At the French American Academy, we understand that Professional Development is essential for the growth and success of our teachers, which ultimately benefits your children. That's why we take great pride in providing our team with regular opportunities to learn and develop their skills.
Throughout the year, we have nine days set aside for Professional Development (in August, October, and March), including team building activities. In addition to these days, our teachers will attend workshops through the AEFE, NJAIS, NAIS, or any respected organization, as well as participate in conferences and online courses.
Peer observations are another crucial aspect of our Professional Development program, as they encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing among our teachers. By offering this variety of options for professional enrichment, we ensure that our teachers are empowered to serve your children better.
We invite you to read our March newsletter and blog, where we share valuable tips on our curriculum and approach. Thank you for trusting us with your child's education.
With gratitude, Anne-Sophie Gueguen
Lower School
Pen Pals Letter Exchange
Making Friends in France
In Englewood and Jersey City, some of our Pre-K and K classes have been participating in correspondences with schools in France. These exchanges, which comprise photos, small gifts, and collectively written letters, help students share information about themselves and learn about the food, daily activities, and culture of friends overseas.
Read more about these “pen pal” programs on our blog!
This month, 3rd, 5th, and 8th graders passed the DELF. They passed levels A1, A2, and B1, respectively.
DELF stands for Diplôme d'Etudes en Langue Française. It is an official diploma from the French Ministry of Education and an internationally recognized certification that assesses a student's level of French. It is based on the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). To understand the impact and interest of such a diploma, a foreign student earning a B1 level in French is
eligible to apply to French universities.
Four skills are assessed at each level:
- oral comprehension,
- oral production,
- reading comprehension,
- written production.
We are proud of our students’ performances each year. In 2022, the average scores were as follows:
A1: 94.30% - A2: 94.6% - B1: 90.05%
We will keep you posted on this year's results when they arrive!
Celebrating Math Week with Giant Escape Games
Math is found in every aspect of our lives. Therefore establishing a strong foundation in mathematics is at the heart of our philosophy.
Since the beginning of the year, Englewood students have been participating in weekly math challenges based on pictures taken from our daily life. This method helps students connect mathematical concepts to real-life applications.
During Math Week (Mar 6-10), students in grades Pk2 to 5th participated in a large-scale escape game designed by our pedagogical coordinator, Alexandra Yacoub. The activities included solving equations, puzzles, Egyptian codes, chess problems, and searching for clues.
Not only their math skills were put to the test but also their collaboration and team spirit were all essential tools to unlock the final treasure box.
Our middle school STEM lessons provide a cross-curricular approach to project-based learning, in which students must collaborate with each other and draw upon the knowledge of different fields to achieve their goals.
Our blog has a few examples of STEM projects from the past few months.
This year, Englewood joined the Food Pantry for their annual food drive. Based on our school project around sustainable development and its 17 goals, our students chose to focus on the Goal #2: End Hunger.
As our 3rd graders were working on persuasive speeches with their English teacher Mr. David Sanchez, they decided to use their skills by convincing the whole school of the importance of such action. The students brought numerous items to the Food Pantry and learned all about how food is provided each day to millions of people in the country.
Extracurricular
Spring Camp : Circus Sports, Games, Art, and More
Our 5-day Spring Camp is a great way for our students to enjoy their Spring break with their classmates in a friendly and secure environment.
Outdoor and indoor activities revolved around Circus sports and games. Our student's day will include games, recipes, visual art, and bilingual language workshops. We will also visit our Community garden within our Sustainable Development school project. Music, parties and dress-up days are also organized to have maximum fun in French!
15 Ways to Facilitate your Child’s Transition to Writing
What’s the best way to prepare your young child for writing?
Through playful activities at home, you can help your child build dexterity and finger strength. At as early as 3 years old, children are ready to start to learn proper pencil grip. Click here to read our tips for strengthening fingers and improving fine motor skills, to help set your child up for a smooth transition to writing in Pre-K and Kindergarten.
