News de Nous - 9/13/20 - French American School of Tampa Bay

September 13, 2020

Keeping Things Straight

“FASTB Students Rule” was a finalist for lead headline but felt a bit like pandering in this election year (although it happens to be true, they do rule!). Either way, working with rulers was just one of many ways our students were engaged this week – we peek into each class below.

Also featured in this week’s News de Nous, Back to School Week was a success last week and Music & Me returns this week; plus the latest in enrollment news and an update on Adult Education. These stories and more are a mere scroll away…

Back to School Week: A Nice View of the Upcoming Year

Thank you, parents for attending our lakeside Back to School Week sessions this past week – and to our teachers for preparing and delivering their presentations! These sessions were designed to give parents an idea of what to expect in each classroom for this 2020-21 school year. Additionally, each week, our teachers will be conducting class Zoom sessions that are open for parents to pop in and ask questions – these will be starting this week and parents will receive the days, times and log-in information in a separate email.

Music & Me & FAST-B

We are thrilled to welcome back Mr. Alex and Music & Me to FASTB for 2020-21! Starting this week, Mr. Alex will work with each class outside in our picnic area, bringing his unique energy to this terrific music appreciation program. Everything from basic rhythms with the younger students to songwriting with our middle schoolers. As with every member of our staff, Mr. Alex will have a temperature and wellness check upon arrival each week and, during this COVID time, will not conduct any lessons inside.

En Classe – Keys to Success

Olivier’s elementary class discussed the elements of being successful this week, including Confiance (confidence), Soin (care), Respect, Persévérance, and Sécurité (safety). Students can earn the five keys (below left) by practicing these elements each day and each week – those that display all five earn the key on the right – Réussite (success)!

Those wandering into Emmy’s middle school class might have noticed, at first glance, some animal pictures on the wall. A closer look would reveal that the pictures were actually a form of poetry, called a calligram, in which the poem forms an image. Each student chose an animal, wrote a calligram and presented it to the class – very nice work by all!

Magali’s first graders were giving the royal treatment to French monarchs from centuries past in a painting exercise…

… while also following her lead, learning to carefully draw using a ruler (below).

Finally, you may wonder how difficult it is for a young FASTB student to stop dancing and waving colorful handkerchiefs when the music stops – as you can see below, the answer is, very. But they don’t seem to be all that worried about it, do they?!

Enrollment 2020-21 – Slots Still Available

We are off to a great start in 2020-21, a small school that is adaptable in this ever-changing COVID-19 world. If you think FASTB might be a good fit for your child and you would like to learn more about our unique school, please contact our Director of Admissions, Audrey Talarico – we have slots available for this 2020-21 school year. As always, feel free to visit our Admissions page and website to explore what we have to offer – a French immersion and multicultural educational environment that is the only one of its kind in this region.

FASTB also accepts Florida scholarships through Step Up for Students for grades K & up, and French Bourses for students with a French passport. We look forward to hearing from you!

Wellness Team Effort

Thank you to our parents and staff for being vigilant about spotting symptoms, per the agreement above. It is great to have everyone looking out for one another during this COVID time. For those not familiar, the above agreement is signed by families and staff, pledging to monitor for the prominent COVID-19 symptoms and stay home if these symptoms appear. Additionally, we do temperature checks twice per day and practice distancing, hand washing and wearing face coverings to keep each other safe. You can click on the image to review the agreement – merci !

Calling All Adults – Open House September 23

Adult French classes return to FASTB this year – because of COVID precautions, our first semester will be online only but will still be taught by our fearless Adult Ed leader, Emmy Decker. We have updated our web page to include this year’s semester dates, class description, costs and an online enrollment form.

For those interested in finding out more about these classes, we will have an Open House on Wednesday, September 23 at 7pm on Zoom. Specific log-in details will be sent in the coming days to all who participated last year and those who have expressed interest so far this year. If you would like to be included, please reply to this newsletter email with your name, contact information and availability, as well as your level of French (beginner, intermediate or advanced). Merci !

Flashback – 2019-20 Class Photos Available

The original plan of making class photos available for purchase before the end of the 2019-20 school year was interrupted, but not completely derailed. Moorman Photographics has an online FASTB gallery from which parents, families and friends can choose.

We will soon be announcing a date for school photos this fall so stay tuned – have a great week!!