Concert at the Franco-American Heritage Center

Welcome Tara!

Tara Magaw, mother of Kale and Madison Magaw, is newly appointed as development coordinator and event planner for L’Ecole Française du Maine. Prior to moving to Maine, Tara and her husband Bill moved from Luxembourg (living there over 5 years), where she worked for Ambassor Peter Terpeluk, as an Event Planner and Special Assistant to the Ambassador, in the U.S. Embassy Luxembourg. She planned one of the most notable events, while working in Luxembourg, which was the coordination of the 65th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, a U.S.O. event for the Veterans of WWII.

Prior to working in Luxembourg, Tara worked for New York State, in Governor George Pataki's Administration for 7 years, working in the Promotions and Public Affairs Office.

Tara has B.A. in Communications / Journalism from Pace University in New York.

Tara is excited to start working with the school, the families, the French community, and to making a meaningful impact through her development efforts.

Please welcome Tara to the new position of Development Coordinator for L’Ecole Française du Maine.

Nathan Kolosko's New CD enso Now Available

Hello everyone!!

I am very excited to be releasing my new CD entitled enso, which was recorded in Tokyo this past summer.

The CD contains some very new ways of approaching the guitar with sounds that defy expectation.

Japanese Critic Ike Sato writes:

Utilizing elements of African, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Indonesian, and European musical traditions, Kolosko and Cosley have grappled with the incoherent void of chaos and the inorganic drudgery of mechanical reiteration. They do not mimic, but appreciate divergent cultures through aesthetic empathy. This is true world music and the results are striking in their individuality.

Please visit my website to purchase on-line

http://www.nathankolosko.com/audio.php

Thank you for your continued support.

Nathan Kolosko

www.nathankolosko.com

Le Défi Lecture

The children from CE1 through 7th grade have been meeting weekly for 30 minutes in order to read together. We have divided the children in 4 groups, each group with 3 levels of reading; CE1 and CE2 together, CM1, CM2 and 6th together and 7th grade.

The challenge was that each group, starting in October, would meet every week to read those 3 books (one for each reading level). They would make sure that they understood the plot, knew the characters… The challenge would end with a contest in the shape of a quiz with questions to be answered in a given time. The quiz took place last week. Everyone had a lot of fun and discovered the joys of solidarity and helping each other to succeed. Everyone got a little prize to reward him/her for his/ her great efforts.

During the 2^nd part of the year, we will start another reading challenge: this time, same concept will be used but with different teams and 2 books per reading group instead of 1. The novelty will be that the children will be the ones building and imagining the different games that will be used for the final quiz…

It is wonderful to witness that special time of the week, when on Thursday morning, children start to ask « Is it reading time yet? ».

Elodie LE NEZET-SOULE

Un cadeau de classe : 100 livres

The class of CE1, CE2 and CM1 started a reading challenge back in October. Our goal was to read 100 books or more before January 22nd in order to help children in need to obtain new books. This contest was organized by Scholastics, Canada.

The children have been very enthusiastic about this project, borrowing books from the school’s library and also the classroom’s library, taking a little extra time to make sure they would finish a book.

Congratulations to all of them for their success!

A surprise in preschool...

Monday, when we came back from vacation, we had the surprise to have a big letter from a class from France!
A class from Bertrange -East of France- sent us some of their work. Each of the children made a little presentation of him/herself and drew a picture for each of us. We were very happy and proud to receive our own picture.

They explained what Saint Nicolas is for them and made us a little book: ''un livre à compter'' (a counting book). We also learned how far they live from us.

Now we are going to work very hard to respond as quickly as possible.

La Petite et Moyenne Section

Le problème de la semaine! Problem of the week!

Here is the 7th grade problem of the week. Can you solve it?

LA CLASSE DE MATHILDE
Dans la classe de Mathilde, il y a deux groupes: les fans des Moutarde Girls et ceux des 3 C'est 4. Tout le monde appartient à l'un des deux groupes et personne n'appartient aux deux à la fois. Chacun des deux groupes compte un nombre impair de membres (entre 10 et 20), et l'un des deux surpasse l'autre de quatre unités. Par ailleurs, dans la classe de Mathilde, il y a deux fois plus de filles que de garçons.
Combien y a-t-il de filles, Mathilde comprise, dans cette classe?

MATHILDE’S CLASS

In Mathilde’s class, there are two groups: the Mustard Girls and the 3 is 4 fans. Everyone belongs to one of the groups and nobody belongs to both groups at the same time. Each of the two groups has an odd number of members (between 10 and 20), and one of the two overcomes the other by 4 units. Furthermore, in Mathilde’s class, there are two times more girls than boys.

How many girls are there in this class, Mathilde included?

Guitarists Nathan Kolosko & Dan Cosley release Tokyo Recording Project

CONTACT: Nathan Kolosko @ 207-780-1659, (Portland, ME) guitar@nathankolosko.com, www.nathankolosko.com

Critically acclaimed classical guitarists Nathan Kolosko & Dan Cosley have released a new CD entitled Enso. This collaborative project was recorded this past summer in Tokyo, Japan. The disc contains both original compositions and structured improvisations.

Intent on creating a truly eclectic and adventurous album, Kolosko and Cosley explore an immense variety of musical sounds and styles. The two original compositions, Yangisse Jarabi, and Enso, were recently published by the French Canadian music publisher Productions D'oz. The remainder of the disc contains five structured improvisations, several of which defy one's expectations of the classical guitar.

Japanese Critic Ike Sato writes:

Utilizing elements of African, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Indonesian, and European musical traditions, Kolosko and Cosley have grappled with the incoherent void of chaos and the inorganic drudgery of mechanical reiteration. They do not mimic, but appreciate divergent cultures through aesthetic empathy. This is true world music and the results are striking in their individuality.

Nathan Kolosko will perform a solo noonday concert in Portland, Maine on Thursday, January 14^th at First Parish Church, 425 Congress Street. Free admission.

Concerts in January: Chiharu Naruse and Ben Noyes

Chiharu Naruse and Ben Noyes will be presenting two concerts in January. Hope you can make it to any or all of them! Included are links with the appropriate information for your web browsing ease...

http://www.portlandconservatory.net/Nooondayschedule.pdf

Time, place: noon, Jan. 7th, First Parish Church, 425 Congress St. Portland, ME

Program: Bach Gamba Sonata no. 1 and the fantastical Prokofieff Sonata

Ticket price: just stop by

Another concert will be taking place on January 30th!! Follow the link for more info:

http://www.francoamericanheritage.org/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=articles.view&id=7778&publicationtype=Calendar


Time, place: 7:30, Jan. 30th Franco-American Heritage Center Lewiston, Me

Program: Janacek, Beethoven, Shostakovich, Schumann

Ticket price: $16 for adults over 21, under 21 free and senior citizen price: $14

Concert November 24: Piano

On November 24, the first Suzuki music concert of the year was performed by the school students. We enjoyed many performances of piano, guitar, violin and cello. Students of Yasmin Craig Vitalius (violin), Nathan Kolosko (guitar), Chiharu Naruse (piano), Leah Neuchiller (piano), Benjamin Noyes (cello) and Gordon Wilcox (cello) treated the audience with many beautiful pieces. Bravo to all the children!

Following are video extracts of the concert.
Please click 'play' to watch Markus performing Slippin' Around by M. Mier.

Concert November 24: Twinkle graduation

During the concert, Romain had his Twinkle graduation. Click play to view an extract of his performance. He was accompanied by his teacher, Nathan Kolosko.
Bravo Romain!

Concert of November 24: Guitar

Please click 'play' to watch Colin and Chloe perform Waltz by M. Guiliani accompanied by their teacher, Nathan Kolosko.

Concert of November 24: Violin

Please click 'play' to view an extract of the Harry Potter Medley (John Williams) played by Elise and accompanied by Leah Neuchiller.

Concert of November 24: Cello

Please click 'play' to view Alex playing Etude by Suzuki.

Les instruments

Nous avons regardé les instruments de Marco. / We looked at Marco's instruments.
Nous avons écouté la musique de Marco. / We listened to Marco's music.
Merci Marco! / Thank you Marco!
La classe de Grande Section - CP / The K-1 class

La tarte à la citrouille!

Last Friday we cooked with Mary-Lou’s help. We made pumpkin pies.
Mary-Lou made the crust and we made the filling. We mixed sugar, eggs, pumpkin, milk and cinnamon. To decorate the pies, we cut out leaves and pumpkins in the dough.
Then we tasted it. It was delicious!

Thank you for your help Mary-Lou!

La classe des petits et des moyens

Le poisson

When we arrived in class Monday morning, we saw something new. There was a big box covered by a blanket. Mimi, our mascot, was sleeping on top of it. We came closer to listen. Some said it sounded like water, others that it sounded like a fan…

Then we counted, Valerie removed the blanket and we discovered a FISH! It is our new friend. We feed it and observe it. We even gave it a name. After researching names the class voted for FLEUR (flower).

We are going to do activities on fish and learn many different things about them.

La classe des Petits et Moyens.

Freeport area trail maps

Thanks to a grant from Healthy Casco Bay, a program of the Maine Healthy Partnerships, Freeport Conservation Trust has developed Freeport area trail maps for properties protected by FCT and the Town of Freeport. The maps are intended to encourage healthful outdoor recreational activities such as walking, jogging, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing by people of all ages.

There are 5 trail maps: South Freeport, Cousins River area, East Freeport, North Freeport and Hedgehog Mountain, with plans to develop and distribute a map of downtown Freeport trails during 2010.

Four of the area maps may be downloaded from FCT’s web site: www.freeportconservationtrust.org, and the Hedgehog Mountain map is available from the Town website, www.freeportmaine.com. Look under Boards and Committees, Documents.

If you would like additional information about Freeport Conservation Trust and its public access trails, please contact the Trust’s office at 869-1012 or by email to kyle.fct@gmail.com.

USM youth ensembles to perform at Merrill

Published: Nov 10, 2009 12:26 am in the Sun Journal

One of the most outstanding musical programs for youth in Northern New England, the USM Youth Ensembles will present their annual fall concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 19, 2009, in Merrill Auditorium in Portland.

Suggested donation is $6 for the general public; $3 for children. Seating is unreserved. Call the Music Box Office for more information at 780-5555. A reception will follow in the rehearsal room.

Consisting of four instrumental ensembles, the program brings together more than 200 of the best young musicians in southern and central Maine to rehearse weekly at the University of Southern Maine School of Music on the Gorham campus. Twice a year these talented youth present outstanding concerts in Portland City Hall's Merrill Auditorium. The program is supported by the Sam L. Cohen Foundation.

This November the musical program will open with the Portland Youth Wind Ensemble, conducted by Peter Martin, performing "Dance of the Jesters" by Peter Tchaikovsky. The large ensemble will then perform "Music for Prague 1968" by the contemporary composer, Karel Husa. "Music for Prague 1968" is one of the most significant and powerful compositions of the twentieth century. (On August 20, 1968, troops from the Soviet Union and its allies invaded Czechoslovakia.) Binding the composition together is the Hussite war song from the 11th century, "Ye Warriors of God and His Law," a symbol of resistance and hope for hundreds of years whenever fate lay heavy on the Czech nation.

Next to take the stage will be the Portland Young People's String Consort -- now in its 31th year. This ensemble includes the youngest of the players and gives these less advanced string players a chance to become familiar with playing in an ensemble, following a conductor, and gaining formal concert experience. Established in 1979, the PYPSC offers adjunct support to string programs in Maine schools.

They are led by Deborah Dabczynski -- a Portland Symphony Orchestra cellist for more than 30 years and formerly host and script writer for PSO's Kinderkonzerts. The PYPSC program includes "Rondeau" by Mouret; the "Wood Splitter Fanfare" by B. Balmages; the first movement of the Brandenburg Concerto #1 by Bach; and "Conquistador!" by D.B. Monday.

Ferdinand Liva, interim conductor of the Portland Youth Junior Orchestra, will lead the next group in two complete works -- "Concerto Grosso Opus 6, No. 10" by Arcangelo Corelli; and "Capriol Suite for String Orchestra" by Peter Warlock, based on dance tunes from Arbeau's "Orchesographie" of 1588.

The Portland Youth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Lehmann, will close the evening's program. One of the oldest youth orchestras in the entire country, the PYSO was formed in 1942. They will perform the overture to "La Gazza Ladra" (The thieving magpie) by Gioacchino Rossini; "Siegfried's Funeral March" from "Gotterdammerung" by Richard Wagner; and "The Moldau" by Bedrich Smetana.

Annual meeting at the French Embassy in Washington, DC

From Oct 22-24, 2009, the Directors of the 46 French schools in North America gathered at the French Embassy in Washington, DC for their annual meeting and Beth and Willy were in attendance. Among the topics discussed were the “socle commun”, which corresponds to the learning results of the French Ministry of Education, the assessment results of students in grades 2 and 5 from the last academic year, and new report cards currently being designed.

The Director of the AEFE (Agence pour l’Enseignement Français à l’Etranger), Madame Descôtes, described the agency's efforts to promote the value of French education to American Universities and presented a new website for parents, teachers and administrators (http://www.frenchschoolsnorthamerica.org/). This website presents practical information about school life in the French schools in North America in both French and English.

Madame Descôtes also addressed the Directors on the topic of a newly imposed contribution to the AEFE to be paid by schools that are accredited members of the agency. The fees imposed are equal to 1% of each school’s annual tuition income. Many Heads of Schools voiced their strong opposition to this newly imposed fee structure. Madame Descôtes justified the fees by stressing the quality of the services offered by the AEFE to our schools: (professional development, annual school inspections including personal visits for the Inspecteur de l'Education Nationale, the availability of our certified French teachers to maintain their professional steps in the French system through “détachement” (equivalent to sabbatical) among other benefits.

Kareen Rispal, Cultural Attaché at the French Embassy, presented several exciting upcoming projects including math contests and poetry contests and a theatre competition offered for the upcoming year.

M. Bonnet, Director of International Affairs at the French Ministry of Education, presented the new procedures for accreditation with the French Ministry of Education. The newly appointed Director of MLF, Jean-Christophe Deberre, met with the Heads of Schools affiliated with the MLF (including L'Ecole Française du Maine), to plan professional development opportunities through the MLF for our teachers in the next academic year. M. Georges Alzina, Inspector of Education Nationale in North America, made a presentation on second language acquisition in the bilingual context, and how to develop strategies for assisting students with learning challenges.

There were many opportunities for Beth and Willy to collaborate with the other Heads of Schools represented at the conference. It is always a positive experience to share ideas and experiences with our colleagues in this unique learning environment.