May 15, 2023

Bonjour,

We hope you all have been enjoying a spring-like start to May! With so many end-of-year events on the horizon, this newsletter will serve as a reminder for some items not to be missed.

In particular, we ask all parents to please sign-up ASAP for a job to assist with Carnival preparations and day-of duties! Whether it's helping us acquire prizes for games or working the raffle or lunch tables, the Parents Association cannot host the carnival without a little help from everyone. Thank you for your participation!

Another special day will be May 22nd, when we welcome Grandparents and Special Friends into the classrooms. Please be sure to inform the office of the contact information for your students' grandparents/special friends, so that we may send them a proper invitation and schedule of events.

Don't forget to order your 2022-2023 yearbook! Full of memories and smiles, this is one surely not to miss. Follow the link to ensure you receive a copy!

Please note the special trips and performances for various age groups below during the coming few months of school:

Upcoming dates to keep in mind



• May 22nd: Grandparents and Special Friends Day, 11 am to 2 pm
• May 22nd: Suzuki Music Concert 2 pm to 3 pm (piano + cello)
• May 23rd: Suzuki Music Concert, 2 pm to 3 pm (violin)
• May 24th: Carnival Meeting for Volunteers 8:30 am under the tent
• May 26th: Bike Trip
• June 1st: ELA students at Pat's Pizza at 12:00 pm "Reading Contest Celebration"
• June 2nd: Geology Field Trip
• June 7th: Graduate Speech at Community Hall at 2 pm
• June 9th: Bike Trip
• June 16th: School Performance from 2 pm to 3 pm
• June 17th: Carnival from 11 am to 2 pm
• June 20th: Last Day of School until 5:30 pm
• June 26 to Aug 25 Bilingual Summer Camp
• Aug 31st: Meet new families and teachers; all are welcome at 3 pm
• Sept 5th: First Day of School at 8:30 am
• Sept 8th: Family Picnic at school 12 pm - 1 pm
• Sept 11-15: Back to School Presentations every day from 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

2022-2023 School Calendar

2023-2024 Calendar

L'Ecole Française du Maine successfully hosted the final IB PYP Verification Visit last week, led by two esteemed IB educators, Erika Velez, and Elizabeth Doss.

Team Leader Erika Velez, originally from Barranquilla, Colombia, is the Dean of Academics and Curriculum at Gulliver Prep in Miami, Florida. She has 28 years of experience in education, working in various roles such as Teacher, Resource Coordinator, Principal, Interim Head of School, and IB (PYP, MYP, DP) Consultant for the Americas, Africa, Middle East, and Europe Region. Elizabeth Doss, from Montreal, is an IB PYP Programme Coordinator and part of the Pedagogical Leadership Team at JPPS - Bialik School System. She has been with the IB family since the conception of IB PYP around 1997 and has been a part of the ongoing program changes and development process.

The purpose of an International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) Verification Visit is to assess whether a school's implementation of the PYP meets the IB's standards and practices. The verification visit is conducted by IB-appointed educators who visit the school to observe the implementation of the PYP in action and evaluate the school's ability to meet the requirements of the programme.

During the verification visit, IB educators Erika Velez, and Elizabeth Doss, examined evidence from the school, including student work, assessment data, and documentation of the school's implementation of the PYP. They also interviewed teachers, parents, students, and other school community members to better understand how the programme has been implemented and its impact on student learning.

The verification visit is an essential step in becoming an authorized IB PYP school, as it ensures that the school meets the IB's rigorous standards and provides high-quality education to its students. Based on their observations, Erika Velez and Elizabeth Doss provided feedback and recommendations to the school on areas for improvement and ways to enhance our implementation of the IB PYP and they congratulated EFDM's community for the work done during the last two years of the school's IB PYP journey.

To our entire school community:

The IB Verification visit we just completed culminates the entire team's hard work over the past two years in implementing the PYP and solidifies our commitment to becoming an IB World School.

This accomplishment promises great things for our school's future and brings our Maine students a worldly perspective and deeper cultural understanding. I am so proud of the devotion put forth by our entire school; students, parents, faculty and staff, who made this milestone possible. Your willingness to open your minds to new ideas and your engagement in the IB approval process has been remarkable.

I wish to extend particular congratulations to Elise Le Bihan, IB PYP Coordinator, and Emily Smith, School Director, for the glowing reviews given by the verification team. The IB organization will contact the school this summer to present its final recommendations and commendations as the school continues its IB PYP journey.

Bravo et merci beaucoup!

Sincerely,

Willy LeBihan

Founder and Head of School

Kids are already talking about the carnival which is always a beloved end-of-year celebration. We need many volunteers and encourage all families to participate in one way or another to ensure a successful event! Please see the link below to sign-up for ways you can help!

This year the event will take place on Saturday, June 17th, from 11 am - 2 pm. Please sign-up for at least one portion of assisting with the carnival preparation and implementation. Of course, signing up for more than one task is also encouraged! Funds from the Parent Association Account will reimburse all shopping for supplies (besides donated raffle items). Example themes for raffle baskets: "Maine Made," "Movie Night," "Beach/Summer," "France," "Relaxation," etc.



Wednesday, May 24th

Carnival Meeting for Volunteers

8:30 am under the tent

Just a reminder: The WE LOVE TO READ CHALLENGE has begun! Students may ask you to take pictures of their favorite books or spots to read to help earn points towards our goal of 20,000! Elodie’s, Simon’s, and Sarah’s classes will participate in the We Love to Read Challenge through May. Our goal is to read 20,000 minutes collectively. Students will keep track of their time reading in school and at home on a bookmark and then pass it in to be counted towards the total. Each week, there will also be a theme as an opportunity to earn extra points or minutes toward the prize. If we reach our goal of 20,000 minutes, we will have a pizza party!

Week of May 15th- 21st Theme: Read to Another

Take a picture reading to another: another student, a sibling, a parent, a pet!

Week of May 22nd- 31st Theme: My Favorite Book Character

Draw a picture or dress up and take a picture of your favorite book character. 

Please email all pictures to the office to be printed and displayed in the hallway with our minute count. Drawings can be passed in to Sarah, Elodie, or Simon.

While studying perspective and opinion writing, the ELA students read Hey, Little Ant by Philip and Hannah Hoose. A story told from two perspectives, that of a boy trying to squish an ant while playing with his friends and the ant trying to convince the boy to save him. After reading, students wrote an opinion piece about what they think the boy should do. Finished writing pieces and pictures are on display in the ELA classroom. 

For the last few weeks, students in the 3rd, 4th and 6th grade ELA classes have been researching cultural and ancient wonders of the world. As they research their topic, they have been learning the foundational skills of citing resources. Eventually we will organize their research into an informational essay and then create a display. 

Many thanks to parent Bri Warner for coming in during harvest season to share her expertise and knowledge about seaweed with our CP/CE1 students! Children got to hold kelp samples and learned much about how this amazing plant can go from floating in the bay to being in a package of our lunch box. It was a great addition to our IB unit on living things. Merci, Bri!

For years at L'Ecole, we have always celebrated International Jazz Day in style. This year was no different, with Peter Dugas giving an informative and fun presentation on the history of Jazz to the upper-grade classrooms; particularly its singular stance as a uniquely American art form and the interesting variations of scales that make jazz what it is!

It's always fun to have music with Peter, but Jazz Day made it super special with a keyboard and a muted trumpet making their way into the classroom. Students soak up so much information every time Peter steps into the classroom and we are so grateful to our wonderful music teacher. Thank you for all you do, Peter!

Recently for a graphic art project, the students of petite section have each created a remarkable piece of work! They learned to make a sun in four steps:

- First, we drew two inner circles.

- Then, we used drawing gum to make lines from the center.

- We painted each part between the lines.

- Then, we removed the drawing gum and drew strokes on the white lines.

Not only is this a beautiful display piece, but it has also helped us work on many intricate fine motor and letter-learning objectives! Bravo les enfants de Petite Section!

This week, we reflected upon action not only during our current units of inquiry but across the entire school year. Students wrote about times where their opinion was changed, times they helped one another, projects they made on their own to satisfy their own curiosity and steps they took to change their way of life after being inspired by what they had learned in class. 

With Love from France!

We were thrilled when one of our students chose to share memories from his April vacation in France which included trips to museums in Paris, visiting castles by the Loire river and an eventful supermarket trip where the purchase of M&M's was conducted under the noses of unsuspecting parents (en français, of course). What a wonderful collection of memories! Merci!

If you have examples of your student's actions from home, please share them with us so that we may celebrate this at school and add these achievements to our Action Wall!

Kindergarten students have been busy learning and playing with a variety of new math tools and games, creating simple additions. Victorien's class is never without interesting engagement tools for learning new concepts. Ask your student what game has been their favorite this week!

Jeux de l'Oie (Goose Game) is a French board game where players aim to be the first to reach the end by navigating through a spiral track with obstacles and challenges. Some spaces require actions or answers, while others offer shortcuts or bonuses. Its origins are unclear, but believed to be popular in 16th and 17th century Europe. Jeux de l'Oie is often used in France as a teaching tool for children to develop counting, strategy, and problem-solving skills.

After returning from a well deserved vacation, we resumed our Kindness sessions. We talked about having and showing compassion to the Earth. Students wrote messages and decorated leaves that will soon be adorning our Kindness Trees in the hallway and down the stairs for the higher grades. And yes, we had a lot of rain, as we well know "April showers, bring May flowers'! As soon as the temperature rises, it will be a blooming explosion for everyone to enjoy. 

Now the month of May has begun, and with it a new Choose Love calendar with daily suggestions and inspirations. "May is Mental Health Awareness Month". Acknowledging how one feels, reacts, observes etc… is essential and crucial. 

"It is a great time to focus on your own mental health and well-being. Challenge yourself every day this month to take time to be mindful and think about how you are feeling. Be kind to yourself and others. Remember, someone could be fighting a battle you know nothing about."

We will continue our journey into the Choose Love Formula, now that we are nearing the end of the year after covering all the essential ingredients: COURAGE, GRATITUDE, FORGIVENESS and COMPASSION. 

This summer, we will welcome Léna Dahéron, 22, a certified BAFA summer camp counselor from Brittany, France to the Summer Camp staff. Léna is a graduate student preparing a Master's Degree in Adaptive Sports Management. When not studying at the university, Léna enjoys handball, track, yoga, wheelchair sports, traveling, and literature. Léna is looking forward to working at camp with Suzie.

Suzie Rannou, 24, comes from a family of teachers from Rosporden, Brittany, France. She holds a Masters's in Social Work from the University of Lorient and worked for the Parks and Recreation Program in Quimper, France. Suzie enjoys spending time with family and friends, listening to music, traveling, and playing sports like tennis. Suzie was a Teacher Assistant at L'Ecole Française du Maine in 2018-2019 and has worked as a camp counselor/program director in France for many summers.

Mark your calendar for Monday, May 22nd, 2023



Grandparents and Special Friends Day will be on May 22nd, 2023, from 11 am to 2 pm, with a coffee reception before our first Suzuki music concert from 2-3 pm. Invitations will be mailed soon; thank you for providing addresses so we can invite your child's special someone.

On Monday, May 22nd, our guests will tour the school, visit the classrooms with their special child, and then be invited for a presentation and luncheon. After the luncheon, there will be a brief coffee reception before students will perform during our spring Suzuki Concert (Cello and Piano) at the Community Hall of South Freeport to conclude the day in music. We expect a large turnout and are looking forward to a great day! 

Please note, if your students' grandparents cannot attend, feel free to invite another special friend in their life: for example, an aunt, uncle, or neighbor!

Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) is a book that was first published in 1943, and was written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a French writer and aviator, and it has since become one of the most beloved and widely read books in the world.

“On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur.

L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.”

One sees clearly only with the heart.

What is essential is invisible to the eye."

- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince.