Chinese New Year Celebration Video

To celebrate the year of the snake the school community gathered for a delicious Chinese meal, thanks to "Chef Steph, the Parents'Association, and many parent volunteers. The community hall was adorned with festive decorations, the parent volunteers wore costumes and the tables were laid with colorful ware and chopsticks for all.

The menu included:

Barley tea
Wonton soup
Dumplings
Veg fried rice
Veg egg rolls
Lo mein salad
Chinese pulled pork
We ended the meal with oranges for a sweet life and noodles for long life as well as fortune cookies

Thank you to all who helped make this event such a success. The students had a wonderful time as did the parents, grandparents and friends who joined us for this special treat! We could not have done it without all of the helping hands who pitched in to set up, prepare, serve and clean up afterwards. Happy New Year to all!

Thank you also to Sandrine for preparing this video as a souvenir- Enjoy!!

Les Ce1 et Ce2 s'attaquent au pointillisme

Pointillism (pron.: /ˈpwɛntɨlɪzəm/) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of pure color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term Pointillism was first coined by art critics in the late 1880s to ridicule the works of these artists, and is now used without its earlier mocking connotation. Neo-impressionism and Divisionism are also terms used to describe this technique of painting called pointillism.

We worked in groups. Our teacher gave us a picture of a light house located in Maine. We drew it on a white paper then painted it. Then, we cut thousands of holes in different colored paper with a punch holder. Very slowly, we glued each dot onto the corresponding color.

les CM2 remontent le temps avec la découverte des fossiles

As part of a unit about Evolution, 4^th and 5^th graders are studying fossilization. Therefore, they did an experiment with water, soil and sand in order to understand the meaning of sedimentation. Replacing soil with plaster allowed us to visualize how fossils are formed in a fun way.   

 

First, we filled our container with water,

 then we added some plaster of Paris.  

We needed to make sure that it was the prefect mix- it could not be too hard or too liquid.

Once done, we added some shells from different species: Snails,   mussels,  clams. 

To make sure they would not stick to the plaster, we rubbed some cooking oil on the shells first. After couples of days, we removed the shells and were able to see our fossils.

Maple Syrup and snow, a delicious recipe

Chef Steph came to school today to cook a really fun recipe. She boiled some Maple syrup with butter then, pour it onto the snow.

We each got a popsicle stick and dipped it into the mix. It was delicious. It tasted like maple caramel.  Yummy!! Merci Steph!!

Des sucreries pour le goûter

 All the children and staff want to thank the kind family who treated us with cakes to celebrate Mardi Gras.

 Anniversaires: on fait sauter les crêpes chez les GS et CP

First we put some flower into a bowl.








Then we add, some sugar, some eggs and some milk.

Next, we mix all the ingredients together really well and we let the dough rest.
Finally, we ate them with Nutella, sugar, jam and maple syrup. They were delicious!!

La maternelle aussi a fait sauter des crêpes:

We  learned the French names for the ingredients:

les oeufs- eggs

La farine-flower

Le sucre- sugar

Le lait-milk

Le sel-salt

le beurre-butter

Original recipe makes 8 crepes: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

  Directions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
  2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
  3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

   

Meet Céline Fournier ~ Teacher Joins Faculty

L'Ecole Française du Maine is thrilled to announce that Céline Fournier will be joining its faculty starting this March.  For the remainder of the academic year,  Céline will intervene in all classrooms in various capacities (i.e. instructional support - dance - yoga - FLE etc..) and will offer after school clubs in yoga and dance while finishing the writing of her Master's degree thesis on Teaching French as a Second Language for her second Master's degree. Céline will be teaching full-time next fall at L'Ecole Française du Maine.

Born in Auvergne, Céline grew up in the foothills along the ancient volcanoes of the Massif Central. In 2002, she received a Master’s degree in Physical Education (University Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand), specializing in anthropology and dance. That same year, she moved to Melbourne, Australia in order to study at Monash University, where she wrote a research thesis about the role of dance in Aboriginal culture. Later, Céline moved to Blois, in the midst of the Loire Valley chateaux, to work as a certified primary school teacher (Preschool to Grade 6). She has taught French as a second language to elementary students in the UK (in partnership with IUFM – Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres), and to American university students—to whom she also taught dance—who traveled to the Region Centre of France with a cultural exchange program. She is now finishing a Master’s degree in sociolinguistics and didactics of French as a second language at the University of Maine (France). Since 2008, Céline has taken part in workshops, in partnership with professional French choreographers, which explore dance within the classroom. Besides dance, her other passions include yoga and swimming. She has participated in programs that bring children and teenagers to dance in Paris and scuba dive in Corsica, and has supervised several linguistic excursions for teenagers in the U.K. and Canada. She is excited to begin work at L’Ecole Française du Maine and to get to know the faculty, the community and the region.

School Receives NEASC Certification at Annual Meeting

L'Ecole Française du Maine receives full NEASC certification at the NEASC Annual Meeting held at  Fairmont Copley Plaza- Boston on December 6, 2012.

Left to Right: Kenneth K. Quigley: President of Curry College - Milton, MA and President of NEASC; Willy LeBihan: Co-Founder and Head of School- L'Ecole Française du Maine; Elizabeth LeBihan: Co-Founder and Director of L'Ecole Française du Maine; William M. Bennett: Director of the Commission on Independent Schools;  Ann E. Scott: Associate Director of the Commission on Independent Schools

Dioramas de la mer en classe de Grande Section

We are really proud to present our "dioramas de la mer". This was a long project because there were many steps:

First we covered some shoeboxes with blue and green tissue paper just like the sea. Then we painted the inside with different shades of blue, dark blue, aqua, and marine blue. The next step was to draw and color some algae and coral. We created some starfish with play dough. To finish, we drew some seahorses and other fish that our teacher suspended with fishing thread. Our classroom fish "Talisse" would probably like to swim in our dioramas!

Bowdoin French Film Festival

February 20-23, 2013, Visual Arts Center
Free and Open to the Public
Reception on February 23, 6:00 p.m.
Films:
Tomboy
Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (I've loved you so Long)
Curling
17 filles (17 Girls)
Le Havre
Nenette
Sponsored by the French Embassy in the United States, the Romance Languages, Biology and Education Departments, the Film Studies Program, Counseling Center, Lectures and Concerts with support from the Bowdoin French Club

Inauguration with Consul General of France Fabien Fieschi

Consul General of France, Fabien Fieschi, cuts the inaugural ribbon held by fourth and fifth grade students.

The event was well attended by families, neighbors, friends of the school and distinguished guests.  On the left, State Representative,  David Webster discusses with Freeport  Town Manager: Peter Joseph and Town Hall manager Johanna Hanselman.  School parents in the background.

From left to right:  Richard Ortoli: AFE; Consul General Fabien Fieschi; Louis Morin: Executive Director of the Franco-American Heritage Center and Larry Gilbert: Lewiston Mayor visit the new classroom.

From left to right Jean-François Fouque: third grade teacher; Willy LeBihan; Consul General Fabien Fieschi; Dasha Betts: Second Grade Teacher;  Anne Miller: Cultural Attachée.  Students from the 2nd-3rd grade class.

First grade classroom teacher Yassine Merchi reads a story to his students.  Consul General Fabien Fieschi and Cultural Attachee Anne Miller.

Kindergarten Teacher Philomene Rossini engages her students in a vocabulary game.

The Parents' Association prepared a reception at the Community Hall

Accreditation ~ Homologation

          

Consul General of France, Fabien Fieschi, gives to Willy LeBihan, Founder and Head of School, the accreditation certificate from the French Minsitry of Education.  L'Ecole Française du Maine is now fully accredited from preschool to grade 5 (Maternelle + Elémentaire) - only 40 other institutions in North America hold such an accreditation from the French Ministry of Education.  During his presentation, Consul General Fabien Fieschi reminded the audience of the amazing accomplishments of the school in 2012, the year it celebrated its 10th year anniversary.  L'Ecole obtained its full accreditation with the New England Association of School and Colleges after a three year self study, got full Approval from the Maine Department of Education as an approved independent school and secured its "homologation" for the remaining Cycle 3 with the French Ministry of Education: three accreditations in one year ! The School has been accredited for Cycles 1 and 2 since 2007.

Also the school maintained a 15% annual enrollment growth, completed the renovation of the school basement to create needed space for the upcoming 6th grade class, started a DELF program for its alumni which allows them to continue their French education leading to a diploma from the French Ministry of Education and celebrated the success with honors of the very first two students of L'Ecole Française du Maine to The "Diplome National du Brevet", an amazing accomplishment for students who never attended school in France. They were the first in Maine to earn this diploma!

The consul concluded by inviting the audience to attend the school's theatrical representation of "Emilie Jolie" scheduled for March 8th, 2013 at noon at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston.  Each year since the school's opening, the school reaches out to the Francophone communities of Maine through a free of charge event at the Franco-American Heritage Center. This event is always well-attended and the members of FAHC look forward to seeing the children with great anticipation.

Richard Ortoli Esq., President of the Board of New-York French Charter school and representative of the French Nationals of the East-Coast introduces Consul General of France, Fabien Fieschi.  Mr. Ortoli explained the importance of bilingual education for children today in our ever changing world.  Mr. Ortoli speaks six languages fluently and was the school's commencement speaker last June.

From left to right, Cynthia Beliveau, Willy and Elizabeth LeBihan, Severin Beliveau: Honorary Consul of France for Maine.  Mr. Beliveau has been closely following and supporting the growth of the school for the last ten years.

New Classroom completed

Left front: Beth LeBihan, Founder; Right Front: Severin Beliveau, Honorary Consul of France for Maine; Background: Guy Quadrucci- school neighbor

L'Ecole Française du Maine is delighted to announce the completion of its new classroom and entrance, designed for the 2013-2014 Fifth and Sixth grade class to accommodate the School's increased enrollment.  The all-in-glass staircase and entry was designed and constructed by Doug Piehl, owner of Freeport Services and Freeport Conservatories.  This addition blends remarkably well with the original 1950's building style and was able to take advantage of a large unoccupied space below the building. The large glass doorway offers a spectacular view of the playground and brings in natural light.  Residents of the village of South Freeport have praised the design of this addition.  A special thanks to Doug Piehl and his crew for meeting the deadline of the inauguration of January 30th, despite uncooperative weather.

Families, friends, students and distinguished guests visit the new classroom space.

Claude Monet visite la classe de CE1 et CE2

In art class, we are studying impressionism. As an assignment, we had to re-create " le bassin aux Nymphéas" de Claude Monet.

First, we cut some pieces of masking tape and glued them into a bridge shape on our piece of paper. Second, we used green paint and our fingers to paint the water...
   Third, we added some blue shades for the water and finally created some lily pads with pink tissue paper. Claude Monet would have been impressed by our paintings!