October 25th, 2026

Bonjour,

We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful October break. Here at school, our Vacation Camp friends took in the beautiful fall foliage over our playground and surrounding woods, soaking up the sunshine, and making the most of another beautiful autumn in Maine.

As we finish up our first week back at school, ghostly whispers of trick-or-treating plans and costume preparations are floating in the air. Our beloved annual Halloween Parade will take place on All-Hallows-Eve-Eve, that is, on Friday, October 30th, at 2:00 PM ! Find all the spooky details below, if you dare, and please feel free to share them with family and friends who would like to join us for our walk around the block and a few treats from our wonderful neighbors.

Also in this newsletter, be sure to find the links to sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences. The first trimester is quickly coming to a close, and progress reports will soon be heading home for families to review ahead of conferences. Friday, November 6th, will be an early-release day for all students (11:30 dismissal), with conferences scheduled throughout the day. We look forward to connecting with families and sharing in each child's growth and progress!

Looking ahead, please join us for a Special Café Conversation on Wednesday, November 18th, at 8:45 AM, at La Maison Française, featuring Cristina Post, who will share insights into how technology influences children's learning and cognitive development. From reading and handwriting to healthy screen habits, we look forward to an engaging discussion with our school community. More details below!

Finally, a big thank-you to all the families who have joined us for our recent Showcases! It's been such a joy to welcome you into our classrooms (and in our forest !) to share in a little hands-on learning alongside your students. The pride on the faces of students as they show off their learning spaces, latest creations, and hard work says it all. Thank you for making the time to join us in these special moments!

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 29: Make-Up Day for Students Absent on Picture Day
• Oct. 30: Halloween Parade at 2:00 pm
• Nov. 6: Early Release & Parent Teacher Conferences. Dismissal at 11:30 am
• Nov. 18: Grade 1 Showcase FRENCH at 2:45 pm
• Nov. 18: How to Balance Tech’s Impact on Kids at 8:45am - Special Café
• Nov. 19: Grade 2-3 Showcase FRENCH at 8:45am
• Nov. 20: Professional Day - No School
• Nov. 23: Suzuki Concert 2:00 pm
• Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving Break
• Dec. 4: School Winter Performance 2:00 pm
• Dec. 18: Early Release. Dismissal at 11:30 - Ice Skating at Troubh 12-2pm
• Dec. 21- Jan 3: Winter Break

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

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

The previously scheduled Professional Day on Nov. 13th unfortunately had to be changed due to the availability of our visiting teaching consultant, Majorie Decriem. There will be now a full day of school on Friday Nov. 13th, with a Professional Day (No School) on Friday Nov. 20th instead. Changes have been made to our Events and School Calendars. Thank you for your understanding!

Marjorie Decriem, an education advisor based in Toronto, has led our team in trainings on éducation par la nature and la classe dehors. Marjorie provides professional development and pedagogical support to schools like ours, which are members of MLF America.

We look forward to another Professional Day learning alongside Marjorie, and sharing all we've done recently within our "forest classroom". Thank you once again for your understanding in regards to the rescheduled date!

This fantastic community celebration is a great chance to meet other families and share in some fun. We are hoping for a boo-tiful autumn day!

This year, our Halloween Parade will take place from 2 pm to 3 pm on Friday, October 30th. Parents, siblings, grandparents, and relatives are all welcome to come along!

Students, ghosts and ghouls should come to school dressed in their normal clothes on Friday, with a costume in their bag. Teachers will be able to help students get into their costumes before the parade.

The outdoor parade will be split into two gruesome groups: Jenny, Douglas, and Anaelle's classes will start at 2 PM, followed by Raphaël and Beth's at 2:10 PM.

The entire school will parade from the playground, down Park St. to the Bernard residence, and onward down the hill toward  Brewer's Marina hosted by Stephanie and John Brewer, former parents of l'Ecole. We will also stop at the Ellis residence on the return trip, with a final treat waiting at the Village Market. Parents of younger creatures may plan to park down at the Freeport Wharf and walk up to meet our group on the school playground so they can drive back to school instead of walking back up the big hill. 

A small treat will be waiting 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" once more this year!

Parent Teacher Conferences will occur at school on Friday, Nov. 6th, with an Early Release for all at 11:30 am. 

Sign-up slots are now available! Please make sure to sign up as soon as possible to find a time best suited to your schedule using the links below. Please contact office@frenchschool.me, for an alternate time/date if needed.

Petite Section - Beth

Moyenne Section- Raphael

Grande Section/CP- Anaelle

CE1/CE2- Douglas

CM1/CM2/6ieme- Jenny

English 2nd-3rd-4th grade- Riley

English 5th&6th grade- Jeanette

Conferences are a wonderful opportunity not only to discuss with teachersyour child’s progress and needs, but also to immerse yourself in your child’s classroom: experiencing their environment from their point of view, and see, in person, the work they are most proud of. 

As conferences are tightly scheduled in order to allow everyone to have the necessary time with teachers, we ask everyone to please stick to the schedule. 

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

For their unit "We Depend on One Another" under the theme of "How We Organize Ourselves, students in CE1-CE2 ventured to Bradbury Mountain State Park before the break, to learn about what it means to be a responsible outdoor enthusiast. They met, with and explored alongside an official Leave No Trace educator who taught them the 7 Leave No Trace principles along with the hand signals which coincide with each one:



Principle 1: Plan Ahead & Prepare– Know before you go.

Principle 2: Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces

Principle 3: Dispose of Waste Properly– Pack it in, pack it out.

Principle 4: Leave What You Find– Take photos, not souvenirs.

Principle 5: Minimize Campfire Impacts

Principle 6: Respect Wildlife– Watch from a distance and never feed wild animals.

Principle 7: Be Considerate of Others

Students were immersed in the core principles of the movement, and returned to the classroom after a morning outdoors ready to apply their new learning. The CE1/CE2, inspired by the principles of LNT, wrote their own principles for conduct in the forest that students are using during recess in order to keep our community safe, respectful and responsible towards each other and nature. 

We also welcomed a class parent who also happens to be a Maine Sea Kayak Guide, Chloe Manchester, who presented to the class how to apply the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when you are out on the water.

The CE1/CE2 took pictures to hang in the school hallway in order to present their principles to the school community as well as their own matching hand signals. Next you are in the school hallway, take a look at some of their creative displays to learn more about EFDM forest etiquette.

The first IB unit of the year in falls into the transdisciplinary theme of Who We Are: Playing teaches us new skills and how to live together. Whether it's learning to count through a math game, or learning to order food in French from the market stand in the classroom, games are at the heart of learning and building new skills in La Moyenne Section.

La Moyenne Section ventured onto the playground to set up rules for playing outdoors where they mimed good and bad behaviour for a display in their classroom. This unit collects the best of La Maternelle's principles as students explore learning how to play within a game, the behaviours, roles and rules that allow us to play well together in general, how to be good friends, but also the rules we all follow as we play and learn together in life.

La Grande Section started off the year with their Who We Are unit: In order to grow and progress, we must be willing to take risks. This unit explores: What is a risk/error, Why it is difficult to take risks, Is it bad to make mistakes? Key questions in any learning journey.

Students discussed how risks and the fear of mistakes can hold us back from pushing ourselves in our schoolwork but stop us from exploring the limits of what we can do outside as well.

On the playground, students photographed each their own examples of themselves taking a calculated risk as a way to launch the discussion before they embarked together into the woods. Students explored together a trail in South Freeport using a map and the markings on trees, taking a risk of "getting lost". Although at times the exploration party was uncertain about these marks on trees getting them safely out of the woods, they were glad they took the risk and had a blast on their forest adventure.

The GS hopes all readers remember to take time in their day to take risk in order to live new adventures.

Special Café Conversation

Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at 8:45 a.m.

at La Maison Française du Maine

Technology is increasingly present in children's daily lives, raising important questions for parents and educators. How can we embrace its benefits while preserving the essential foundations of learning, particularly during the critical years when children are learning to read, write, and think independently?

Join us for a special Café Conversation with Cristina Post, who will share current research and practical insights into how technology influences children's learning and cognitive development.



Our discussion will explore several important questions:

• Printed books, e-readers, or audiobooks? How do these different ways of experiencing books affect reading comprehension, attention, memory, and language development?
• Handwriting, cursive writing, or typing? What does research tell us about the cognitive benefits of writing by hand compared with using a keyboard?
• Finding a healthy balance: How can parents encourage thoughtful technology habits while strengthening children's concentration, logical reasoning, creativity, and social skills?

Cristina Post is a longtime school parent and learning support consultant who works with several of our families. She holds a Master's degree in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard University and is a certified educational therapist at Affect Academics.

This event is open to all parents and members of the school community. To help us plan for the event, please kindly RSVP by emailing office@frenchschool.me.

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