Visites à l'école

Inspecteur Georges Alzina and the staff enjoying Maine lobster at the Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster

On September 10 and 11 we had the visit of M. Georges Alzina, the newly appointed Inspecteur de l'Education Nationale for the French schools of North America. During his visit, Monsieur Alzina conducted classroom observations and met with Beth and Willy to discuss the many aspects of the school. Monsieur Alzina also made a presentation to the faculty and answered our many questions. He was very pleased with our delivery of the French national curriculum and the performance of talented teachers here. He found our school offered a positive and inclusive learning environment and the school parents and the local community to be supportive of the work we do. His encouraging remarks gave us all a much appreciated boost of energy at the beginning of the year.

Building renovations

A lot of work was done at school during the summer!
The corridor was painted, a truckload of mulch was delivered and spread on the playground, the old heating system radiators and piping were removed and replaced by shelving and new counter tops in the classrooms, the building was insulated, and a commercial grade dish sprayer was installed in the kitchen for Mary-Lou. The boys' bathroom received new wall tile and best of all...new classroom furniture is due to arrive any day! More on that once it gets here!

Come meet the new Consul General of France at “ Vrais Amis”

Please join us in welcoming the newly appointed Consul General of France Mr. Christophe GUILHOU, Cultural Attache Mrs. Anne Miller and Honorary Consul for France in Maine Mr. Severin Beliveau at our event "Vrais Amis" this Friday at the Portland Harbor Hotel - 6pm to 9pm
To buy tickets go to www.efdm.org or call +1 (207) 865-3308.
We are looking forward to seeing you there!

The evening will show case:

* Premier Bordeaux wines for tasting
Chateau Fonguillon Lenclos 2005 Montagne Saint-Emilion ~ Bordeaux, France
Chateau Bellevue 2005 La Randee ~ Bordeaux, France
Domaine Chiroulet Rouge 2005 Cotes de Gascogne ~ SW France, France
Domaine Chiroulet 2006 La Cote dHeux Gascogne Blanc Sec ~ SW France, France
Le Vin de Bob, 2005 Bergerac Blanc ~ Bordeaux, France
Chateau Compassant 2004, Thunevin Red
Methode Traditionelle Bulles - Non-Vintage ~ Loire Valley, France

* Specially created Hors d'oeuvres to compliment the wines
Le Vin de Bob 2005, Thunevin White
Plugra poached Glidden Point Oysters, Candied Citrus Emulsion
Domaine Chiroulet 2006, La Cote dHeux, Thunevin White
Gnocchi encrusted Live Scallop, Warm Apple Glacage
Chateau Fonguillon 2005, Thunevin Red
Wild Grouse Paillard, Porcini Mushroom Arancini
Chateau Compassant 2004, Thunevin Red
Oxtail & Foie Gras Stuffed Venison Loin, Smoked Juniper scented Jus
by Executive Chef Earl Morse

* Live Auction by Mike Carey of Tranzon Auctions
Hyatt at the Mohegan Sun
Penthouse stay for 2
Boston Red Sox
Tickets for 2 with complementary Amtrak train tickets to the game
Portland Harbor Hotel
Weekend stay for 2 including breakfast
200 Fresh Oysters
Locally harvested
Historic Bed & Breakfast in Quebec City
Stay for 2
French Language Classes
1 year of adult education lessons
Langham Hotel in Boston
Weekend stay for 2 including Sunday Brunch
Complementary Amtrak train ticket from Portland to Boston
Plus various other items from local businesses

* Fine Art by the Freeport Art Club
Paintings by local artists
Including Margareta “Meta” McDonald

To buy tickets go to www.efdm.org or call +1 (207) 865-3308.
We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Fieldtrip: environment and biodiversity

We went on a field trip for our science class. We are currently studying the environment and biodiversity. Didier and Willy took us for a walk in the woods next to the school where took notes and collected various samples.

The 5-6-7th grade class

La chorale des petits

This year, the Pre-K to 1st grade classes have a 'chorale' too.
Scott is playing piano for the accompaniment and the first song being learned is "La Mère Michelle", a song about a lady who has lost her cat. Et tralala!
Watch for us at the concerts!

Sport!

For the first two sport sessions, we went to the soccer field in Freeport. Didier, our teacher, asked us to invent a new game and its rules. We had a lot of ideas, and it was a lot of fun! Here is what we invented:
JEU DES 2 CIBLES (GAME OF THE TWO TARGETS)

L’équipe qui marque le plus de points a gagné ! (The team who gets the most points wins)

-1 ballon, 2 cônes espacés de 10 à 20 m. (A ball, 2 cones at a 10 to 20 meters distance
- 2 équipes de 4 à 5 joueurs sur le terrain (teams of 4 to 5 players on the field)
- équipes mixtes, il peut y avoir des remplaçants (mixed teams, teams can have subs)

Règles : (Rules:)
1) Il faut renverser un cône en lançant le ballon dessus pour marquer un point,
You have to knock off the cone with the ball to score one point.
2) Interdit de se déplacer ballon en mains,
It is forbidden to move from place to place while you have the ball in your hands.
3) Interdit de toucher un joueur adverse.
It is forbidden to touch a player from the other team.

ET C’EST TOUT, AU DEPART !!! (AND THAT'S ALL WE HAD TO START!!!)
Bilan : C'est injouable, il faut rajouter des règles, pour pouvoir jouer!
(Conclusion: it doesn't work, we need to add more rules),
Règles trouvées : (New rules)

– On délimite autour des cibles une zone interdite a tout joueur,
Règle 2 non respectée : balle à l'équipe adverse,
Celui qui marque (renverse le cône) le remet en place immédiatement.
(- we create a forbidden zone around the cones, when rule number 2 is not respected we give the ball to the opposite team, the player who scores has to put the cone back in place immediately)


The 2-3-4-5-6-7th grade classes

Pique-nique à Winslow Park

All the school went to have a picnic at Winslow Park on Monday September 14, 2009. We invited the school parents and were happy some could join us for this get-together. Mr.Ring gave us a ride in the big blue bus. When we arrived we split into two groups: Pre-K to 1st grade and 2nd to 7th grade. The first group played all kinds of games: la tomate ('the tomato' ball game), le facteur ('the mailman') and we played on the park's games. The older group went to explore the park's trails.
We all had lunch together. Mary-Lou had prepared us a delicious meal. We had baked beans, pasta salad, burgers and hot dogs, corn on the cob and watermelon for dessert.
The first group then went back to school to take a nap or read stories. The 2nd to 7th grade group stayed a little longer to play 'le jeu du drapeau', the flag game. This is a strategic game: you need to find ways to take other teams' flag while protecting your own. This was a lot of fun.
We all had a wonderful day!