Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 by Ecole Claire Fontaine

EL CE OL CIR LAEIRE ECO CE LA

FT O NIN TA FON A EINE

DECEMBER2016

NEWSLETTER

Page

CONTENTS p

p3 Calendar p4-5 December Bir thdays 6-7 H ow do You Connect? p8-11 Connection Advances L ear ning p12-13 Oceanogr aphy p14-16 Winter Celebr ations p17-21 Teaching Classical Ballet p22-25 Science & Natur e in the Gar den

p26-27 p28-31 p32-33 p34-39

Making L emon Soap Our Food Br avo to the Car r ot Neighbor hood News

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 2

CALENDAR Sat Dec 3

Tour for Pr ospective par ents Our L ast Music in the Gar den 10:30am (AK ) Mon Dec 5 - Fr i Dec 9 Par ent Teacher Confer ences (AK ) Sat Dec 10 H oliday Cr afts Sale (AK ) T ues Dec 13 Par ent Teacher Confer ences (CC) Wed Dec 14 Par ent Teacher Confer ences (CC) T hur s Dec 15 Par ent Teacher Confer ences (CC) T hur s Dec 15 Bir thday Celebr ation CC 12:30pm / AK 1pm Fr i Dec 16 Winter Potluck Celebr ation (5 - 6:30pm) (AK ) Fr i Dec 23 - Jan 2 School Closed-Winter Br eak School Resumes T ues, Januar y 3, 2017 Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 3

BIRTHDAYS

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 4

CELEBRATEDECEMBER15 Christian Janelle Xavier Oliver We will celebrate at 12:30pm on the Camper Campus and 1pm at Abbot Kinney. Please remember to keep sugar & icing low, mini-cupcakes or fruit are best, and no nuts. Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 5

CONNECTION

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 6

W E ASK ED THE

CH I L DREN:

I love to play tennis with my mom! I want cuddles! And lots of r eading. We cook dinner and I get to choose. I play with my sister and eat donuts! My gr andma is showing me sewing. We jump in the ocean! My family goes on special hikes and we discover r ocks and tr ees.

W H AT

ARE YOU DOI NG W I T H

YOUR FAMI LY W H EN YOU FEEL CONNECT ED ... Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 7

CONNECTI ON ADVANCES LEARNI NG W H EN childr en feel connected to the people who car e for them, they ar e able to tr y again and again to lear n a new task - tying their shoes, zipping a zipper , buttoning a button. Fr ustr ation diminishes. I t is not just our common sense that shows us that this is occur r ing - the par t of the br ain that contr ols impulse and lear ning, and uses logic and exper ience to dictate r esponse, lights up. T his is a child?s limbic system, which houses their emotion center s. W hen our childr en feel safe, pr otected and loved, they can easily connect. T he limbic system acts a child?s pr ocessor of the signals of str ess and love that come fr om the adults that ar e their car egiver s. Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 8

Childr en feel safe to exper iment, make mistakes and succeed when they sense that their car egiver feels r elaxed and car ing. W hen childr en feel hur t, they cannot think clear ly or r ationalize. T hey often cannot behave in a way that seems appr opr iate, and may not be able to r espond to even the most empathetic setting of limits. W hen a child cannot think, they cannot lear n. Picking up on the str ess of their car egiver s causes the limbic systems of childr en go out of sor ts and the pr efr ontal cor tex no longer pr oper ly functions. Remember , this is wher e a child gets their ability to act with good judgment and engage in r ational thought. Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 9

W hen your childr en feel discombobulated, or ar e acting out, give them a hug. Connection is ever ything.

IFYOURCHILDIS DISCOMBOBULATED All feelings ar e acceptable, and the GIVETHEMAHUG r elease of negative emotions needs to come, and it will come, one way or another . A child tells a par ent, ?W hen I have a tantr um, I just want you to cuddle me.? H old your child while they cr y out their fear and feelings of power lessness. H elp the r elease of anger (usually masking hur t or sadness) by offer ing a punching pillow. Some childr en like to have their upset tickled out of them (with an under stood signal to be given by the child when they want you to stop) - the same str ess can be r eleased by laughing.

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 10

W hen it comes to childr en, connection is mor e impor tant than anything. L et them see you r elaxed and feel your love. W hat ar e your favor ite things to do to foster connection? I t need not be pr ofligate ? it is as simple as playing together , cuddling, r unning, dancing, singing. Ador ation engender s connection thr ough the power ful functioning of the limbic system. A child?s ability to lear n depends on it. END

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 11

O CE A N O GR A P H Y

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 12

Dir ector of the Venice Oceanar ium, T im Rudnick, teaches Oceanogr aphy to the childr en. T hey discover skeletons, shells, jelly fish, gr unions and mor e of the wor ld that thr ives in the ocean we ar e so for tunate to live near and car e for . Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 13

W E W I L L CEL EBRAT E AS A COMMUNI T Y FOR T H E L AST T I ME I N 2016 AT OUR POT LUCK ON FRI DAY, DECEMBER 16T H FROM 5 - 6:30 PM.

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 14

PL EASE join us on Fr iday, December 16th, to celebr ate winter , r eflect on the year of 2016 and plan for what is to come - our gr owing childr en, our changing wor ld. We look for war d to connecting in love, fr iendship and family among the twinkling lights of the gar den, while listening to the music of our childr en and fr iends. T he Ecole Clair e Fontaine family is an inter national community. We unite with r espect for our collective futur e as our childr en gr ow with dignity and joy. Winter holidays ar ound the wor ld celebr ate connection to families, fr iends and natur e. Fr om the Winter Solstice and K wanzaa, to H anukkah, Chr istmas and the New Year , we love this time to come together , to r est and r eflect dur ing these days that ar e the shor test of the year and the Nor th Pole is titled fur thest fr om the Sun. With the season comes a r ebir th as the sun begins its slow r etur n, and with it a celebr ation of life. Our childr en ar e lear ning about winter celebr ations all over the wor ld fr om their families, their communities, their teacher s and one another . ?We ar e singing songs about H anukkah!? T her e ar e as many holidays as ther e ar e families to celebr ate them. (continued on next page) Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 15

T he Winter Solstice falls on December 21st, celebr ating natur e, its beauty and str ength, and our collective r esponsibility to lighten our human footpr int. T he cor e pr inciples of K wanzaa include unity, self-deter mination, collective wor k and r esponsibility, cooper ative economics, pur pose, cr eativity, and faith. T he candle-lighting cer emony uses a kinar a, similar to the menor ah for the candle lighting of H anukkah, the celebr ation of life and family. At Chr istmastime we celebr ate r enewal, spend time with our loved ones and affir m our intention to continually str ive for a just peace ar ound the wor ld. T he major winter celebr ation of Chinese New Year takes place at the end of Januar y, which also br ings together families by gather ing and r emember ing ones ancestor s. To celebr ate winter , H indu tr adition includes putting oil lamps on r ooftops to welcome the r etur ning sun. We connect all over the wor ld dur ing this season, with hope for the coming year to be one wher e our beautiful childr en, in all their diver sity, flour ish and feel a connection to the people and natur e ar ound them. END Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 16

Tatianna Piche

Teaching Classical Ballet at Ecole Clair e Fontaine Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 17

With the opening of the holiday season, professional ballet dancer and ECF?s studio teacher of Dance & Movement, Tatianna Piche, introduces Tchaikovsky?s Opus 71, the Nutcracker Suite. "Children come to recognize the music; oh it's the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy!" Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 18

T H E childr en lear n to dance to sever al suites, including Waltz of the Flower s, Coffee and Chocolate.

?T hey ar e so passionate,? Tatianna notes, smiling. ?T he childr en love to jump, so I make sur e to include lots of jetés. We also mostly use the Fr ench classical ballet ter ms, so they can come to r ecognize and under stand the language.? A danseur wear ing ballet slipper s demonstr ates a jeté by r unning and leaping acr oss the r oom in utter ser iousness, ar ms out to his sides. H owever , befor e any jumping the class begins with war m ups such as the plié, tendu and r ond de jambe. ?Pliés war m up the knees, tendus str etch the feet and the r ond de jambes ar e good for the hips,? Tatianna explains. A young student in a tutu says she loves to str etch with the tendu, ?my leg goes fr om side to fr ont! My toes touch the floor !?

Boys and gir ls don ballet slipper s, tutus, tights and costumes, or wear soft pants and socks. Tatianna says, ?After we str etch, we move to our Centr e Wor k which includes the jétes, the jumps, and pir ouettes, the tur ns. We r eview our steps and then lear n mor e.? I n Centr e Wor k dancer s usually alter nate their feet, impor tant for the childr en who ar e wor king on good balance and contr ol. Childr en ar e able to find the str ength in their bodies and the beauty of movement to music. T hey concentr ate, lear n, cr eate and celebr ate. T her e is joy in their per for mances, in the application of new skills lear ned and in their cr eative inventions. T he class also studies dance histor y, musical styles, and composer s. ?Since this is the holiday season and we ar e dancing to the Nutcr acker and listening to the differ ent suites, we ar e lear ning about Tchaikovsky.?

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 19

Tatianna exposes the childr en to other styles of dance as well, including Moder n, Flamenco and Belly Dancing. ?To calm them down at the end of a class they do fr ee dance. T hey choose the style they would like to dance, and they choose the music, but they must show me a cer tain step that I ask of them; that way they ar e r eally lear ning that step by name and finding a way to include it in their own dancing. T his is a gr eat oppor tunity for their chor eogr aphy.? A fr ee dancer puts his head on the floor , ar ms behind him, and thr ows a leg out to the side. Another spins her body and flaps her ar ms. T he childr en also play Fr eeze Dance they must incor por ate differ ent speeds and positions. ?Fr eeze! Pir ouette, spin! Fr eeze! Adagio, slowly!? Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 20

?Although I ?m not a moder n dancer , I showed them a video of Mar tha Gr aham and dur ing the last par t of class if I instr uct them to show me fast dancing by calling out petite allegr o, they r eally come up with inter esting, moder n shapes that they make in their chor eogr aphy. T he flamenco I ?ve shown them, their flar e, r eally comes out when we?r e doing the Coffee dance fr om the Nutcr acker .? Tatianna is a pr ofessional ballet dancer who gr aduated fr om the Catedr a de la Danza in Cuba. She was asked by a lead chor eogr apher in the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Eduar do Blanco, to dance with the company. Over the cour se of two and a half year s she danced in countless per for mances with the company in and ar ound the Gr an Teatr o de L a H abana - a gr and building that embodies the histor y and the cr umbling beauty of the city sur r ounded by the sea. Among her favor ite per for mances was dancing the 22 Festival I nter nacional de Ballet de L a H abana, a UNI CEF festival or ganized between Cuba and other L atin Amer ican countr ies to help childr en with medical car e, food and education. Br avo to Tatianna who has been with ECF for many year s and led the childr en thr ough beautiful, cr eative per for mances, including last year ?s spr ing sur pr ise of L e Petit Pr ince that showcased young dancer s as twir ling flower s and bowing tr ees. ?T he twinkly finger s of the tr ees show when they ar e happy in the wind,? a young tr ee r epor ts. END Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 21

SCIENCE

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 22

E AND NATURE Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 23

INTHE GARDEN

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 24

W E had an active month in our gar dens. We ar e still har vesting tomatoes! We planted flower s using seeds fr om dr ied Mar igolds. We r ubbed them open with our hands and then spr inkled like fair y dust. T he spr outs came up with the r ain. T he flower s of the month for December ar e H olly and Nar cissus for sweetness and self-esteem. Our lettuce has stopped pr oducing fr esh leaves, so we took our stalks, cr ushed open the flower s, and planted mor e lettuce for next time. Our climate, even though it is changing, is still suppor ting gr owth. Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 25

WHENLIFEGIVESYOU LEMONS,MAKESOAP (&LEMONADE) AS we continue with our mor ning r itual of hand washing the fir st moment the childr en ar r ive at school, we want to be cer tain that the soap we ar e putting on their hands is as pur e, gentle and effective as possible. After exper imenting with sever al non-toxic concoctions, we have found a simple solution. We ar e cr eating soap out of lemons ? it is or ganic, moistur izing and cleansing. Pick lemons fr om your tr ee (or that of your fr iends, neighbor s, colleagues) omnipr esent her e in Souther n Califor nia. T he childr en used the lemons to make lemonade by mixing the juice with filter ed water and a little bit of or ganic sugar . Some of us have found that flower and hear t shaped ice cube tr ays make it taste extr a sweet. Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 26

After the childr en finished squeezing the juice, we took the peels of six lemons and tossed them in a pot. We cover ed the peels with filter ed water and let it simmer on low heat. I t takes about an hour and a half befor e the peel disintegr ates in our hands. T he lemon r ind becomes a r ich, wonder ful smelling, softening and cleansing liquid soap for small and lar ge hands alike. Put a few days wor th in a pump on your sink and keep the r est cover ed and in the r efr iger ator wher e it will last for a month. I f you tr y this at home and like extr a thickness in your soap, tr y adding a bit of baking soda. W hat you see at the pumps on the sinks now for our fir st thing in the mor ning r itual is pur e lemon. We will be making it on campus once a month for our or ganic envir onment .

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 27

OURFOOD

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Each week Madame Dumas shops at the Far mer s Mar ket for fr esh, or ganic pr oduce for the childr en?s meals. T his is ?living lettuce? gr own by one our favor ite far mer s Yanto & Er lina K usuma. We take ser iously the sour cing and pr epar ation

of food at ECF. Childr en's gr owing bodies and minds r equir e the most nutr ient dense foods that we can pr ovide, making the far mer s' mar kets thr oughout our community all the mor e valuable.

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 29

BAK I NG CL ASS Each week the childr en bake fr esh br ead. Other favor ites ar e pizza and cut-out cookies. Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 30

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 31

BRAVOTOTHECARROT

I N Flavor s and Savor s class with L aur ence, the childr en exper iment weekly with new tastes. W hen focusing on ways to pr epar e vegetables with high vitamin content, a favor ite ingr edient for many childr en is the car r ot, for which the nutr ient beta-car otene was named. W hile pr epar ing the dish, which is as simple as it is healthy, a young cook exclaimed: ?J?ador e, je vais voir comme Batman.? (I love it, I 'm going to see like Batman.)

Car r ots ar e consider ed one of the wor ld?s healthiest foods, with a combination of phytonutr ients, including Vitamin A in the for m of car otenoids, hydr oxycinnamic acids and polyacetylenes. T hey ar e also r obust in biotin, vitamin K , dietar y fiber , molybdenum, potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C, and include manganese, niacin, vitamin B1, panthothenic acid, phosphor us, folate, copper , vitamin E and vitamin B2. Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 32

CARROT SALAD

Making the connection between food and health, a student r emar ked, ?C?est bon, je ne ser ai plus malade avec les vitamines.? (I t?s good, I will never be sick with the vitamins.) T he lemon juice in this r ecipe adds extr a vitamin C. CARROT S SAL T OL I V E OI L L EMON JUI CE

At tasting time, one young chef made plans to pr epar e the salad at home. ?J?ador e! et ma maman n?en fait jamais. (I love it! My mother never makes it for me.)

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 33

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 34

B RAD A ARONS, X AV I ER?S FAT H ER, I S RUNNI NG FOR

CI T Y COUNCI L MEMBER, DI ST RI CT 11 SI GNAT URES FROM

F ROM ECF SCI ENCE & B OTANY T EACH ER,

REGI ST ERED VOT ERS

EMI L I E K ARSENT Y,

FROM T H E

A H OL I DAY SPECI AL FOR

W EST SI DE ARE

CROSSFI T GRI N & GRI ND AT A CADEMY OF ST RENGT H & SPORT : GROUPON OR $99/ MONT H CROSSFI T, W EI GH T L I FT I NG OR W EI GH T L OSS.

NEEDED T O QUAL I FY FOR T H E BAL L OT

COME BY T H E OFFI CE T O SI GN AND SUPPORT OUR COMMUNI T Y

CL I CK

H ERE

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 35

H OL I DAY RECEPT I ON FOR P RI NCI PAL S OF V ENI CE SCH OOL S I DEA SH ARI NG H OST ED BY V ENI CE CH AMBER OF COMMERCE EDUCAT I ON COMMI T T EE

M ONDAY, D EC 12T H

J OI N OUR EMBROI DERY T EACH ER GEORGI NA RESK AL A ' S H OL I DAY SAL E A BBOT K I NNEY CAMPUS, SAT URDAY, D EC 10T H

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 36

T H ÉÂT RE RAYMOND K ABBAZ PRESENT S

T H E J UNGL E B OOK , A PUPPET SH OW BY

T EARS OF J OY T H EAT ER

T UES D EC 6 AT 6:30 - 7:30 PM FOR CH I L DREN AGED 3+ . ON

CH I L DREN ?W I L L L EARN ABOUT T RUST, L OYAL T Y, COURAGE AND T H E I MPORTANCE OF FAMI LY W H I L E T H EY DI SCOV ER T H E CL ASSI C ST ORY W RI T T EN I N

1894.?

CL I CK H ERE 10361 W P I CO B LV D . L A 90064 Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 37

Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 38

P L EASE JOI N US AT 10:30 ON SAT URDAY, D ECEMBER 3RD ON T H E ABBOT K I NNEY CAMPUS FOR OUR FI NAL MUSI C I N T H E GARDEN

P ERFORMANCE, SI NG AL ONG AND DRUM CI RCL E Ecole Claire Fontaine December 2016 Newsletter p. 39