Cruising Through Week 1 !
One week into the school year – classrooms & playgrounds are full of activity and happy faces as everyone is getting to know one another here at FASTB World Headquarters.
This week, News de Nous brings you the week in review – images of our students in action and up to the minute news of the still-happening Back To School Week – plus a preview of what’s to come with our Suzuki Music program, Adult Education, an opportunity to host a French student, and more…
|
|
The first week of school means lots of adjustments – for everyone! There is a lot to get used to with a new schedule, new surroundings and many, many new faces. Plus, we have some students that don’t speak English, many that don’t speak French and a good number that are somewhere in between.
|
|
But they all bring something they CAN do – like cooperating with each other (above) or working hard in the classroom (below)…
|
|
…being a sand and water artist (above), or being a good friend (below). By the end of the year, FASTB students will accomplish great things and make great friendships – one week in, when there may still a little bit of uncertainty, it’s reassuring to know that everyone is in the same boat.
|
|
Our English Language Arts Teacher, Camille Martin (above), has begun the English curriculum this week, working with students in grades 2 and up. We will have more on that in future News de Nous editions. Camille’s work does not end there. She is also a certified teacher of English Language Learning (ELL), also known as English as a second language, and is working with non-English speaking students to give an additional boost to handle the English curriculum.
Similarly, Emmy Decker (below), is a certified Français Langue Étrangère (FLE) teacher working with our non-French speaking students, who need to get up to speed for all of the other coursework taught in French. We are very pleased to have Camille & Emmy offering this valuable support!
|
|
Raise Your Hand If You Love Back To School Week
|
|
Three days into Back To School Week and parents suddenly broke into song and dance – OK, it was at the prompting of Music & Me’s Colleen McGrath Lilley, but there was still rampant enthusiasm in that room! Colleen’s upbeat and informative presentation followed two days of classroom sessions – Pre-K with Chérifa Fekiri and Pauline Delobelle on Monday and K-1 with Kamel Fekiri (below) on Tuesday. Clearly, the front row seats are overpriced.
|
|
Also Monday, Suzuki Music Instructor Jennifer Diedrich (pictured above) spoke about getting violin and piano lessons going soon – more on that story in a moment. First we have the remaining Back to School Week schedule for this week:
Thursday
• Grades 2-3-4 with Claire Bergera & Camille Martin, English Language Arts & ELL
Friday
• Grades 5-9 with Elizabeth LeBihan, Emmy Decker & Camille Martin
• Parent Student Handbook Q&A with Dan Hannigan, School Director
|
|
Suzuki Music is back and will begin the first week in September! This year Jennifer is offering 30-minute private lessons, once a week, during school hours and there will also be a group lesson once a week. In the spirit of the Suzuki method, we ask that a parent be present during the private lessons – most will be scheduled within the last hour of each school day.
We will send all of the information to parents Thursday (tomorrow) – details on lessons, costs, violin rental options, scheduling and more.
|
|
Not Just For Kids – Adult French Classes Coming Soon
|
|
We have had an enormous interest from adults who wish to learn French and News de Nous has learned that there will be an Open House for our Adult Education program on Tuesday evening, September 10, at 7pm at FASTB!If you, or someone you know, wish to learn French as a beginner, to take your French to the next level, or to reconnect with the language you once knew so well, please email your RSVP to Dan Hannigan so we can get an approximate headcount. More details to come – see you on the 10th at 7 !
|
|
Enroll For 2019-20 Today – Not Too Late
|
|
Even though we just started the school year, we continue to receive inquiries and it’s not too late to enroll for Pre-K through 8th grade! Please contact us so we can help you through the process as soon as possible. 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 :
|
|
- 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!
|
|
Apply for Florida Scholarships, Grades K & Up
|
|
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
It is very important that you apply ASAP 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. Here are the links:
|
|
Immerse Your Home – Host a French Student
|
|
Our friend, Peggy Labat, will be here in the Tampa Bay area next week to conduct information sessions about her exchange program between high school students in the Tampa Bay area and their counterparts in sister city, Le Havre, in the Normandy region of France. If this is something you have thought about, you should try to attend one of her sessions. Don’t have a high school aged child? Ask Peggy about just hosting now.
Just click on the image below to download the PDF. Merci !
|
|
Attention High School French Scholars
|
|
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 !
|
|
Nouvelle Bibliothèque – Donations Accepted
|
|
Visitors to FASTB this year will not only notice the large increase in students, they will also notice the large increase in books in 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!
|
|
To access our 2019-20 calendar, click on the image below and you can download a pdf. We have made a few adjustments since the last News de Nous, so you will want to download this version to be up-to-date! 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 !
|
|
Our school in Maine, L’Ecole Française du Maine, is still enjoying summer break and looking forward to 2019-20. To keep current on our northern outpost, you can visit EFDM’s Blog and Instagram!
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
2100 62nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Telephone: (727) 800-2159
|
|
|
|
|
