In this issue .................HALLOWEEN PARADE................
PS-Prek / PS-MS		Pre-K / Moyenne section		K / Grande section		1st g / CP		2nd g / CE1
3rd g / CE2		4th g / CM1		5th / CM2		Alumni Spotlight		Science & Professional Development

Preschool-Prek / Petite et moyenne section

Vive les pommes !!!

Nous avons étudié l’album Trognon et Pépin, l’histoire de deux petites pommes qui ne veulent pas être mangées. Nous avons également lu un livre documentaire J’aime les pommes qui nous a permis d’apprendre plein de choses sur les pommes.
Pour finir, nous avons préparé deux gâteaux au yaourt avec des pommes que nous avons dégustés à l’heure du goûter. Quel délice !

Making Applesauce

On Friday September 25th the preschool class took part in making applesauce. We started with a variety of apples, red, green and yellow and we chopped them up, sprinkled a little cinnamon and water, and watched the chunks of apples turn into applesauce. The children also got to sample each of the apples during our taste testing activity which took place at the same time. We got two thumbs up from the children as they enjoyed taking part in our yummy adventure!

Pre-K / Moyenne section

Tour de l'école

En début d’année, tous les enfants de la classe ont visité l’école pour se familiariser avec les lieux et les personnes qui les occupent. Nous sommes passés de classe en classe, nous avons vu toutes les pièces  et nous sommes même allés jusqu’au second bâtiment où se trouvent la bibliothèque, la salle informatique et le bureau de Bernard et Mariel. Nous avons fait des posters que nous avons affichés en classe. Cela nous aidera beaucoup quand nous devrons quitter la Moyenne Section pour passer en Grande Section, changer de cour de récréation et changer de maîtresses.

A Nocturnal Classmate in Pre-K

The Pre-K students welcomed Chester Raccoon to our classroom.   Don’t worry, Chester is not a real raccoon, he is a stuffed animal!  We learned that real raccoons live in the forest.  Although they are very cute and furry, we should never pet a real raccoon, because they are wild animals.  Some of us have seen them at campgrounds or in our neighbors’ garbage cans.  Usually raccoons sleep during the day and are awake at night.  We learned a new word to describe that:  “nocturnal”.  We learned that mice and bats are also nocturnal, just like raccoons!  We try our best to be quiet so as not to disturb Chester when he sits with us at circle time, so that he can sleep during the day.  On Friday afternoon, we are all so excited to find out who will get to take Chester home for the weekend.  The teacher picks one student’s name randomly out of a box.  Chester has a special backpack that we carry him in so we don’t lose him.   We promise to take very good care of him.  When we bring him back to school on Monday morning, we tell our classmates what we did with Chester over the weekend.  Sometimes we show them pictures, too.  Chester has had a good life so far; he has been fishing, he has been to soccer games, he has even been skateboarding and bike riding.   Most of all, Chester has been loved by the Pre-K students.

Sciences: Les parties du corps

Parmi les projets de sciences que nous avons faits, nous avons particulièrement parlé de notre corps. Nous avons appris à nommer les différentes parties de notre corps, à voir que nos bras et nos jambes bougent car on peut les plier. Charlotte et Josie nous ont demandé de nous allonger sur un grand papier blanc pour tracer notre silhouette. Puis nous les avons découpées nous-même. Cela a été un travail long mais c’était bien amusant. Nous les avons ensuite décorées avec des petits morceaux de tissu.
Nous avons aussi parlé du trajet d’une pomme dans notre corps. D’abord, on la mâche, puis elle descend dans un tube dans le cou avant d’arriver dans l’estomac. Nous avons mimé avec nos mains comment elle y est écrasée. Puis les tout petits bouts vont dans l’intestin. Là, ce qui est bon va dans le sang et on se débarrasse de ce qui ne sert pas à notre corps. Nous avons colorié le trajet de la pomme sur une feuille.

The Fruits of Our Labor:  Hard Work Never Tasted So Good!

The Pre-K students had a wonderful fieldtrip to Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville.  We visited the apple orchards and were shown how to pick apples from the trees by grabbing, twisting, and pulling.  Luckily the trees were not so tall, so there were plenty of apples we could reach independently.   The type of apples we picked is called “Newtown Pippin”.  They are green (even when ripe) and slightly tart – perfect for bringing back to school for making apple pies!

We prepared for our fieldtrip by learning about how apples grow, and how honeybees play an important role in the pollination process.  We learned about the different seasons of the apple tree; how they are bare in winter until the leaf buds and blossoms start to form in the spring.  After the blossoms fall, the apple buds appear during the early summer months and keep growing until in autumn they are ripe and ready to be picked.

At Gizdich Ranch, we heard stories about Johnny Apple Seed, the legendary American pioneer who helped to plant apple trees across the country by spreading seeds wherever he went.  We also saw how apple juice is made by a special machine which squeezes the juice from the washed apples.  The leftover apple peels and pressed apples are sold to farmers for animal feed, so nothing is wasted!   We tasted the apple juice made at Gizdich Ranch at it was absolutely delicious – and good for us too!

Finally, we used the apples we picked to make apple pies.  Parents volunteered to help us and we had a lot of fun cutting up the apples and making the apple pie filling with cinnamon, sugar, flour, lemon and cider vinegar.  The parents brought us back the freshly baked pies, still warm from the oven, for us to eat during our afternoon recess.  We ate them “a la mode” with vanilla ice cream – yum! 

After the apple pie was all gone we learned a silly song called “No More Pie!” which made us laugh a lot!

Special thanks to Mrs. Paquier who made us a beautiful DVD slide show of our first field trip!

Les citrouilles

C’est presque Halloween et nous avons bien sûr fait un projet sur les citrouilles. Nous avons lu un livre qui explique comment elles poussent à partir d’une graine. Nous avons fait un petit livre-accordéon qui explique comment la graine pousse et donne une jeune plantule. C’est la fleur qui va donner la petite citrouille qui va bien grossir !
Josie a apporté une citrouille et l’a vidée devant nous. Nous avons touché la chair et les graines de la citrouille. C’est mouillé mais ça sent bon ! Puis Charlotte l’a sculptée en « Jack-O-lantern ». Nous l’avons mise sur  notre table de sciences avec à côté, une assiette avec des graines. Charlotte va les griller pour que nous les goûtions lundi !

Princesses, Pirates and Pumpkins!

We have a lot of fun activities planned for Halloween week.  We are going to visit the Uesugi Farms pumpkin patch in Morgan Hill.  At the pumpkin patch we will have a hayride through the pumpkin, sunflower and corn fields.  We will also visit the pumpkin laboratory to see how pumpkins grow.  In our classroom, we have talked about the pumpkin life cycle and one of our classmates, Raphael, brought us a pumpkin vine from his garden so we could actually see, feel, and touch it!   Pumpkins start out as a teeny tiny seed which turns into a sprout.  With lot of sun and water, the sprout becomes a vine and yellow flowers begin to grow upon it.  The flowers become small green pumpkins at first, but they grow and grow to become large and orange.   Around Halloween time they are ready to be picked.  We can turn them into jack-o-lanterns or we can cook food with them.  We learned a recipe for pumpkin muffins and are going to bake some ourselves.  We are also going to make our own treat bags for the parade and do some other arts and crafts for Halloween.  We can’t wait to get dressed up in our costumes!  Several of us will be princesses, others will be pirates or Star Wars characters, and some of us will be witches, superheroes, and animals!

K / Grande section

Au revoir Mathis!
Donne-nous très vite des nouvelles de Singapour

Pour le départ de Mathis nous avons eu une journée spéciale:
Atelier d’art plastique pour créer un petit recueil souvenir de notre classe que Mathis a emporté avec lui.  La journée s’est terminée au parc pour partager jeux et goûter.
Nous souhaitons à Mathis une belle installation et une merveilleuse aventure à Singapour.

Au coin des poètes: Travail sur les couleurs et les rimes.

Le roi Jaune est sur son trône
Monsieur Vert est en colère
Il gronde Monsieur Rouge qui bouge
Monsieur Rose dit quelque chose
Monsieur Bleu est un peureux
Monsieur Blanc a mal aux dents
Et Monsieur Noir nous dit “ Bonsoir !”

Et ci-dessous, la suite écrite par la classe des GS en production collective:
Chaque vers a été illustré en classe ( en travail graphique sur les différentes expressions du visage ).

Monsieur Violet fait du gâteau roulé
Monsieur Orange a peur qu’on le mange
Monsieur Marron joue au ballon
Monsieur Gris n’aime pas la pluie
Monsieur Beige va à la neige

Et Monsieur de toutes les couleurs cueille des fleurs.

Gizdich Ranch – Watsonville

The students brought in the fall with a fun-filled field trip to Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville to go apple picking.  After the bus ride (which they all seemed to greatly enjoy) we ate lunch in the beautiful picnic area, and were then greeted by our tour guides who took us to the orchard, armed us with our buckets, and showed us how to pick apples from the trees.  Following our apple picking, we were all grouped together for a Johnny Appleseed lesson and sing along (some students taught our guides how to sing in French!!!).  We completed the tour with a DVD on making apple juice, a taste of Gizdich’s apple juice (which was so good that parents were asking where it can be purchased locally.  Sadly, only their apples and pies are found elsewhere, so if you would like their apple juice, you need to make a trip down to Watsonville.  It is, however, well worth the ride J), and a quick, very cold walk through tour of their storage facility.

The students all had a wonderful time.  Here are their most memorable parts of the trip:

Tamara – “All of it.”
Naoki – “Putting them in the bucket.”
Barry – “Eating the apples.”
Jules – “Picked the apple.”
Marc – “When we were picking the apples.”
Ella – “When we were drinking the juice.”
Jean Pierre – “I like to pick one apple.”
Julia – “The story.”
Audric – “When we picking the apple.”
Helena – “I liked the apples.”
Maia – “When we were drinking the juice.”
Minh Anh – “I like to drink the juice.”
Hanson – “The picking apples.”
Jillian – “Watching the TV.”
Benjamin – “Picking the apples.”
Jeanne – “I liked the songs.”
Nikhil – “I liked eating the juice.”
Paul – “Playing on the farm.”
Mathilde – “The song.”
Antoine – “I like to go on the bus and eating the apples.”

A special “thank you” to all of the parents who accompanied us on this field trip!!!!!

1st g / CP

J’ai rêvé que …

En classe, nous venons de terminer la lecture de notre tout premier album : “J’ai rêvé que …”. C’est l’histoire d’un petit garçon qui pendant son sommeil, rêve de devenir le chef du monde, de devenir riche, et de bien d’autres choses encore. Nous avons voulu réécrire l’histoire et transformer le livre que nous avons intitulé : “Les CP rêvent que …”

Valentine : “J’ai rêvé que je faisais pousser une citrouille rose.”
Benjamin : “J’ai rêvé que je faisais un calin à ma maman.”
Sophie : “J’ai rêvé que je nageais dans une piscine rouge.”
Adèle : “J’ai rêvé que je ramassais une citrouille verte.”
Estéfano : “J’ai rêvé d’une école sans maîtresse.”
Zaki: “J’ai rêvé que je devenais un fantôme invisible.”
Neekan : “J’ai rêvé que je faisais peur à la sorcière.”
Manon : “J’ai rêvé que je mangeais beaucoup de chocolat sans jamais être malade.”
Kyla : “J’ai rêvé que la maîtresse était verte.”
Lucie : “J’ai rêvé que j’allais tous les jours à l’école.”
Sébastian : “J’ai rêvé que l’école n’existait pas.”
Maya : “J’ai rêvé que j’étais un ogre qui mangeait les enfants.”
Anaëlle : “J’ai rêvé que je faisais peur à ma maman.”
Natasha : “J’ai rêvé que je peignais mes cheveux en vert.”
Lenaig : “J’ai rêvé que ma maman me faisait des gâteaux.”
Hana : “J’ai rêvé que les enfants de l’école avaient tous disparus.”
Maëlis : “J’ai rêvé que mes parents m’offraient un chien.”
Lindsay : “J’ai rêvé que mon papa rentrait tôt à la maison le soir.”
Alexandre : “J’ai rêvé que la neige en Russie était rouge et verte.”
Chiara : “J’ai rêvé que les élèves pouvaient faire ce qu’ils voulaient.”
Kayra : “J’ai rêvé que je devenais une belle fleur.”

2nd g / CE1

Ce que je préfère a l'école

David : Les maths et les siences.
Sibylle : Les sciences car c’est très intéressant.
Naomi : Les maths. L’Ile aux mots.
Jade : Les coloriages magiques.
Carl : Les maths et la musique.
Maria : Les sciences, la musique et l’informatique.
Anjelle : Les maths, la musique, les sciences.
Bryan : Les maths, la récréation, et dessiner.
Benjamin : La musique, le sport et les maths.
Basile : L’ anglais.
Tristan : La musique.
Amira : Les sciences car j’apprends beaucoup de choses.
Tim : Les sciences et la musique.
Hugo : Le sport (courir et le relais), la musique (les instruments), travailler (les maths).
Oscar : La musique, les sciences, l’art.
Tom : Le sport.
Annabelle : L’art et la musique.
Céliane : Les sciences.

Brave Irene

On Wednesday, October 14, 2009, the 1st and 2nd graders went to see the play “Brave Irene” at the theater in Sunnyvale. “Brave Irene” is a story written by William Steig.  This play is about a young girl named Irene. Despite a raging snowstorm, Irene, a dressmaker's daughter, offers to deliver the duchess' newly finished ball gown when her mother takes ill. Mrs. Bobbin reluctantly agrees but when Irene gets outside, snowflakes blur her eyes, the wind pushes and pulls her along, and blowing gusts eventually whip the dress box from her hands. She grabs the box, but the dress flies out and whirls away. Despite a sore foot, Irene tramps on, determined to explain to the duchess what happened, but soon she is lost in the snow. Suddenly, she spots a light in the forest-the palace. At first too tired to continue, she quickly realizes she can use the dress box for a sled. And there, plastered on a tree outside the duchess’ palace is the dress! Irene is welcomed inside and even takes a spin around the dance floor before being driven home in a horse-drawn sleigh.
The students really enjoyed watching this play. Georgia Ellis 

3rd g / CE2

Applied Mathematics

We had fun recently with math.  We are learning that when we measure, we have to use the same thing, like the same ruler. And we can even make our own ruler.  So we decided to make a ruler not with our feet but with our shoes.
First we had to decide how to find the average shoe size of the class, then make a ruler this size and after measure things in our class!
We decided put our shoes in a line and measure with string.  Then we divided the length of string by 20 because we are 20 in our class.  Louise made us “shoe size” rulers and we measured things around us.
We had fun!

Notre début de CE2

Ces quelques semaines ont permis à tout le monde de se retrouver et de mieux se connaître.
Nous nous sommes rapidement mis au travail et avons déjà appris plein de choses passionnantes notamment en histoire et en géographie.
Cela a été aussi le moment de dire aurevoir à Camille, qui nous a quitté pour vivre de nouvelles aventures avec sa famille en Asie. Nous espérons avoir de ses nouvelles très bientôt.
Les vacances approchent et nous allons finir ces premières semaines avec la célébration d’Halloween que nous attendons tous avec impatience.

4th g / CM1

Si tu étais un inventeur...

Suite à l’assemblée du 10 octobre sur les inventeurs et innovateurs célèbres, les CM1 ont répondu à la question suivante:

Si tu étais un inventeur ou un  innovateur, serais-tu celui que tu as présenté ?

Sami: Je voudrais être quelqu’un d’autre. Je serais Frank Epperson parce que j’adore les glaces à l’eau.
Alexandra: Moi,je voudrais être Jane Addams (la première femme à gagner le prix nobel de la paix) parce qu’elle voyageait beaucoup et aimait la paix.
Mateen: Je serais Will Kellogs parce qu’il est très célèbre et il est intelligent. Il a commencé une compagnie de céréales.
Sabrina : Moi je ne veux pas être Emily Warner. Je veux être Jerrie Mock ou Jane Addams.
Kenji: J’ai présenté Georges de Mistral et je voudrais être lui dans la vraie vie.
Fiona : Moi, j’aime bien mon personnage parce que j’adore faire du snowboard et je pense que c’était un bon personnage.
Callista: j’aimerais être quelqu’un d’autre qu’Elisabeth Blackwell parce que je n’aime pas être docteur. J’aimerai être la petite fille de Barack Obama.
Killian: J’n’ai pas  aimé mon personnage et je regrette un peu car personne ne le connait et il n’avait pas l’air très gentil sur la photo.
Mel: J’aimerais être Douglas Engelbart parce qu’il a inventé la souris d’ordinateur et sans la souris ce serait peut-être différent.
Nicolas: Jaime bien Carlos Santana parce que c’est un musicien et ses musiques sont dynamiques et ça donne envie de danser.
Margaux: J’aurais préféré être Amélia Earheart car je préfère les aviatrices plutôt que les navigatrices.
Alexei: J’aimerai être Henry Ford parce que j’aime les voitures.
Laurenn: Je serais Jerrie Mock parce qu’elle a fait quelque chose d’important.
Anselme: J’aimerais bien changer car je n’ai pas vécu longtemps. J’aurais préféré être Carlos Santana car j’aime le paysage mexicain.
Tim: Non. Je préfère être Carlos Santana car il est trop fort! Moi je veux être chanteur de rock puis les jeans Levis ça ne fait pas cool!
Amin: J’aurais aimé être mon personnage car il est riche et a vécu longtemps.
Cameron : J’aurais aimé être Douglas Engelbart parce que j’aime bien les ordinateurs.

First Term in 4th Grade

The 2009-2010 school year is off to a very busy start in 4th grade.  The students have worked hard all through the first term, and are ready for the fall break! 

The students prepared for the 1st assembly of the school year, on “Famous Firsts” with the 5th graders.  Each student chose a famous inventor or pioneer from the arts, entertainment, politics, sports, or history and brought their character to life.  On October 9, 2009, the parents, teachers, student body and administration of FASSV were greeted by many famous individuals who were barely recognizable in costume at the assembly.  Furthermore, the audience was quizzed to see if, after being provided with 3 clues about each famous first person, the audience could guess who the 4th and 5th graders were impersonating!  The assembly was a lot of fun and a great creative opportunity for the students!  Thank you Penny, Martine, the 5th graders, and Catherine for all of your hard work on this project!  All students deserve recognition for a job well done, and a big “thank you” for all of your preparations to make the assembly a success.  The students also completed Social Studies reports on his/her famous first person in both English and French.  Excellent job 4th and 5th grade!

We had a field trip to the Tech Museum of Innovation on Thursday, October 8, 2009, along with 5th grade (see pictures with the 5th grade article).  The students completed a lab on “Energy at Play” and had a chance to be engineers and scientists building toys that exerted different types of energy.  The students also enjoyed the exhibits at the museum, especially the interactive drawing robot!  There will be more exciting field trips throughout the year. 

The 4th graders are writing ghost stories for Halloween, learning about California’s geography, natural resources, regions, and first peoples.   Be sure to ask your 4th grader about how we made “California pizza” in class!  The students have been doing excellent work throughout all disciplines of the curriculum, and are off to a successful start!

We are very happy to have Catherine Monson as our French teacher and Anastasia’s counterpart! The year promises to be enriching and fun!

We hope that everyone enjoys a safe and wonderful fall break! 

Bravo Fiona!

Yet another big achievement for Fiona Stemmelin, our very own gymnast!
Fiona has been selected to be part of the USA Gymnastics National TOP Team (9-year old), ranking amongst the very best American gymnasts of her generation at the 2009 national testing this last September. Fiona was already a National Team Member (8-year old) in 2008, and confirmed again her high ranking this year by being amongst the very few Californian gymnasts to be part of the National Team.
She will then participate in December to the national training camp at the famous USA Gymnastics Training Center in Texas, and will be coached by the trainers of the National and the Olympic Gymnastics Teams.
In parallel, Fiona is also competing at Junior Olympics - Level 6 and has been winning all the NORCAL meets of the competition season so far.

5th / CM2

Energy at Play

On Tuesday, October 6, 2009, the 4th and 5th graders went to the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose.  When we first arrived to the Tech, we participated in a science lab called “Energy at Play.”  In this lab, we experimented with energy. We were separated into groups of three. The types of energies that we played with were potential, gravitational and elastic.  Our mission was to build toys that had a gravitational or elastic purpose.  We needed to get a Velcro ping pong ball on a Velcro target without using any human force.  On the first try we had to launch the ball 50 cm. with a catapult we made out of tinker toys, rubber bands, and springs.  On the second try, we had to make a catapult with gravitational energy that launched the ball 100 cm.  Many of the teams failed this second mission, but that was okay, because we tried our hardest.  We all had a great time at the lab.
When we finished the lab, we had lunch.  After lunch, we were allowed to tour the museum with our chaperone. We saw many exhibits.  There was one on earthquakes that was a lot of fun.  There was another one where there were screens with waterfalls and butterflies on them.  When you stuck your hand out, it looked the butterflies were actually on your arm.  At another exhibit, you got to stand in front of a computer and a web cam took a picture of you and then a robotic arm had to draw your picture.
Overall, we had a great time at The Tech.  

L’assemblée du 9 octobre

Le vendredi 9 octobre, nous vous avons présenté la première assemblée de l’année. Nous avons beaucoup travaillé pour la préparer. Nous avons choisi un personnage : un inventeur ou un pionnier, ensuite nous avons fait des recherches sur notre personnage, nous avons préparé un exposé et nous avons décidé quels seraient les trois indices que nous allions vous donner afin de vous permettre de deviner qui nous étions. Toute cette préparation était intéressante, mais le plus amusant a été de préparer nos costumes. Nous espérons que vous avez aimé l’assemblée, que vous avez appris plein de choses sur les inventeurs et surtout que vous vous êtes amusés autant que nous. Merci d’être venus aussi nombreux. (voir les photos avec l'article des CM1)

Alumni Spotlight

Name:  HAITHEM TURKI
Year graduated from FASSV: 2001
Languages spoken: English, French, Arabic

Schools attended since FASSV:
Middle School(s): International School of the Peninsula, Lycee Pierre Mendes France (in Tunisia)
High School(s): Lycee Rochambeau
University(s): Stanford University

If in University, what is your major? Computer Science

What career do you think you might like to pursue as an adult? Working in/Founding a high-tech start-up in the Silicon Valley.

What are your pastimes and interests (extra-curricular activities, sports, clubs, etc.)
Soccer, Videogames, and I'm going to start working on the Stanford Solar Car Project this summer.

What is your favorite memory from your years at FASSV?  
Going to Montreal in 5th grade with my friends.

What is something you appreciate about France or the French culture? I love French rap music.

How has learning French impacted your life?
Being in the French system for K-12 exposed me to a culture and language I would not have experienced otherwise. Knowing how to speak French is a very useful skill to have, especially when traveling around the world.

Do you keep in touch with your former classmates from FASSV? If so,with whom?
I keep in touch with Sean Pan and Cameron Lee from time to time.

Science Corner

Project “Dirty Hands”

We started the year with a very special project. The 3rd, 4th and 5th graders have had a great opportunity to use Petri Dishes. Samia Hakem very kindly brought to our students Petri dishes for an experiment that we named “Project Dirty hands”.
Here is what we did:
In each of the 3 classes:

• We used one (1) control Petri Dish: it simply means that we did not use it. It was our reference to be compared with the other.
• On two (2) other Petri dishes, I asked 2 students to wash their hands and then to press their palm on the gel. It was marked MP (mains propres=clean hands).
• On three (3) other Petri dishes, I asked 3 students not to wash their hands (coming back from recess) and then to press their palm on the gel. It was marked MS (mains sales=dirty hands).
• Finally, we sealed the Petri dishes with paraffin film or tape to avoid  contamination from outside.

The students did not really know what to expect since we cannot see germs.
The results were very impressive in just one day and a half.

• Each Petri dish marked MS was already almost covered with bacteria colonies or with fungus.
• Each Petri dish marked MP had already some bacteria colonies or some fungi.

The students were able to observe the colonies every other day. They took turns to observe with a magnifier.
We talked also about good and useful bacteria (cooking, digestion …).
Here are some pictures and some comments from the students about this experiment and its impact on their lifestyle:

From the CE2:
“Je vais prendre de meilleures habitudes pour me laver les mains”. (Miles)
“Je  vais me laver les mains avant chaque repas, 3 fois par jour”. (Jules)
“Il ne faut pas se sucer les doigts” (Elise), “se ronger les ongles” (Dylan), “mettre ses doigts dans les yeux, la bouche, les oreilles”. (Anthony).
“Il faut se laver les mains après s’être mouché.(Melanie)
“Même quand on se lave les mains, on n’enlève pas tous les microbes”.(Veronica)
“Les boîtes de Petri ne sentent pas bon!” (Sophie)
“Ça sent le fromage!” ( Théo )

From the CM1:
“Je vais toujours me laver les mains car j’ai vu ce qu’il y a sur les mains”! (Amin)
“Quand on se lave les mains, ça ne marche pas vraiment. Il y a encore des microbes”.
( Alexandra )
“Il ne faut pas beaucoup toucher les choses sales ou les gens malades”.(Cameron)
“J’ai appris que quand on ne se lave pas bien les mains, il y a plein de microbes qui se développent. Je les ai vus et je n’en veux pas sur mes mains”. (Laurenn)
“Ça sent très mauvais. Je crois qu’il ne faut pas trop jouer à chat car sinon on peut attraper des microbes”. (Tim)
“Il faut bien se laver les mains avant de manger sinon les microbes von taller sur la nourriture”. ( Kenji )
“C’était cool de voir les microbes mêmes sur les mains propres. Je ne savais pas qu’il y avait tant de microbes”. (Alexei)
“Je n’avais jamais vu de boîtes de Petri”. (Mel)
“Quand les microbes ont grandi, ils ressemblent à des gouttes de cire durcies”. (Amin)

From the CM2:
« Les boîtes de Petri sentent très mauvais. Sans elles, je n’aurais pas vu les microbes et cela me donne envie de me laver les mains ». (Thomas)
« Ça sent mauvais mais c’est très intéressant. Les bactéries étaient déjà vivantes du temps des dinosaures ! » (Natalia)
« On a appris que même les mains propres avaient beaucoup de bactéries et qu’il ne faut pas mettre les mains dans la bouche ou les yeux. ». (Eileen)
« On a mis nos mains sur le sol, le comptoir, les tables et dehors. Cela a révélé toutes les bactéries. Nous avons appris de toujours nous laver les mains quand on peut. »(Brandon)
« J’ai trouvé ça cool mais ça sentait mauvais. Comme ça je me laverai les mains parce que c’est dégoûtant ».(Elodie)
« J’ai trouvé cela amusant car tu peux voir si tu te laves les mains correctement ou pas ».(Aureann)
« On a mis nos mains sur la boîte de Petri et on n’a rien vu. Mais après quelques jours, on a vu des choses apparaître. C’était des tout petits cercles blancs ». (Anna)
« Ça sentait mauvais. Il faut toujours se laver les mains car comme ça on peut tuer les bactéries ». (Sédric)

A big Thank You to Samia Hakem for giving our students this unique opportunity!

Josie Bove-Salama
Science teacher

Professional Development

Leadership Conference for English Coordinators in French-American Schools

As teachers and leaders in a bi-lingual school we are constantly reminded of the tremendous potential our students have.  Educated in two languages, they are adept at transferring knowledge from one to the other, and they have a global view of life which is unusual in children their age.
With the joys of teaching in such an environment come certain constraints and many challenges. Our faculty takes advantage of the many workshops available in the Bay Area; however we always have to ask ourselves “How can I apply this training in a bi-lingual environment.”
The solution for the American teams in French-American schools was to create a network of teachers across the U.S. who could share information.  To this end, a group of English coordinators began meeting in 2007, and today we have a growing group of educators all of whom work in this highly specialized environment, and who can benefit from each other’s experience.
In early October I had the chance to attend the latest leadership conference for English coordinators in French-American schools together with 12 others who came to the Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley from as far afield as New York, New Orleans, Portland, Seattle,  and Arizona.
Or goal was to establish links between schools, to plan workshops focusing on literacy, to support each other’s work, to offer help to fledgling schools, share successful projects, and to establish areas where the French and English programs could cooperate or be aligned.
Our organization is still in its infancy, however we feel optimistic about the potential for such a group, and the benefits we can pass to our teams, and most importantly, to our students. 
Louise Varma
American Program Coordinator

Halloween Parade 2009

A big thank you to all the parents who organized once more a very successful Halloween Parade! Congratulations to everyone for the great costumes!