A special lunch for Halloween!

Today's lunch was prepared specially by a witch. Witches soup, Cheddar cobwebs, Ghost sandwiches, Pumpkin cupcakes and Spiced cider were on the menu! Miam!

Green Bean Kickoff on November 11th

You are invited to a Freeport Rotary hosted reception & celebration on Wednesday, November 11th from 5:00pm-7:00pm: Green Bean Kickoff
Please RSVP to Nicole Bosarge by November 9th: nicole@habitatme.org / (207) 772-2151 Location: Freeport Community Center, 53 Depot Street, Freeport, ME 04032

"Thank you so much for donating your time, talents and donations
towards our new home, it truly means the world to my family" Mikki Cote,
Habitat Partner & future homeowner Hosted by the Freeport Rotary Club

Keynote Speaker Craig John will present his inspirational stories of scaling Mount
Everest and several of the world's tallest peaks.

$10.00 requested donation at the door
Appetizers & Cash bar - Children's activities available - Silent Auction

Letter exchange

Bonjour !

The CE1, CE2 and CM1 class is very excited to present a new project this year : a letter exchange with a class in France. It is a class of 26 CM1 from Maine-et-Loire, in a little village called Saint-Melaine-sur-Aubance.

The specialty of our exchange is that we write in French and the class from France uses English. So far, we received pictures with small presentations of the French children as well as a giant puzzle saying « nice to meet you » . We have sent a big envelope in September, where we presented our class and sent them a list of questions we worked on in class, as well as a map of Maine. In our next mail, we will give them a little presentation and a little quiz on Halloween, which is not as popular in France as here. We will send them a game to discover us with a picture and a description of ourselves.

It has been truly wonderful to see the excitement and motivation of the children for this project.

Merci beaucoup,

Elodie Le Nezet-Soule

Flying Point Oysters

Photos by Warren Miskell

The Coast of Maine has long been known for its pristine shoreline, strong tides and ice-cold waters.
These natural conditions have made Maine a reliable source for premium quality seafood for centuries. Today this tradition lives on. Maine's rich ocean harvest continues to satisfy seafood enthusiasts year after year.
In keeping with this tradition of premium quality, Flying Point Oysters are a special example of Maine Seafood at its very best.
Flying Point oysters are farmed by a husband and wife team in Freeport, Maine.

What gives Flying Point Oysters their outstanding flavor?
Flying Point Oysters derive their complex, salty/sweet flavor from the waters in which they are grown. Strong, incoming tides nourish them with cold, briny ocean water. Swift outgoing tides provide the oysters with a rich array of nutrients from the vast wetlands to the north of the growout site. This dynamic environment gives the Flying Point Oysters its outstanding flavor.

A great deal of care and attention is invested in the cultivation of each Flying Point Oyster. The results are being enjoyed in America's finest restaurants and can also be purchased right here in Freeport.

To order, please call (207) 221-5172 (Valy: art teacher at L'Ecole Française du Maine)

Pricing
Petites - perfect for serving on the half shell: 0.75 each ($9.00 /doz)
Selects - Ideal for grilling, broiling or oyster stew: $1.00 each

Field trip to the oyster farm

Photos by Warren Miskell

On Friday October 9, 2009, the children from grades 2 through 7 went on a field trip to the oyster farm. They learned about the development stages of the oysters.
In the spring of each year, oyster seedlings are purchased from a local hatchery and placed in a floating nursery system. In the fall, when the oysters have reached 1"-2", they are removed from the nursery and transported, via barge, to their final growout location. Once at the growout site, the oysters are planted directly on the bottom, and then harvested two to three harvest years later.
From seed to harvest, it takes about three years for an oyster to reach market size.
They also learned about all the aspects of oyster farming.
It was very interesting!

Ellis Island: The Dream of America

On Monday October 5 the students of grades 2 to 7 went to the Merrill Auditorium where Ellis Island: The Dream of America was performed by the Portland Symphony orchestra.
Ellis Island: The Dream of America is a work for actors and orchestra with projected images by American composer Peter Boyer, composed in 2001-02, commissioned by the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut. The work combines first-person narrations of seven immigrants who entered the United States through Ellis Island between 1910 and 1940, selected by Boyer from the Ellis Island Oral History Project, with Boyer’s original orchestral music. The work has received over 80 performances by 40 orchestras. A recording of the work released on the Naxos record label was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in 2006.

Field trip to Wolfe's Neck Farm for Pre-K and K-1 classes

Vrais Amis

Thanks to all that attended and supported the first annual "Vrais Amis". The event was a superb evening with 150+ people attending the Wine tasting and Auction evening at the Portland Harbor Hotel.
We were honored that the newly appointed Consul General of France Mr. Christophe GUILHOU, in his first official capacity, attended the event and the Honorary Consul for France in Maine, Mr. Severin Beliveau, was in attendance as well.
We were pleased that the Portland Press Herald and Portland Magazine were on hand to take pictures. Look in the November issue of Portland Magazine to see photos from the event.
Premier Bordeaux wines were served and Executive Chef Earl MORSE served specially created Hors d'oeuvres to compliment the wines. A Live Auction, by Mike CAREY of Tranzon Auctions, was the highlight of the evening.

Special thanks to the sponsors who supported the "Vrais Amis" event:
Portland Harbor Hotel
MS Walker
Smitten
Pet Pantry's
Michele Shems
Cape Elizabeth Garden Club
Creating Wellness at Innate
Chiropractic
Smitten
Petrillos Restaurant
The CAT
Terracotta
The Baker Family
Consul General of Canada
David's 388
Drillen Hardware
The Langham Hotel in Boston
Fore Season Indoor Golf
Winslow Park
Scott & Lynn
Charles Foehl & Sara Mayo
Amtrack
Rangely Lake Resort
Rings Marine Service
Libby Whittier
Jen Burris Designs
Hyatt Place at Mohegan Sun
Art Night Out
Hyatt Place at the Mohegan Sun
Art Night Out
Rock Paper Scissors
Sail Maine
Blue Sky Svaroopa Yoga Studio
Tranzon Auctions
Zeil Dougher and Fred Morin
RD Allen Jewelers
Garrand Marketing

Freeport Art Club (Contributing artists: Christy Deveault, Gail Morgan, Cindy Asherman, Mary Berry, Lynn Bickford, Corrine Bongiovanni, Maybelle Crasnick, Charlie Drew, Diana Johnson, Margareta McDonald, Gayl McNally, Mort Pannish, David and Pricilla McKeith)

Border Crossings: Kolosko-Dimow Duo at the Museum of Art

Border Crossings
Kolosko-Dimow Duo
October 7, 1:00 p.m.
Colby College Museum of Art
Waterville, Maine

Nathan Kolosko, classical guitar; Carl Dimow, flute and bass flute

The Kolosko-Dimow Duo will feature works from their new recording, Border Crossings, which draws on elements of classical music, world music, and jazz: Dimow's Klezmer Suite, Kolosko's Nayarit Suite (inspired by the novel The Pearlby Steinbeck), and the duo's collaborative arrangements of the Afro Sambas by the legendary Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell. Colby applied guitar faculty Carl Dimow appears here as flutist with critically acclaimed classical guitarist Nathan Kolosko.

Funded in part by the Freda M. Charles Music Fund

More concert dates for Nathan Kolosko

- The ISQ - Improvisational String Quartet - with Jozef van Wissem - Saturday October 17th, 8:00 pm
Space Gallery Space Gallery
http://www.space538.org/events.php

- Kolosko-Dimow Duo December 10th, 12 noon
UNE noonday concert
http://www.une.edu/

- Nathan Kolosko - Thursday January 14th, 12 noon
http://www.portlandconservatory.net/Nooondayschedule.pdf

New Recordings (to be released this fall)

- Border Crossings - This long awaited second release with Carl Dimow will include two new large scale compositions by each of us and our own arrangements of Baden Powell's Afro-Sambas. CD release concert TBA.

- Enso - Recorded in Tokyo with guitarist Dan Cosley. This recording contains two new compositions as well as a set of structured improvisations. The sonic variety on this recording is quite dramatic.

Below is a link to sound samples of my new composition from the recording, Yangisse jarabi: Published by Production d'OZ

http://www.productionsdoz.com/c378106983p17522348.2.html

Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm!!

Sincerely,

Nathan Kolosko
www.nathankolosko.com

Les papillons

We had monarch caterpillars in the class since the beginning of the year. We watched them evolve into cocoons and butterflies and released the first one a few days ago. We even made cards to announce the birth of the butterfly!

The K-1 class.

Lewiston Cabaret!

“Merci” car restoration celebration at the railway village on October 10th

All photos by Don Gaither, from the collection of Chris Allen.

The historic “Merci” Car, also known as the 40&8 Car, is a French railroad boxcar built in France in 1886, and is now part of the collection at the Boothbay Railway Village museum. The Car, filled with over 1,000 personal gifts from French citizens to the citizens of Maine, arrived in Maine in 1949 as part of The Gratitude Train, a French response -- a collective “merci,” or thank you -- for 700 box cars, called the Freedom Train, filled with relief supplies from the people of the United States. The relief supplies in the Freedom Train were sent to France in 1947 to help alleviate the devastation caused by the ravages of the Nazi occupation in World War II.

The Gratitude Train, or “Merci” Train, was also a response of the French people to the sacrifices made by Americans to protect France in WWI, and to liberate France from the Nazi occupation in WWII. Most of the gifts contained in the Maine Merci Car are preserved at the Maine State Museum in Augusta.

2009 marks the 60th Anniversary of the arrival of the Maine Merci Car in Maine. This historic boxcar was one of a 49 car railroad train, one for each of the then 48 States and one for the “territories” sent by the French people in February of 1949. It is only one of 39 such cars known to exist today. To mark the 60th Anniversary, the Boothbay Railway Village, with the help of volunteers and over twenty individual and organizational donors, is restoring the superstructure of the boxcar to look as it did when it arrived in 1949. The car was festooned with 46 plaques and banners, including the crests of each of the 40 French provinces that existed in 1949. The Railway Village is also launching a donor drive to raise additional funds to build a protective pavilion for the Maine Merci Train and a small endowment for its future preservation and for educational programs. A list of current donors may be found on the Railroad Village website, www.railwayvillage.org.

The restoration unveiling and ceremony on Saturday, October 10th at 1 pm, will open with a presentation of the flags of the United States, France, Maine and the “La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux,” (the 40&8 Society) a philanthropic organization of American veterans organized after WWI in 1921, by an honor guard of the Society. The “40&8” designation refers to the fact that the boxcar could carry forty men (“hommes”) or 8 horses (“chevaux”).

The Honorable, M. Christophe Guilhou, Consul General of France in Boston, will greet the attendees in French and English.

Mr. Joseph R. Phillips, Director of the Maine State Museum, where the gifts from the people of France to the people of Maine are preserved, will also speak on the history of the Maine Merci Car. Photos of some of the gifts will be available for viewing.

Mr. Earl Bennett, of Florida, a catalyst behind the restoration of the Merci/40&8 Cars throughout the United States, and founder of the website www.mercitrain.org, will also talk about the history of the Merci and Gratitude Trains.

The ceremony is expected to last forty minutes and will take place during the first day of the annual Fall Foliage Festival and Fair, considered one of the top Fall Fairs in the northeast. Gates to the Railway Village on Rte 27 South in Boothbay open at 9:30 am, and there is a nominal admission charge of $2.00, which supports the work of the Boothbay Civic Association and the Boothbay Railway Village. Additional contributions are welcomed.

The Boothbay Railway Village is a non-profit, 401 3(c) cultural and historical organization, located at 586 Wiscasset Road (Rte 27 South), Boothbay, Maine. To find out more about this event, or the work of The Railway Village, see their website, www.railwayvillage.org, or call 207-633-4727.

The plaque of the crest of the Province of Maine, France, one of forty provincial crests, which will adorn the historic, restored Maine Merci/Forty&8 Railroad Car being restored at the Boothbay Railway Village. Mr. Severin Beliveau, Honorable Consul of France for the State of Maine, sponsored this crest. Details of this and all sponsors of this restoration effort may be viewed on The Village website, www.railwayvillage.org.

L'Ecole Française du Maine was happy to contribute to this project through the sponsorship of a plaque of the Brittany region of France, a replica of the original plaque which decorated the "Merci Car" upon its arrival to the United States.

L'eau...

Last Friday, we started to work on the theme of water. We gave a bath to our baby, Emma. We learned new vocabulary and spoke about hygiene.Then we made an experiment with objects from the classroom to observe if they would sink or float. We glued photos of the objects on a chart. We had fun!

The children of Petite et Moyenne section.

New vertical blinds in the Pre-K classroom!

We are so happy with the new blinds which were purchased for the preschool classroom. These custom blinds are perfect for every moment of the day as we can open them completely or just a little bit, depending on the activity at hand. For example, we can close them entirely for our naptime too. Please peek in and take a look!

Visit from Curriulum Coordinator of Mission Laïque Française

On September 17, we had a visit form Soizic Bonnet, Curriculum Coordinator for the Mission Laique Française. Ms. Bonnet travels across the country sharing her knowledge and experience with the French schools who are members of the MLF in America. At L'Ecole Française du Maine, Soizic was very busy during her short stay. She conducted classroom observations in all classes and met individually with the teachers and administrators following the observations to give feedback and answer questions. We were all happy to benefit from her extensive knowledge and years of teaching experience at all levels. Soizic also read or new Projet d'Ecole and gave us valuable feedback on that as well. Her advice and contributions are helpful and appreciated as we move forward with our concentrated efforts in the area of oral language development in our school.