We are so grateful to our school community for their kindness, understanding, and excellent communication this past week. In addition, we are thankful for our wonderful families, our incredible healthcare team, the recent approval of vaccines for 5-11-year-olds, and the brighter horizon. More efforts to make for a healthier and safer year will be shared below, including the approval of a pooled testing initiative for EFDM that could begin as early as mid-December. If you have any questions about Thanksgiving travel/gathering protocols, please feel free to reach out.
Lots of important reminders this month, be sure to mark your calendars for the remainder of November’s events:
- Tomorrow, Thursday, November 18th: Café et Conversation with Catherine Caillet-Cohen, at 8:30 am in La Maison. Catherine is the former Lower School Division Head at the French American International School of Portland, Oregon (FAIS). She is now a pedagogical advisor for MLF-America and an IB-PYP consultant.
- Friday, November. 19th: IB PYP Professional development day, No School for all classes
- Nov. 24-26th: Thanksgiving Break, no school for all classes
Thanks to all for making our first round of Parent-Teacher Conferences a success! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask for a follow-up conversation.
The frosty mornings and dark afternoons of late make for some bundled-up recess time! Thank you for sending your student in daily with the necessary accessories and outerwear to enjoy the outdoors. We also will remind you that cold weather and lots of running around make for extra condensation on masks– Please begin to pack a few additional spares in addition to your usual mask bundle. Merci!
Looking back on the past two weeks of schooling, we had many fun moments! As we packed up and sent the traveling trunk exhibit on to its next adventure, we were already brainstorming ideas for what more we could do when it comes back next time. The English students did an excellent job of “hosting” other classes as they visited the museum last week. We want to thank the Hudson Museum for providing these resources that give a hands-on experience of Ancient Indigenous Cultures and prove the “People of the Dawn” are not just historical characters. They remain as living, working, creating, and teaching people here in Maine.
We look forward to expanding our Indigenous and Racial Equity Curriculum with other great local resources and learning tools such as these from the Hudson Museum.
And an extra reminder, your child must be in good health to come to school. A mild case of the sniffles does not necessitate staying home, but any strong present symptoms from a cold or illness must be improved and no longer threaten contagion. Please review our daily wellness checklist for details on what symptoms to look for and action steps to take if your child has a cold.
As always, please reach out to Emily in the office with any questions: office@frenchschool.me