Dec. 12th, 2025

Bonjour,

Félicitations les enfants and thank you to all who joined in the massive turnout for this year's Winter Performance! With a record number of audience members, the community hall was warm with cheer and applause to match the incredible efforts and entertainment of the students in our Chorale! “Les Champs Elysées (ba-da-de-da-daa)” Bravo tout le monde!

As we near the final days of the calendar year, a few wintery reminders:

A new season of clubs is now open for enrollment! A few favorites from the fall, as well as some new offerings are available for another 10 weeks during the spring trimester. Before signing up, please check the ages listed as well as weekdays and schedules offered. Although a resurgence of Adventure Club is also in the works, we are waiting to have a little more daylight during after-school hours before embarking on new adventures. Secure your spot with the sign-up details below.

Sugarloaf Fridays are now in sight! We hope to have an Outdoor Experience lesson available for EFDM students ages 7+ (depending on numbers of those who plan to join). Please let us know if you are interested in attending one or all of the following Sugarloaf Fridays. Adult Tickets are available at a very discounted rate as part of our school order! Fridays: Jan. 9th, Jan. 23rd, Feb. 6th, and March 13th.

Sign-ups to join us for Ice Skating at Troubh Arena remain open using this link. These optional community events are available to all ages, and are a fun, affordable way to learn a new skill in a large space filled exclusively with other EFDM kids. We hope your students and families can all make it to one (or all) of the scheduled skating days!

The final day before the winter break, Friday, Dec. 19th, will be an 11:30 Early Release half-day for all students, with our first Ice Skating at Troubh Event for families from 12-2 pm, a great way to kick off the holiday break! 

As always, please get in touch with the office with any questions at office@frenchschool.me

Merci beaucoup!

Emily and Willy

Upcoming dates to keep in mind

• Friday Dec. 19: Early Release, Dismissal for all 11:30 am - Ice Skating at Troubh (opt in event) 12:00 - 2:00 pm
• Dec. 22 - Jan 4: Winter Break, No School
• Monday Jan. 5: School Resumes
• Friday Jan. 9: Sugarloaf Friday
• Tuesday Jan. 27: Petite Section Showcase 2:45 pm
• Wednesday Jan. 28: Moyenne Section Showcase 2:45 pm
• Thursday Jan. 29: Grande Section Showcase 2:45 pm
• Friday Jan. 30: Ice Skating at Troubh (opt in event) 12:00-2:00 pm
• Thursday Feb. 5: Grade 1 Showcase (English) at 8:45 am
• Friday Feb. 6: Sugarloaf Friday
• Monday Feb. 9: Grade 2 Showcase (English) at 8:45 am
• Tuesday Feb. 10: Grade 3 Showcase (English) at 8:45 am
• Wednesday Feb. 11: Grade 4 Showcase (English) at 8:45 am
• Thursday Feb. 12: Grade 5-6 Showcase (English) at 8:45 am
• Friday Feb. 13: Early Release, Dismissal for all 11:30 am - Ice Skating at Troubh (opt in event) 12:00 - 2:00 pm
• February 16 - 20: February Break, No School (Vacation Camp TBD)

2025-2026 School Calendar

2025-2026 Events Calendar

Last Friday, you joined us in droves to celebrate with our entire school community as we enjoyed the songs our students learned this season in la Chorale. What you didn’t see were the countless hours students and teachers devoted behind the scenes to learning, memorizing, preparing, and practicing in order to bring this performance to life.

We love music at L’École for many reasons, but this concert highlights the magic that happens when we come together in harmony to achieve the same goal. Bravo once again to our students and staff for their hard work, and a heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended and sang along with us! Merci!

As part of their IB Unit on the similarities and differences between humans and animals, our Petite Section students were fortunate to welcome several outstanding community experts into the classroom. We extend our sincere thanks to school parents Dr. Libby Helmer, DVM, and Dr. Caleb Brown, DVM, large-animal veterinarians at Anabessacook Veterinary Clinic for their time, enthusiasm, and generosity. They kindly brought several of their animals to school, giving students a rare opportunity to observe them up close. The children enjoyed petting, brushing, and feeding the animals, and even listened to a pony’s heartbeat, discovering, to their delight, that it was much slower than their own.

Don’t forget, this unit is about human development too! La Petite Section has also recently welcomed a local midwife who explained to us more about human baby development. Here La Petite Section discovered we were all once babies (even the adults in the room), and although some animals hatch from eggs, humans are not born the same way as chickens. 

Speaking of which, students even got to say hello to a few barn-yard friends in their classroom recently! Why would a chicken, rooster, and egg cross the road? To come visit La Petite Section, of course!

Even with the snow, students of Grande Section and CP have been enjoying classes outside! This week, they went down to their classroom in the forest to practice their writing skills in the snow. Students of the Grande section practiced their script while CP students wrote in snowflake cursive.

To conclude this adventure in the forest, students enjoyed a playful and energetic session of animal yoga. Reinforcing creativity and inquiry, students were asked to make connections between the characteristics of the animals and the shapes their bodies could make. 

Studying outside reminds us that nature is one of the most joyful classrooms! 

Last week, students in grades CM1, CM2, and 6ème (4, 5, and 6) combined art with archeology during their exploration through our timeline: stopping in Prehistory, more specifically at the Lascaux caves in France.

First, students worked together in collaborative learning, sharing previous knowledge and new discoveries found while exploring documents on prehistory and the major prehistoric site of Lascaux.

Then, the CM1, CM2 and 6ème migrated to a more fitting environment for our young historians and archaeologists to create their own prehistoric cave paintings in: the forest, our outdoor classroom. Here, they discussed the animals they might encounter in the Maine environment before creating their own cave murals with the animals of their choice, and proved to be true prehistoric artists!

Before you strap on your skates, make sure to sign up to reserve your spot ASAP as space is limited for these events! Please use this link to enroll for our Ice Arena Fridays of the season. We hope you can join us out on the ice for these memorable winter community events!

3rd and 4th graders arrived in their English Classroom in early December only to find there was something there that wasn’t there before: large circular tables for collaborative work! Grades 3 and 4 were so very excited and quickly took their seats with their fellow knights at the round tables ready to venture on new and exciting quests of inquiry. 

While 3rd graders were finishing up their last week of their unit on "How the World Works: The Moon Influences Life on Earth,", the 4th graders began their unit on: "How We Organize Ourselves: We can take action to make a difference in our community both locally and globally." 

In English, when new units of inquiry are first introduced in Grades 3 and 4, students always begin with a silent reflection in their unit journals. This pre-unit journaling session allows students to record existing knowledge as well as questions they may have about the discovery to come before sharing their ideas with everyone at the end of class. It is always a delight to hear the thoughtfulness and curiosity of their reflections as they prepare for new inquiry ahead!

Some of the favorites from this fall are returning, with some new options added into the mix! Please use this link to enroll in the club(s) of your choosing, bearing in mind the specified age requirements and weekdays/scheduling for each.

Please note, Adventure Club will also be returning, but not until we get a little more daylight in the afterschool hours. Be on the lookout for an enrollment link for the next session of Adventure Club later on in the new year!