Monday, October 12th, 2020
Dear Families of L'Ecole Française du Maine,
The health of our school community relies on each family to do their part in maintaining a safe school environment. In line with our community pledge and daily self-checklist, we once more remind you to monitor your child's daily wellness and to keep them home when displaying any symptoms of sickness. Although per the state-sanctioned checklist, runny noses must be coupled with another mild symptom to necessitate no-school, a reminder that many seasonal colds begin with just a runny nose. Especially for our younger classrooms, mask wearing while having a runny nose can be a very messy affair that more often than not results in a spread of germs throughout the class. Please exercise caution, and keep in mind that a few days of inconvenience keeping a child at home may save an entire classroom a case of the sniffles. We have resources below for assisting in a plan to receive your family's annual flu shots if you have not done so already.
This week we've had a percentage of students stay home with mild symptoms of a seasonal cold. To keep our community at large informed, there remain no positive cases of COVID-19 at L'Ecole, with the majority of absent students/staff receiving doctor recommended testing to ensure caution, only returning to school upon receiving negative results.
Here are the most recent protocols from the Maine DHHS:
A child or staff with symptoms should consult with their medical provider to determine if they are in need of testing for COVID-19. If the medical provider determines that a child or staff does not need COVID testing, then they can return to the program when they have been symptom-free for 24 hours, with no fever-reducing medication. If they do need testing, they need to follow the guidance of the medical provider and wait for the results of any testing, as well as be symptom-free for 24 hours with no fever-reducing medication.
As always, if you have any questions regarding any of the following included in this newsletter, please email Emily at office@frenchschool.me
Merci!
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| School Picture RETAKE Day- Friday, Oct. 23rd |
For those who were absent on Picture Day or would like to retake their pictures, our photographer, Danielle Peterson, will be retaking portraits on Friday, October 23rd. Danielle will be masked and taking pictures from a safe distance, one family/student at a time. The children will come to the separated photo area on the playground masked, take their mask off for the photo, and put it directly afterward. If you would rather your child keep their mask on at all times, please let us know so we can plan accordingly.
Danielle's photographs will be available for review and purchase shortly!
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Thank you for continuing to perform the daily check before coming to school.
Communication with the school is paramount; if you have any uncertainties regarding to the checklist questions, or anything that cannot be answered negatively, you must call or email the school office as soon as possible.
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| Updates from the classrooms |
As you may have already seen via individual classroom Seesaw accounts, students have been busy! Here's a glimpse into some recent work from each classroom.
Above: Elodie's CP and CE1 students turn to the forest to work on their leaf projects.
PS students complete their own "petit ours brun" ! MS and GS at their morning meeting, starting off a new month of autumn-themed projects.
GS and CP are working on a foliage color project with newspapers.
CE2, CM1, CM2 completing their presentations and book recommendations. Bravo!
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Dawnland: in honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day
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There was NO SCHOOL today, Monday, October 12th in honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day!
A note for parents:
L'Ecole Française du Maine has purchased the license of the documentary Dawnland and a link will be shared with our school community shortly, please find the excellent guide on this link.
For decades, child welfare authorities have been removing Native American children from their homes to "save them from being Indian." In Maine, the first official Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the United States begins a historical investigation. Dawnland goes behind-the-scenes as this historic body grapples with difficult truths, redefines reconciliation, and charts a new course for state and tribal relations. Dawnland aired on Independent Lens on PBS in November 2018, reaching more than 2 million viewers. The film won a national Emmy® Award for Outstanding Research in 2019 and made the American Library Association's list of 2020 Notable Videos for Adults.
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Halloween (Socially distanced) Parade
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Halloween, like most events in 2020, will be celebrated differently in this unprecedented year. In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, L'Ecole Française du Maine will take extra safety precautions in continuing this wonderful tradition.
As in years past, we will plan to have all students participate in a walking parade around South Freeport village, fully in costume! This event will take place from 2 PM to 3 PM on Friday, October 30th, as listed on the academic calendar. We ask that ALL student Halloween costumes include their face mask. Students should NOT wear any additional costume masks on top of their protective masks. Any parents who would like to join us for our walkthrough South Freeport Village will be required to wear a mask as well. Teachers, with the help of parents, will be separating their class groups with an extra distance between bodies.
Parents of younger children will be asked to park down at the Freeport Wharf and walk up to meet our group on the school playground. Together, we will parade from the playground, down Park St. and down the hill toward Brewer's Marina.
A small celebratory treat will be waiting for all, after which parents can either take their child home from the wharf parking lot or walk back up the hill to school with the group for dismissal as usual. Map of the Parade
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| L' Ecole des Loisirs Bookclub! |
It's not too late to still sign up for a book subscription! Read more below to join our book club with the French publishing company, l'ecole des Loisirs. Our school has a chance to build our French library with each student subscription, so please utilize the group form within the available catalogs or submit your payment online at regroupmax.com.
Catalogs of the books (varying by age group and grade) will be available for parents to flip through at drop-off and pick-up times this week and next. Let us know if you have any questions!
Please find a link to a pdf of the Parent Letter above available for reading in French and English, where you can click on the series for each level and review the select books included in the year's subscription!
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Important Flu Shot Information during COVID-19
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It seems as though it's never been easier to get access to a flu shot. Most pharmacies have a shot available, or you can schedule a visit with your healthcare provider. Find more information about the latest flu statistics on the Maine flu website.Keeping yourself and those around you safe from the flu includes what we're already doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Please continue to practice social distancing, wear a mask, and stay on top of hand hygiene!
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| Introducing new Aftercare Teacher- Sadie Pressman! |
We are so excited for our community to meet Sadie Pressman! She'll be helping out during October as an aftercare teacher. Moving forward through the school year, will assist teachers as a substitute and floating assistant wherever the need arises. Read on to learn a little more about her here:
Sadie is a well-rounded individual forging her path. As a junior in high school, she studied abroad in Bulle, Switzerland. After one year, through the power of immersion, Sadie went from oui and non-responses to B2 proficiency French. After returning to the states, she completed her senior year online with Maine Connections Academy while studying French at the University of Southern Maine. Sadie is a double gold medalist with the United States Figure Skating Association and most recently was on tour with Disney On Ice. Since her tour abruptly ended, she is back in her beloved home state and beginning a new chapter at EFDM. Since age 13, she has been babysitting and coaching children in ice skating. Although she loves performing for thousands of kids singing along to "Frozen," she is excited to begin working with children in a new context and with the added French element! Sadie is also the Director of Communications for the Yellow Tulip Project, an organization committed to smashing the stigma surrounding mental illness, and enjoys being active, reading, and spending time outside.
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| Adult Education & DELF Programming |
Have you wished to learn French alongside your EFDM student? We are now accepting enrollment into our Adult Education programs for this year! For more information and to submit an enrollment application, please follow this link.
If you have a student who has graduated from EFDM and would like to continue their French exposure within our DELF program, please find more information and sign-ups here!
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| Bienvenue à "Conversation sous la tente" |
This fall, we will be replacing our "Café et Conversation" with "Conversations sous la Tente"! These meetings provide an extra opportunity for our school community to gather and share experiences. We hope you will mark your calendars and try to attend. As before, a theme each week but no real agenda, and last-minute drop-ins are welcome :-)
Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 8:30-9:00 am
October 14, 2020: Preschool with Dasha
Friday, Oct. 16 from 3:00-3:30 pm October 16, 2020: English grades 2-5 with Amy and a presentation of the new English classroom!
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Reopening Plans and Covid-19 Protocols 08/03/2020 version
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| Implementing Maine CDC Protocols Safely |
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Everyone gets their temperature taken at the start of the day- Even Emily!
Frequent hand-washing throughout the day
Learning outside whenever possible
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| Window to the past ... just for fun |
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February 2014, Snow Art "Simon Beck style"; under the guidance of art teacher Dasha Betts, 5th and 6th graders realized incredible masterpieces in the snow using ropes and other techniques in the Sayles Field of South Freeport village.
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