Youth concert

On Tuesday November 9, 2010 the students of grades 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 went to the Merrill Auditorium in Portland for the Youth Concert performed by the Portland Symphony Orchestra. The program took the children on an exciting trip through outer space with Short Ride in a Fast Machine by J. Adams, Suite from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and three of the Planets by G. Holst: 'Mars, the Bringer of War', 'Uranus, the Magician' and 'Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity'.
This was a fantastic concert enjoyed by everyone!

Nos citrouilles ont la trouille...

This year, the pumpkins of the Kindergartners and 1st graders did not scare anyone, because they are the ones being scared. Nos citrouilles ont “la trouille”, et nous aussi... mais de quoi nous méfions-nous? (Our pumpkins are scared, and we are too... but what are we afraid of?)

You can discover it by following the prints left by the 'animals' which scare us.
To check if your guess is right, all you need to do is turn the orange page of the drawing attached with Velcro. Thanks for handling our productions carefully.

Kinderconcert

Last Friday, we went the Kinderconcert in Brunswick to listen to a story told with musical instruments. In class, before the concert, we had learned to recognize and name some of those musical instruments. There were violins, viola, cello and bass.
The story told us how a young girl, a lighthouse keeper, managed to go through a big storm. We liked it a lot.
Thank you to all the chaperones!

The Pre-K, K and 1st grade classes

Visit at the Wildlife Park

We went to spend a day at the Wildlife park in Gray. There, we discovered animals living all around us and that we might one day cross path with. Thanks to the guide, we were able to touch animal skins, feathers and teeth. Then we went for a walk to see all the animals.
We saw lynx, mountain lions, bears, moose, raccoons, deers, porcupines, etc. Some of them even made a little dance for us. We were even lucky enough to see the bobcats having lunch. It was very impressive.
After a delicious picnic prepared by Mary-Lou, we came back very tired.
The pre-K, K and 1st grade classes.
Un grand merci to all the chaperones!

Happy Halloween!

Taste of Alsace Festival

CELEBRATE INDULGE TASTE SAVOR ENJOY!

Celebrate France at the

Taste of Alsace

A food, wine and culture festival

Tuesday, November 9, 2010
6:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.

120 Huntington Avenue, Boston MA

featuring

Les Voleurs de Poules

and a special guest appearance by Chef Joho
world-renowned chef of Everest, Brasserie Jo, and Eiffel Tower Restaurant
www.chefjoho.com

• Experience regional gastronomic specialties from 20 of Boston's finest restaurants
• Sample French wines, carefully paired with the cuisine
  
• Treat yourself at an auction of premium items donated by our sponsors

To buy tickets, please click here.

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Featured sponsors:

Consulat Général de France à Boston

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Presented by:

Etienne Giroire interviewed by students from L'Ecole Française du Maine

Second and Third graders are pictured above with their teacher, Didier Carribou, cheering for Etienne Giroire, ATNINC five days before the start of "La Route du Rhum", the most famous transatlantic single-handed yacht race in the world. The official flag of La Route du Rhum seen in this photo was donated to the school by Kip Stone after his victorious win during the 2006 race, and is a very special and cherished gift.

Etienne Giroire, sailing ATNINC, of Fort Lauderdale, is the sole American participating in the 2010 single-handed transatlantic race "Route du Rhum" with his Walter Greene designed 40' Trimaran "ATNinc.com" . Etienne is a very experienced sailor, a favorite among the 11 sailors of the "Rhum Class". The record to beat is 19 days.

"ATNinc.com" 40' Trimaran of Etienne Giroire was designed by world-class nautical architect Walter Greene, of Yarmouth-Maine. Students are planning to visit Walter during the race.

Skype session with Etienne Giroire from his boat in Saint-Malo, France

A great thank you to Etienne Giroire, who took the time from his busy schedule, five days before the race, to answer questions from second and third grade students.

How long will it take you to cross the Atlantic?

The record with a boat like mine is 19 days.

How and when will you be able to sleep?

I will sleep when I can; near the European shore or near Guadeloupe I cannot; too many risks (ie: collisions). I may be able to nap a few minutes at a time. When in the middle of the ocean, I'll have some opportunities to rest. If the wind stops, that means it's nap time!

What will you eat?

Fruits, cereals, pasta, saucisson, bread, lots of water and a few canned goods.

Can you fish?

No, my boat sails too fast.

How do you cook pasta on board?

It is a real treat that I have a small kitchen on the boat

What are some of the dangers you are facing?

The number one danger is collision with large commercial ships near Europe.

It is almost impossible to stay awake at all time.

How do you navigate the boat?

My job is to adjust the sail (orientation, surface etc..) depending on the wind conditions.

I use winches and ropes. The wind usually changes constantly and when it doesn't, I rest for a while.

Do you have a motor?

Yes, to recharge batteries and computers, but we cannot use it to race.

Etienne ended the questions with a great quote:

" La mer n'est pas un endroit dangereux, mais il faut savoir la parcourir"

Good luck Etienne and Atninc

More info at www.atninc.com

La Route du Rhum - 2010

The Route du Rhum is the most famous transatlantic single-handed yacht race in the world, which takes places every four years in November. The race is between Saint-Malo, Bretagne, France and Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France in the Caribbean. The first competition, won by Canadian Michael Birch in his boat Olympus Photo by a margin of 98 seconds over second-placed Michel Malinovsky in Kriter V was held in 1978, and was marked in tragedy by the disappearance of Alain Colas during the crossing.

On Sunday October 29th, 2010 at 1:02, at least one million fans will cheers on the cliffs of Brittany at the start of the race. This event will be broadcast on television all over the world and 5 million French citizens are likely to watch it live on Sunday afternoon, celebrating the magic single TransAtlantic Race. This event compares to the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

On Monday, first and second graders of L'Ecole Francaise du Maine will watch the start of the race to cheer Etienne Giroire, the sole American participating in the race. Our students have been exchanging emails with Etienne and communicating via Skype with him in the cockpit of his boat in Saint Malo. Etienne's boat was designed in Yarmouth, Maine by Walter Greene.

Four years ago, L'Ecole Francaise du Maine followed famed Freeport sailor, Kip Stone, during his victorious race (Class 40). Kip came to the school to describe his preparation and the danger he faced alone in the North Atlantic. He later invited our students onto his boat, "Artforms". In Westbrook, our students learned "tee-shirt printing" as Kip is also the owner of "Cool at as Moose" stores in Maine and Quebec.

A special thanks go to Thornton Ring who got a complete chart of the North Atlantic, so that Didier's students can plot Etienne's position each day. The race will last 20 days.

Route du Rhum 2006 & L'Ecole Française du Maine

Photos by Marie Preaud

We have lived a unique experience with navigator, Kip Stone, who came to visit our class and who invited us to visit his racing boat. We were also included in a radio broadcast featuring Kip, where we sang the French song, Santiano, to honor Kip and wish him well in the upcoming race, La Route du Rhum. The race would take Kip from St. Malo, France to Guadeloupe. We followed him throughout the course, tracking his position day to day, charting his location on a map in our classroom and exchanging messages via email with Kip on his boat. We experienced many emotions throughout this project: we felt some worry when Servan Escofier, Kip’s leading opponent, came closer to him, and we were afraid he would need to stop the race when his automatic pilot was malfunctioning, We finally cried out with joy when we heard the incredible news of his victory ! From this common adventure we keep and cherish our photos and reports which we have displayed in the hallway just below one of Kip’s sails --which spans the length of the school! We also kept a Captain’s Log to document and illustrate Kip’s journey and our correspondence with him. To conclude this project, on December 14, we went to Kip’s printing factory where we learned how to print T-shirts. He had prepared, just for us, a special T-shirt decal with the school’s logo and that of his boat, in souvenir of la Route du Rhum.