org periodically for more specific information on certain events. Merci !
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Maine School Nears End of Year 18
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Our school in Maine, L’Ecole Française du Maine, is also nearing the end of the year – year 18, that is. Don’t forget to 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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