Spring Suzuki Concert Part 1: Piano

We couldn't be prouder of our Suzuki Piano Musicians who performed at our Spring Suzuki Concert this week. We even had a rocking performance by Anca who composed and performed her own piece on the electric guitar! Congratulations to our young musicians for a wonderful performance!

We are looking forward to our Spring Suzuki Concert Part 2 featuring our guitarists and violinists on Tuesday, May 28th at 2 pm. 

We hope to see you there!

And they're off!

Over the last few weeks, Early Childhood students have been excitedly testing out their green thumbs by growing seedlings in their classroom.  Students nurtured the seedlings by making sure they had proper light, water, and food while also noticing their growth. This week, the seedlings graduated to the outdoors!  Fingers crossed as we hope to be enjoying a bountiful harvest of zucchini, carrots, radishes, and nasturtiums very soon!

Mathematicians at work!

Things are really adding up in the GS/CP classroom as students work with numbers that carry over.  No calculators needed in this classroom!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all of our EFDM moms:

We thank you for all you do every day- your love and devotion shine through and we are grateful for the gift of your children! 

May you all have many joys and happy moments to cherish and celebrate. 

Wishing you all a happy, bright, and joyful 

Mother's Day this weekend.

Happy Mother's Day!

Outdoor Dining!

This week we happily welcomed warmer temperatures, and we even noticed a circular yellow object high in the sky!  What a treat it was to enjoy some sunshine together after the rainy days of April.  Students enjoyed dining outside which brought lots of smiles and joy to our lunch gathering.  On weather appropriate days, we will continue having lunch outside...hopefully with a healthy serving of Vitamin D as well!

Geology ROCKS!

Sophie found an amazing  green tourmaline!

The 3rd and 4th grade took their science class on the road. As part of their physical science curriculum they are studying rocks and minerals. They traveled to Oxford County near the most famous mine of Maine: Mt. Mica of Paris, Maine.

(Yes, Paris of all places!) 

This mine has yielded the most beautiful green tourmaline specimens in the world! The mine is still active so the children could not enter the quarry. Instead, they went to Dig Maine Gems, who brings rocks and sand from the mine to a safe location. They have all of the equipment on site, including tools, tables and water, so the "Little Gelolgists" can sort through it to search for gems. They had great luck and so much fun! Following their hard work, they did visit a nearby inactive quarry site for a little field exploration and a nice picnic lunch. 

Our Head of School, Willy, a lifelong geology buff, is always looking for an opportunity to go dig in the dirt. He was so impressed by the level of interest and depth of questions the students displayed on this trip and he was happy to lead the expedition.

A trip to Australia

Thankfully the round-trip happened during the school day and was jet-lag free!  Huge thank you to the grandparents of Isabel, Janet and Dick Post, who gave an incredible presentation about Australia to the GS/CP classroom.  They shared information about life in Australia which included geography, animals, housing, school life, an Aboriginal legend, and so much more.  "Merci beaucoup" for their visit!

Lights, Camera, Action!

We had even more excitement at school this week when WCSH6arrived to do a feature story on keeping French alive in Maine. Make sure you check out the story, where you will see cameo appearances from our students, parents and staff.  Look out Hollywood here they come!

English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and in the digital age, we have translation tools at our fingertips. It's as easy as downloading an app! So what are the benefits of knowing a second language in the 21st century? We explore that question through a visit to "L'Ecole Française du Maine" in Freeport. NEWS CENTER Maine

The feature from journalist Hannah Dineen can be found here. 

Partners in Crime

This week, Officer Michael McManus, the School Resource Officer for Cumberland County, visited classrooms at EFDM.  He spoke to our students about the role of police officers in our community, certain aspects of the job, gave tours of his police cruiser, and even spoke in detail about his uniform and special equipment. 

We couldn't resist sharing pictures of our staff enjoying the visit from Officer McManus, as they were clearly inspired by the profession!

Have Victorien and Simon changed careers?

But the bigger question is...

What did Suzie do?  

Look out for fairies and elves!

Look before you step... Thankfully our students are taking care of the fairies and elves at EFDM. In aftercare, our students are getting creative and having a lot of fun making fairy houses.  Please feel free to visit them throughout the school yard!

International Jazz Day

Celebrated around the globe each year on April 30, International Jazz Day highlights the power of jazz as a force for freedom and creativity, promotes intercultural dialogue through respect and understanding, and unites people from all corners of the globe.  Established in partnership with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, the day is recognized on the official calendars of both UNESCO and the United Nations.

This week Peter Dugas and Gary Wittner, our fantastic Suzuki music teachers, hosted a workshop for our students on International Jazz Day where they performed and also discussed jazz music and what makes it so unique.  They also shared with students the history of jazz and the art of improvisation.    Merci Peter and Gary!

Sports fun!

Things are getting tossed around in sports class this week!  Students in the Early Childhood classroom had a lot of fun tossing various objects around to specific areas or objects.  What a fun class this was!

Bonhomme d'avril

Every month, Early Childhood students practice drawing the human body. The « bonhomme » drawings are kept in a notebook to see the child's progress throughout the year.

First, they draw a "Mister Potato" like body.  Then students add a head separate from the body, hands, fingers, feet, and hair.

Make sure you check out these adorable works of art in their drawing notebooks!

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

While we all watched the shocking fire at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris Monday, television stations around the US sought out French schools to attempt to provide context for this tragedy.  Willy LeBihan, Head of School, was interviewed by WGME CBS 13.

Several organizations, sponsored by the French Embassy, are accepting donations:

https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/friends/history/

A Tick Talk

Huge Thanks to Adina Zelener, Founder of LymeTV.org for the wonderful classroom presentations for our students. These age-appropriate presentations had the children very engaged and taught them how to stay safe when playing out-of-doors. Adina used stories, a tick stuffed animal and interactive Q&A to stress to the children the importance of checking for ticks, wearing tick safe clothing and bug-spray, and what to do if they do find a tick on their bodies. 

We are so proud of the children who were a wonderful audience and who asked such pertinent questions! The children were also given a fun activity book to remind them of all they learned. To follow up, Adina provided the makings for a fun art project- the children will decorate tick tubes that will soon be placed strategically in the playground to keep us all safe! Merci, Adina!