October 19th, 2023

Bonjour,

As we zip right through autumn, we hope you can take the time to pause and enjoy this newsletter! From some highlights of recent adventures and memorable lessons, to important details regarding the Halloween Parade, upcoming School Council Election, and Parent Teacher Conference Sign-Ups, this is an issue worth more than a glance.

With the forecast for weather looking rather wet, we unfortunately will not be hosting the next Bike Trip at Wolfe's Neck Farm tomorrow. Families of students who would be attending should have already received notification, and should plan to drop-off and pick-up at school as usual. We certainly lucked out on some beautiful weather for the first few trips this year! Thank you for your understanding.

Showcases have been such a treat to share lately! For the English classrooms, please note the dates and updates for remaining Showcases of this semester below. A great chance to step into the classroom for a few minutes, see snippets of your child's daily routine, and have a special peek at some great songs, poems, and other performances they have been practicing to share. Bravo, tout le monde!

As always, please contact the office with any questions at office@frenchschool.me

Merci beaucoup!

Emily and Willy

Upcoming dates to keep in mind

• October 24: Grade 2 Showcase #1 with Sarah at 8:45 am 
• October 26: Grade 3-4 Showcase #1 with Sarah at 8:45 am 
• October 31: Halloween Parade at 2 p.m. at School
• November 7: School Council Elections via online ballot
• November 10: Parent Teacher Conferences - Early Dismissal 11:30 am
• November 10: School Photos at 9:00 am
• November 20: Suzuki Concert Piano and Cello at 2:00 pm
• November 21: Suzuki Concert Violin at 2:00 pm
• November 22-24: Thanksgiving Holiday, No School

2023-2024 School Calendar

1st Trimester Events Calendar

This October has certainly been packed full of great adventures. From bike trips to pumpkin picking, we are so grateful to our friends at Wolfe's Neck Center for welcoming all ages of our students this month for various trips. While the big kids got to enjoy the grounds via two wheels earlier this month, the Petite, Moyenne, and Grande section classes went to the farm for "pumpkin science". After learning all about animals and how pumpkins grow, they even got to ride on a tractor! Now we're off to decorate the pumpkins for Halloween!

October Vacation Camp was another great hit! Overheard at the lunch table during camp, "this is even better than school!" We are so grateful to have been able to host this small group during the break for "stay-cationing" families. Scavenger hunts, obstacle courses, plenty of forest time, and of course coloring pages were shared among all ages! With enough interest and staffing, we hope to host future vacation camps during non-holiday weeks for parents with childcare needs.

Parent Teacher Conferences will occur at school on

 Friday, November 10th, with an Early Release at 11:30 am. 

We wanted to provide plenty of advance notice to schedule parent teacher conferences at a time that can be convenient for all. Using the links below, please sign-up for a time of your choosing! Please contact office@frenchschool.me, for an alternate time/date if needed.

Petite Section - Beth

Moyenne Section- Raphael

Grande Section- Alison

CP/CE1- Fabien

CE2/CM1- Anaelle

English- Sarah

We are looking forward to this chance to meet to discuss your student's progress and needs. We look forward to welcoming you into your child's classroom and sharing your child's work.

As staff will be busy meeting with you, we won't be able to offer childcare during the conferences. Please arrange for alternate childcare options. However, for potential future conferences, the IB Programme encourages students to attend meetings and participate actively in their learning, so changes may be on the horizon for future meetings. Conference times will also be tightly scheduled, so please stick to the schedule. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Progress Reports for the first trimester will be sent home before the conferences for families to review. Merci!

The Café et Conversation is a regular event at La Maison.

A revolving presence of school staff attends cafés. You are always welcome to participate in any gathering, even if your child is not in the classroom featured on a particular day. Attending other classrooms' cafés is a great way to meet school families and staff and learn how your child's experience will develop throughout the years.

Coming up Next Week:

Wednesday, November 15, 2023, from 8:30 to 9:00

Location: "La Maison" adjacent to the school

Come on over after drop-off; we look forward to seeing you!

Come one and come all for this year's Halloween Parade! Students and families will march alongside teachers and classmates through South Freeport village, fully in costume, collecting some treats along the way! This much beloved traditional event is a great chance to celebrate our community and share in some fun.

This year, the event will take place from 2 pm to 3 pm on Tuesday, October 31st.

Students should come to school dressed as usual on Tuesday, October 31st, with a costume in their bag. There will be a chance to get into their costumes before the parade. Older students in Fabien's and Anaelle's classes will depart the playground precisely at 2 p.m. Students from Alison, Raphael, and Beth's classes will follow with a 2:10 p.m. departure. All parents can feel free to meet their students' class outside on the playground at the designated times.

We will all parade from the playground, down Park St. to the Bernard residence, and onward down the hill toward Brewer's Marina. The final stop will be at the Ellis residence on the return trip back to school. Parents of younger children may plan to park down at the Freeport Wharf and walk up to meet our group on the school playground so those little ones can drive back to school instead of walking back up the big hill.

A small celebratory treat will be waiting for all at each stop, after which we will return as a group for dismissal from the playground as usual. Please only take your child home after confirming dismissal with their teacher, even if you plan to drive back to school from the marina. We extend a special thanks to our hosts- the Brewer, Bernard, and Ellis families- for inviting us to "trick-or-treat" this year!

The School Council is a group of staff, administration, and parents who meet a few times a year to discuss student life and connect. To host this year's election for parent representatives to the council, we will need at least one nominee from each classroom. Please consider taking on this small commitment to assist in growing connections between the school and families. Meetings for the foreseeable future will occur over zoom or in the parlor of La Maison, schedules and availability pending.

 If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else to be a candidate, please email office@frenchschool.me by Friday, Oct. 28th, with the name of your choice! Nominees will be asked to write a brief bio introducing themselves to the community. Voting will take place Tues. November 7th via an online anonymous ballot survey sent to all parents.

Merci beaucoup!

Students in Moyenne Section started the year with a recurring seasonal unit under the transdisciplinary theme “Where we are in place and time.” Their central idea was; We use our senses to understand and adapt to the world around us which brought them at the end of September to an apple orchard which has had a profound influence on their classroom. 

After visiting the orchard with the classroom students in Moyenne Section furthered their research into apples and made their very own apple sauce.  

Moyenne Section took a break from their first unit to conduct research on their second unit: “Who we are”  Playing teaches us new skills and how to live together. Their lines of inquiry has taken them to investigate…

• What is a game;
• The connection between play, exploration and learning around the world; 
• The behaviors, roles, and rules that allow us to play well with friends

During this second unit, La Moyenne Section were given the choice to decide what they should sell in their classroom produce stand. While last year this model business was formerly an ice cream vendor, this year’s cohort chose to make their shopping stand an apple stand with: “fresh baked” apple pie, apple sauce, apple juice and of course apples. 

Although the authentic school-made apple sauce is no longer available for degustation, please do not hesitate to stop by their stand in the Moyenne Section classroom to be served apples, apple pie and apple sauce. (However, as the Moyenne Section just went to collect pumpkins, you may want to hurry before the stand becomes a pumpkin stand in time of Halloween!)

Merci Parents! 

It has been wonderful to see through the Cahier de Vie how the unit continued at home and student action and agency were celebrated. 

Please stay tuned to hear more about the discoveries of Moyenne Section as they continue on their unit on: “Where we are in place and time”: We use our senses to understand and adapt to the world around us.

Petite Section has been busy preparing for Halloween. They have been using their painting, gluing and cutting skills and there are bats and witches galore to decorate the classroom! Students will also be using the pumpkins they picked on their field trip to Wolfe's Neck Farm to make another fun project soon. Stay tuned for the adorable results!

Anaelle and Fabien took their classes on a "sortie insecte". Taking a closer look at Sayle's Field, students paid attention to some of the smaller creatures to be found out in the "wild" near us. Insects were carefully found, put into a bug box for observation, and soon released back into their habitat.

Students in CE2/CM1 performed another "escape room" game (or should we say "escape forest"?) by working together as teams and a class to answer clues in order to open some treasure! Be sure to ask your students what they found and enjoyed!!

We couldn't let the big kids be the only ones to enjoy the foliage and fall fun in Sayle's field! The Moyenne and Grande Section classes took to the field for their traditional autumn walk this week; inspired by the beauty all around them, they collected small pieces of nature and created some land art designs. Creativity abounds during the change of seasons!

Don't order your holiday cards just yet! We are thrilled to share that Danielle Peterson will return this year to capture memorable portraits of our growing students. Danielle will spend the morning of the upcoming early release day Friday Nov. 10th on school grounds with her camera. Individual and sibling portraits will be taken for all. In addition, Danielle will share photos with families soon for purchasing photo packages. Be sure to dress your best!

Come one, come all! Use this link to purchase discounted tickets to the Maine Mariners hockey game next Friday October 27th, where Shaina's Strings violinists will play the national anthem from the ice! These events are always a wonderful way to celebrate our suzuki students' dedication to music and performing. We hope you can make it!

Thursday, October 26, from 6 - 9 pm EDT

Freeport Meetinghouse Arts

40 Main Street Freeport, ME 04032

Truth Tellers Month at Meetinghouse Arts: Honoring Truth Tellers in Indigenous Rights; Following a Film Screening of DAWNLAND, panelists will discuss the devastating impact of Maine’s child welfare practices on the Wabanaki people.



Dawnland is the untold story of Indigenous child removal in the US through the nation's first-ever government-endorsed truth and reconciliation commission, which investigated the devastating impact of Maine's child welfare practices on the Wabanaki people. Esther Anne, Passamaquoddy from Sipayik, had a primary role in creating and establishing the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Wabanaki REACH. Following the Dawnland film screening next Thursday, October 26, Esther will be joined by Heather Augustine, Penthea Burns, and Carol Wishcamper in discussing the devastating impact of Maine's child welfare practices on the Wabanaki people.