ECOLECLAIRE FONTAINE APRIL 2018
352 West m in st er Ave. Ven ice 90291 (310) 314-9976 laclair ef on t ain e.or g
CO N T EN T S Ecole Claire Fontaine
p3 Calendar p4 Bir thdays p6 The Ver nacular of Children p7 Treetop Reading p8 Weaving p10 FĂŞte de la Fr ancophonie p12 Architecture p14 Spr ing is Here p16 Water for Life p18 Wildlife Garden p20 Flower of the Month p22 Inter national Community p24 A WAVE from Mme Dumas p26 Adver tise with our Community
CA L EN D A R Apr il 2018
Sat, 7 Apr il School Tour for Prospective Parents Thu, 12 Apr il Bir thday Celebr ations, Children only, CC 12:30, AK 1pm Fr i 20 Apr il Ear th Day Celebr ation
Save the Date: Family Day May 11 Gr aduation AK June 15, CC June 21 p3
BI RT H D AYS
Bjork
Liam
Crosby
Lily
Johnatan Louka Katherine Tenzin
Children and teacher s will
celebr ate this month's bir thdays on Thur sday, Apr il 12th by singing together and shar ing a treat lovingly prepared at school. We take ser iously the aller gies of our children, therefore outside sweets are not per mitted without pr ior coordination with the ECF office. p4
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Our Stories the Vernacular of Children
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New Treetop Reading Dieu, l'abeille et Gouna La maison la plus grande du monde Merlin l?Enchanteur
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Weaving our Vernaculaur Children weave their
playing in the gr ass or in the trees, making mud sludge soup and flower br acelets.
vital vocal community by making The use of what they have - ver nacular of children comes together through necessity and the possibility of sounds. Beginning with a coo, a cr y, the gr unt and the whine, children lear n to child's outgrown clothes express themselves are useful for weaving projects. with what they have. Children pr actice the Cloth & yar n from a cr aft in Textiles class.
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THISYEAR'STHEMEISORALITY the quality of being spoken or verbally communicated
LAFRANCOPHONIE2018
I nter national
Fr ancophonie Day is the rendez- vous of French language lover s. It is an oppor tunity to celebr ate French language, diver sity, r ichness and humanistic values. It embodies the active solidar ity between 84 member states, accounting for a population of over 900 million people.
creatively to play with the year ?s words in an elabor ate game. After a meaningful and mir thful project involving an atelier, classes and workshops, the children were thr illed to illustr ate the words through a r iveting per for mance. Enjoy the Game! I.
Each year an inter national panel of native French- speaking ar tists and intellectuals chooses 10 Words ? Dix Mots ? around a theme. The theme for 2018 is Or ality - the quality of being spoken or verbally communicated. At Ecole Claire Fontaine teacher s and students work together closely and
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I.
RAP D E L A FRAN C O PH O N I E SAM BA À L A C L AI RE FO N T AI N E M A RO SAL I E C H AM PS ELYSÉES II. JEU D U T ÉL ÉPH O N E AUT O UR D ES D I X M O T S III. D AN SE FI N AL E
Accent : a distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language. Bagou : glibness, talkative in a smooth, almost insincere way. Gr iotte, Gr iot : tr aveling poets, musicians and stor yteller s who maintain a tr adition of or al histor y in Afr ica. Jactance : boastfulness, showing excessive pr ide and self- satisfaction in one's abilities. OhĂŠ : yoo- hoo, a call out to gain someone's attention. Placoter : chatting, light banter. Susur r er : whisper, quiet speech, sometimes secretive. Tr uculent : lar ger than life, excessively loud. Voix : voice, sounds from the vibr ation of vocal chords. Volubile, voluble : speaking or spoken incessantly and fluently.
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Vernacular Architecture In
Architecture class with Mar ina and Genesis, the children lear n about designs from around the world. Dur ing a study on ver nacular architecture, students painted and sculpted Afr ican huts made of thick paper. Outside in the garden they built with their teacher s a hut made of bamboo. By pr acticing Ver nacular Architecture, students lear n about design based on local needs, availability of constr uction mater ials and the reflection of local tr aditions.
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Spring ? The question is presented to the children...
What does that mean? Butter flies get out of their cocoon & fly! * Vacation ? no school. * The birds hatch and tr y to lear n how to fly and sing a lot in the mor ning. * The plants and the tree are growing up. * Flower s bloom! * Clocks went for ward & the days are longer !
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Spring is here...
Primtemps arive! p15
Water : Controlling the Right to Live
In
honor of the precar ious situation of our world?s water, the children consider its vital impor tance on a daily basis. Conser vation effor ts are pr acticed dur ing hand washing and while water ing the garden. At Ecole Claire Fontaine effor ts are geared toward recognizing the imper ative need for vigilance around our water sources as this life- giving force is under siege.
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Children Ponder Water
Questions are posed... The children find answer s...
Upon
contemplating the cr ucial value of water, students in Elodie's Philosophy class have concluded the following: We need to be nice and kind with water to stay alive. Water is power ful. You cannot stop the water. Water is helpful; it?s the mom of the ear th. We love the water !
Where do you find water?
In
the sea, ocean, r iver and bathroom. In r ain, ice, steam, tear s, clouds, shower s, pools and sinks. On our body when we sweat. In the kitchen, in a cup, a hose and sometimes on the floor !
Why do we need water?
To stop the fire! To wash our
hands
and our selves. To cook. To keep us alive because if there is no more water, the plants don?t make oxygen and we cannot breath anymore. To feed the plants, flush the toilets and hydr ate our bodies!
How can we save the water?
We can put buckets outside when it is r aining and collect the water to feed the plants. Don?t leave the water r unning ? tur n off the water quickly. Don?t stay too long under the shower and get out when you are done. Using water with responsibility! Bravo, les enfants.
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Flight of the Butterflies Wildlife Gardening The
children love to r aise butter flies! Beginning at the embr yonic stage, their wings have taken flight. The milkweed planted in our gardens creates an inviting open door. The children discovered that there are four stages in the metamor phosis of butter flies: Fir st the eggs are laid on plants, which will soon become ver y hungr y cater pillar s as they enter the feeding stage. The lar va develops next and then tr ansitions as a chr ysalis (pupa) into an adult! Eating just four seeds contaminated with insecticides and neonicotinoids can render a bird disor iented and According to the National Wildlife cause significant weight loss, a study Federation, "Intentional planting to in Scientific Reports concludes. attr act wildlife creates habitat with Climate change has also brought two times the amount and diver sity earlier spr ing plant growth to Nor th of wildlife than tr aditionally Amer ican forests in the east, leaving landscaped yards." behind birds who find themselves Growing a garden without suddenly ar r iving too late for the pesticides is also cr ucial for the insects and wor ms they nor mally eat. health of the children and our In the west, some birds who are collective future. migr ating on their nor mal schedule, Songbirds are suffer ing, as are bees are now ar r iving too early for food. and butter flies, from the unfettered The children are lear ning to use of toxic pesticides across lar ge amelior ate this damaging patter n, one swaths of Canada and the U.S. p19 small footpr int at a time. Wildlife species...
gardening can
save
a
Daisy The Flower of the M onth of Apr il is the daisy. This simple, precious flower grows tiny and wild on our neighborhood hills and in our gr assy parks.
With white or yellow petals and a yellow center, the daisy conveys loyal love, innocence and pur ity.
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It is also a great keeper of the sweetest secrets. Given between fr iends the message expressed by the daisy is, ?Your secrets are safe with me.?
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I nternational
Foster ing inter national connections... Tr aveling to Fr ance for a congress on Innovation in Education. p22
Community
M adame JoĂŤlle Dumas is among awardees of the "Legendar y Women Ar tists of Venice" recognized for her stellar ar t work with children. As Chair of the VCC Education Committee, the action is nonstop.
Onward on behalf of the children!
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From the desk of J oĂŤlle Dumas, April 2018 Dear Fr iends, Today I
wr ite to you impassioned by my role as Chair of the Venice Chamber of Commerce Education Committee. This pipeline of communication was created in suppor t of pupils, teacher s and community member s to elevate the status of education beyond the school gates.
I am delighted to deliver the good news of Venice after being awarded a beautiful honor as an ar tist on behalf of the children. Upcoming we have the WAVE Awards, in which I request your enthusiastic par ticipation.
The essence of the WAVE Awards for tifies the role of children in our community, extending their voices as par t of the lar ger conver sation.
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The WAVE Awards br ing together
our community to bestow upon teacher s, from 17 schools and ar t institutions, the recognition they deser ve.
Join
us in exalting the esteemed educator s who foster excellence in their students and our collective future by embodying this year 's theme as, ?Adaptive Lear ner s and Global Thinker s.?
Please
honor us with your presence at the 8th annual Oscar- like
ceremony that elevates the status of education and champions those who guide our children toward greatness.
Join the par ty on the Red Car pet as we extol the teacher s who, like our own best, are teaching children that potential for greatness is infinite.
Buy tickets here or contr ibute through this link. Any amount is gr aciously appreciated; the suppor tive gesture holds value beyond words.
War mly, JoĂŤlle
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A D V ERT I SE CO M M U N I T Y
W IT H OUR
Creative Music School with ECF Teacher s
French & English songs for children by Eitan's Mom!
Freder ic Michot & Maïwenn Ekoué
On sale for $12 in ECF office
Piano, Guitar, Dr ums, Ukulele, Recorder
Or ganic Produce Boxes
www.natalier utkinmusic.com FB: @moovingroovinbabymusic Online Sales Childbir th Hypnosis Tr aining with Mar ie- Paul Baxiu (310) 901- 9440 mar iepaul@easybir thing.com
Weekly Deliver y p26
www.easybir thing.com
04/27/18 BRAINIOUS Film & br ain rewir ing workshop with StĂŠphanie Br illant Does your Child's br ain actually work the way you BELIEVE it does? 21st Centur y developmental neuroscience explored. Click for Tickets $35
Flor acopeia Celebrate the Spring Equinox
The Ver nal Equinox marks the emer gence from Winter to Spr ing, where we focus on inner har mony and ener getic balance... classes, oils, remedies www.flor acopeia.com p27
©EcoleClaireFontaine2018