October 1st, 2026

Bonjour,

It feels like we've just begun but here we are in October, with oh so much happening! From Apple Picking field trips for les petits to Bike Trips and new Art classes for les grands, we've got a lot of fun things to share as well as some important reminders for the month ahead.

This newsletter includes an introduction to this year's "Artist in Residence", Zoe Bray! Zoe has started working with grades 1 and up, and will coincide her art projects and lessons with the IB units for each classroom. We've rescheduled a few showcases so that parents will have the chance to peek into the afternoon art classes and see what students are up to before also visiting their student's classroom. Thank you for helping us welcome Zoe to the EFDM community!

Music is also back in full swing at EFDM! From Music Together with Linz for our youngest students to Peter’s General Music classes for our elementary students, music is once again filling our school, both indoors and outdoors.

Pick out your outfits, Picture Day it set this year for Thursday, October 8th! Sharyn Peavey will spend the morning taking individual, sibling, and class photos of the school population. It's always amazing to compare pictures from just last year, and see how quickly these students grow! We hope you enjoy choosing a special keepsake from Sharyn's website to remember this fleeting season.

As a reminder, Oct. 9th will be an Early Release day and will begin the October Vacation. A link to enroll in childcare camp for Tues-Fri Oct. 13-16 was shared with families who inquired-- please let us know if you need a resend!

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

Merci beaucoup!

Emily and Willy

Upcoming dates to keep in mind



• Oct 1: CP/Grade 1 Showcase French #1 8:45am
• Oct 1: K/GS Showcase #1 2:45 pm
• Oct 2: Bike Trip for grades 1-6
• Oct 6: Grade 2-3 Showcase #1 French 8:45 am
• Oct 7: Grade 4-5-6 Showcase French #1 8:45 am
• Oct 8: Grade 1 ELA Showcase #1 English 8:45 am
• Oct 8: School Picture Day
• Oct 9: Early Release Day: Dismissal at 11:30 am for all students
• Oct 12: Indigenous People’s Day, No school
• Oct 13-16: School Vacation, No School (Vacation Childcare Camp available for interested families)

Attached, please find the 2026-2027 calendars, which are

also available at all times on the homepage of the school website: https://efdm.org/

We are delighted to welcome Zoe Bray to L’École Française du Maine as our Visual Arts Instructor and Artist in Residence for 2026–2027.

Zoe is a Franco-British Basque artist who recently moved with her family from Reno, Nevada to Brunswick, Maine. A former university professor in anthropology and art, she now works as an independent artist. Her background includes study and artistic work throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

Zoe’s practice combines traditional painting and drawing with eco-art, creating art from and with nature and repurposed materials. This approach fits beautifully with one of our school’s pedagogical priorities: giving children more opportunities to learn outdoors and develop a meaningful connection with the natural world.

Our students have already begun creating projects in the forest behind the school, observing their surroundings and discovering how leaves, branches, bark, stones, and other natural materials can become part of the creative process.

Zoe will be at school each day, supporting classrooms in the mornings and teaching visual arts in the afternoons. A special thank-you as well to Apolline, our Teacher Assistant, who will assist with the art classes.

We are very excited about this new collaboration and all the creativity it will bring to our students!

Learn more about Zoe and her work at ZoeBrayArtist.com.

Thank you to all our wonderful family chaperones who accompanied the Petite and Moyenne Section classes on their Apple Picking adventures last week! Hansel's Orchard is the perfect fall backdrop to learn about seasonal eating in Maine, enjoy picking (and munching) fruit right off the tree, and to learn from the experts about the growth of these trees and the bees that keep them thriving! Big thanks to Margie at the farm for welcoming us again this year and allowing us to continue this wonderful tradition for les petits.


Back at school, classes tried their hand at peeling, cutting, and preparing compotes to taste! They will also get creative and use some apples for painting projects as well.

From les petits to les grands, music classes are back in full swing at EFDM!

We are delighted to continue another year of Music Together with Linz, bringing music, movement, and plenty of joyful songs to our youngest students. Families should have received their Music Together booklets this week, along with the music for the songs children will be learning throughout the year. We hope families will enjoy singing along at home, too!

For our elementary students, Peter’s General Music classes are also off to a wonderful start. Taking advantage of Maine’s beautiful fall weather and our école dehors philosophy, Peter has been bringing music into the woods behind the school, learning rhythm through clapping games, exploring music theory surrounded by nature, or simply playing the guitar together under the outdoor tent.

It is wonderful to see music become another opportunity for children to learn, move, listen, and create while spending more time outdoors.

And there is much more to come! Students are already beginning to explore the songs and stories that will eventually take us “Around the World in 80 Days” for our spring performance on March 11th, 2027 at 11am.

A big thank-you to Linz and Peter for filling our school, inside and out, with music!

Showcases are some of our favorite moments at EFDM. Please note some changes below to the schedule of Showcases!

Throughout the year, parents are warmly invited into the classroom to see and celebrate what their children have been learning. Students are always excited and proud to share their projects, discoveries, songs, stories, and classroom work with their families. These special gatherings offer a wonderful window into your child’s daily life at school and are a joyful way to celebrate learning together as a school community. We hope you can make it!

• Thursday, October 1 at 8:45 am Grade 1 FRENCH
• Thursday, October 1 at 2:45 pm Kindergarten / GS
• Wednesday, October 7 at 8:45 am Grades 4–6 FRENCH
• Thursday, October 8 at 8:45 am Grade 1 English Language Arts
• Monday, October 19 at 8:45 am Grades 5–6 English Language Arts
• Tuesday, October 20 at 8:45 am Grade 4 English Language Arts
• Tuesday, October 20 at 2:40 pm Grade 3 FRENCH
• Wednesday, October 21 at 8:45 am Grade 3 English Language Arts
• Thursday, October 22 at 8:45 am Grade 2 English Language Arts
• Thursday, October 22 at 2:40 pm Grade 2 FRENCH

Mark your calendar for this year's School Picture Day, coming up on Thursday October 8th! If your student does not usually come to school on Thursdays, but you'd like their picture taken, feel free to arrange a time to visit just for pictures by reaching out to Emily. A make-up Picture Day is also scheduled for Thursday October 29th, for anyone who may be absent on the 8th.

Individual portraits, as well as full class and sibling photos, will be taken for all students. Downloads, beautiful prints as well as personalized items will be available for purchase directly from the photographer, Sharon Peavey-- please check her website for more info!

Students who are new to EFDM will need parent approval for their Artsonia account. New families should watch for an email directly from Artsonia with instructions on how to set your preferred privacy settings for your student.

Teachers will begin uploading artwork for the year onto each student's profile. Artsonia is a win-win for all! For every keepsake purchased through the Artsonia website with a student's artwork, the school gets further funds to supply future art projects!

A Beautiful Day of Biking at Wolfe’s Neck!

What a beautiful day we had last week at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport! Our students, staff, and parent volunteers took full advantage of the gorgeous fall weather for another great day of biking and outdoor adventure.

Starting in first grade, biking is an important part of our outdoor education program. Students explored the dirt roads and trails around Wolfe’s Neck and the state park, practicing their biking skills while enjoying the beautiful Maine landscape, from the shoreline to the salt marshes.

It was also a big day for several of our younger riders, who successfully said goodbye to their training wheels! A wonderful achievement and a very proud moment.

After lunch, there was still plenty of energy left for soccer, playground time, and games together. Days like this give our students the opportunity to develop confidence, independence, and important lifelong skills while simply enjoying being outdoors with their friends.

A big thank you to all our parent volunteers and staff who helped make the bike trip possible. We are already looking forward to our next biking adventure!

It's not too late to join our group subscription! As a member of our EFDM school community, you are eligible for a special advantageous rate of the French Max Book Club by École des Loisirs. The MAX subscription offers eight French books a year each with audiobook accompaniment and fun activities. This bookclub, which runs from November to June, allows students to build French books into their home library, specially curated to match both reading level and age group. Max books will be distributed to every participating child, at school, every month.

Please review the paper brochure provided by your classroom teacher to discover more about this amazing offer. (You can also find a complete English presentation online at : https://www.ecoledesmax.com/en-version.php)

If you are interested in enrolling, please fill out the GROUP form (discounted rate) at the end of the brochure. Once you have completed the group form, please hand it to your child’s teacher along with your payment by check to l'école des loisirs- or proof of payment online made on this site.

If you have a question regarding the level/age group most appropriate for your student, classroom teachers will have the answer!

Dear Friends,

The French School of Maine is delighted to invite you to Le Tour du monde en 80 jours (Around the World in 80 Days), our 2027 bilingual school production, to be presented at the Franco Center in Lewiston on Thursday, March 11, 2027, at 11:00 a.m.

Inspired by Jules Verne's beloved classic, this vibrant performance will take audiences on an unforgettable journey around the world through music, dance, storytelling, and theater. Students from preschool through middle school will bring the adventures of Phileas Fogg and Passepartout to life in both French and English, celebrating curiosity, perseverance, friendship, and the joy of discovering new cultures. Ninety students, ages 3 to 12, will take the stage to sing, dance, and perform in French and English, sharing this unforgettable bilingual adventure with our community.

This year's production is especially significant as it marks the 25th anniversary of the French School of Maine. For twenty-five years, our annual bilingual performances have become a cherished tradition, celebrating the French language while bringing together students, families, educators, and the wider community through the performing arts.

The performance is presented as part of Le Mois de la Francophonie, the worldwide celebration of the French language and Francophone cultures held each March. In New England, this annual celebration highlights the region's rich Franco-American heritage and the many communities connected by the French language. Our free public performance also coincides with the Franco Center's annual La Rencontre, making it a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the vitality of Francophone culture in Maine.

More than 150 years after its publication, Around the World in 80 Days continues to inspire readers with its spirit of adventure, imagination, and openness to the world, values that are at the heart of our bilingual and international educational mission.

We would be deeply grateful if you would help us share this event.

Admission is free, and everyone is welcome. We hope you will join us for this special celebration of 25 years of bilingual international education in Maine, Francophone culture, and the extraordinary journey that language and learning make possible.

 When: Thursday, March 11, 2027

 Times:

• 11:15 AM: Presentation of the Performance
• 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM: School Performance of "Around the World in 80 Days"
• 12:15 PM: La Rencontre Luncheon (Tickets available at the Center)

 Where: Franco Center, 46 Cedar Street, Lewiston, Maine