ECOLECLAIRE FONTAINE SEPTEMBER 2018
PLANTING ROOTS
Features
OUR SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS Awards & Honors!
2018 / Volume 3 / Issue 1
CO N T EN T S September 2018
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Contents
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Calendar
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Bir thdays
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Welcoming Reminder s Our Trees Lettuce Tur nip the Beet Stay Healthy! Camper 's Tr ain Books We Love Classes Resume Welcome New Babies Separ ation Anxiety Br avo ECF, Madame Dumas, & the WAVE Awards Conferences on ADHD, Multilingualism & Global Education Adver tise with the ECF Community:
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Welcome to parent Amy Smyth Photography & neighbor CryoLove 2 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
CA L EN D A R Ecole Claire Fontaine Sat, 6 Oct Prospective Parents Tour Mon, 8 Oct Indigenous Peoples' Day SCHOOL CLOSED Thu, 11 Oct Bir thday Celebr ations ~ Children Only Tues, 16 Oct Annual Class Picture 9:30 am CC / 11 am AK Thu, 18 Oct Ear thquake Dr ill 10:18am Wed, 31 Oct Halloween Celebr ation Potluck 5- 6:30 pm Or ganic produce boxes delivered from the Far mer s Market. Order by Wednesday noon for Monday deliver y $35, includes a dozen eggs 3 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
BI RT H D AYS
September & October
Bir thdays
are
celebr ated on the second Thur sday of the month at 12:30 on Camper Campus and 1pm at Abbot Kinney. Children and their teacher s sing and share a school- made treat. Adding to the festivities this year is the remote controlled, spinning dr awing machine. REMINDER: For the Children only 4 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
SEPTEMBER Chloe Claudia
Matthew Ripley
OCTOBER Alexi- Jax Ethan
Embla
Solomon "Rex"
Evelyn
Emilie
Valentino
Har per
Jasmine
Winslow
Joel
Leo
Zoe
Sawyer
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W EL CO M E
Reminder s: * Campuses close at 5pm on Fr idays * Due to aller gies, please finish outside food before enter ing campus * Billing questions: Billing@LAClairefontaine.or g
*All other inquir ies: Bonjour @LAClairefontaine.or g
* Find a wealth of infor mation www.LAClairefontaine.or g 6 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
to theGA RD EN where children plant their roots
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OUR TREES 8 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
The Trees of Ecole Claire Fontaine with M. Roy
The children are lear ning from our new environmentalist: Monsieur Roy! We live among a forest of trees! What are they? A lesson in many par ts, beginning with two? Species No. 1 Scientific name - Schinus terebinthifolius English name ? Br azilian Pepper Tree Spanish name ? Arbol Pementa de Br asil French name ? Le Poivr ier BrĂŠsilien Notes Natur al distr ibution: Atlantic coast of Br azil, to Ar gentina, Ur uguay Natur alized in Coastal Souther n Califor nia This is the tree on the Abbot Kinney Campus hosting the tire swing!
Species No. 2 Scientific name ? Mor us alba English name ? White Mulber r y French name ? MĂťr ier Blanc Notes Natur al r ange ? China coast Natur alized r ange ? Califor nia coast There are two trees of Mor us alba on the Abbot Kinney Campus of Ecole Claire Fontaine, along with gr ape vines, a pomegr anate tree and palm. We will lear n more about the trees of the Camper Campus in the months to come. As a sneak peak - in its season our fig tree is full and r ipe, with enough fr uit for the squir rels to have their share too. 9 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
Or ganic produce puts a dance in our step(s)!
LETTUCE TURNIP THE BEET The children
unear th the myster ies of or ganic produce, exper ience a depth of flavor s and take its care as par t of their stewardship of the planet. The new gardening crew has rescued a mint plant, its browned leaves cr umbling in their fresh finger s. With round shovels and pointy r akes, they carefully prepared the soil and dug a deep hole. Wresting its tr apped roots from an ill- fitting plastic pot, the children delicately placed the ailing mint into its soft, new bed. 10 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
?Will it make it?? they wondered aloud about the diseased plant. Gather ing around, not a kind wish was spared.
For our next garden project, the children decided to tr y planting something that does enjoy a bit of sand.
A young gardening doctor quickly removed a stethoscope from his medical kit, listened to the plant and concluded, ?I?m not sure.?
Enjoying the fresh fr uit of the Jujube, we ate down to the seed.
With a smile a second year gardener tells the class, ?Plants need soil, water, sunshine, compost, all that stuff. Not sand."
might need, and pushed it into the somewhat sandy soil, premixed by accident just days before.
What does this seed look like - Oval, pale brown, like an elongated olive One week later? the pit. gardener s gathered The gardener s sweetly around to document its blew on this ver y seed progress. All is well! The all of the love, luck and green has retur ned. wonder they thought it
Tasting new flavor s br ings color to our cheeks!
The Gardening Crew is In
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FOR YOUR HEALTH With proper Eating, Sleeping & Washing we can help the year pass without extensive illness. 1) EAT: or ganic fr uits & vegetables 2) DRINK: broth and water 3) HAIR: wash infrequently, dr y thoroughly, br ush often to stimulate circulation, distr ibute natur al oils & keep free of debr is A single strand of hair contains several layers, needing adequate time to dry ~ Please do not send your children to sleep or to school with damp hair
4) SLEEP: early with the sun 5) WASH: your hands!
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Camper Campus TRAIN The
is up and running...
H andcr afted
by Camper, Dillon and Mason's Gr andpa Bill, the tr ain passes through a lively town, finding adventure along the way. Its table and display case were designed by ECF parent, Paul Davis. The children are fascinated by this beautiful group effor t created for them in honor of Camper.
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The tr ain requires special care and cleaning to keep r unning smoothly
BOOKS WE LOVE! NEW TO OUR LIBRARY, SEPTEMBER 2018
Ocean Meets Sky, the Fan Brother s
Une Fête Chez Caroline, images de Pier re Probst
Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs, wr itten by Susan Hughes, illustr ated by Valér ie Boivin
What Do Grown- Ups Do All Day? Illustr ated by Dawid Ryski, Little Gestalten
Tiny, Perfect Things, wr itten by M.H. Clark, illustr ated by Madeline Kloepper Maupassant, illustré par Fr ançois Roca, Le Papa de Simon Amisk, le Petit Amérindien, Fr açois Beiger & Guth Joly
In the Darkness of the Night by Emily Rand E.T. The Extra- Terrestrial, Illustr ated by Kim Smith, based on the film wr itten by Melissa Mathison and directed by Steven Spielber g Professor Astro Cat?s Frontiers of Space by Dr. Dominic Walliman & Ben Newman 15 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
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CLASSES RESUME The world is open to the children with classes inspired specifically by their interests. Pr int- making with SPARC ar tists will begin in October, and Geology retur ns after a successful summer taught by a NASA scientist.
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Chess Master Pedro foster s creative thinking, memor y and problem solving Recycled Ar t builds beauty
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With USC Poetr y Professor & for mer ECF parent, Molly, the children attend to the rhythm of words The ar t and skill of weaving
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Welcome Little Ones We have so much to share with you! With pleasure we welcome two more babies to ECF's extended family.
Har per has a new little brother !
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Joleigh has a new little brother !
Mamas (or dads) always come back Separation anxiety is normal with the beginning of the new school year. 1) Reassur ance and routine are key. 2) Br ing something from home to hold. 3) Give hugs & kisses, say goodbye and then go. 4) Tr ust your children and your school.
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THE SPIRIT OF VENICE Thank
you, Madame Joëlle Dumas, for all that you do for our community and our children. They are better people for it, more connected to their beaches, neighborhoods, parks, and one another. Thank you to the community of Venice for being open to the br ightness brought to light by the spir its of children.
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Bravo, Joëlle!
Within children are the possibilities and wisdom to achieve a greater future than we can imagine. In Venice we are working together to create the world we envision, where children are heard and seen, nature is respected and lear ned from, and all people are treated well.
Through her work, Joëlle is cultivating places of magic for children where their expressions, voices and cur iosity are honored, tr ansfor ming them into r icher human beings for the better ment of the world. Thank you to the Spir it of Venice for recognizing the impor tance of children and education. #AKF2018
In the Ar gonaut's "Best of the Westside" 2018
BRAVO! 23 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
OUR WEEKENDS What do we do when we are not at Ecole Claire Fontaine? Work on behalf of the children, of course.
ECF staff and teacher s are enchanted by innovation. Beyond the school gates they attend conferences, seminar s, and summits. They shop for the most clever finds for ar t, garden or science projects, and let ideas of how to impact children come through. The month of September found Madame Dumas at the WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) conference in New York. (WISE @Par is is next...) As a lifelong lear ner, she remains cur ious to 22 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
discover creative approaches to education. With WISE, educator s from around the world come together to tap into the wisdom of the school yard.
Along with other exper ts in the field, she was a par t of the day that engaged with those working to promote language immer sion in schools.
In New York topics included confronting implicit biases and the use of language and culture. Upcoming in Par is will be Education Futures: Foster ing Lear ning Societies.
Children who are fluent in more than one language are gener ally better in math, have higher IQs and find more oppor tunities in later life than they would as single language speaker s. Listening skills and memor y often improve, as does cultur al under standing. We encour age children to lear n many languages.
More locally, Madame Dumas attended a conference on French Immer sion Progr ams, held at the Univer sity of Souther n Califor nia.
On
suppor t follow through.
a Saturday in September Gwendoline attended the "'Outside the Box' Child" Educational Conference. She shares a few highlights: "A child with ADHD has different br ain chemistr y than one without; the br ain does not make the connections to concentr ate unless it is something of supreme interest to that child. It is not a lack of desire to lear n that is in the way. Find an interest and
"Some children need to be engaged physically give them tasks like pushing in chair s or putting books on the shelf..."
Mindfulness activity you may like to tr y with your children: www.stopbreathethink.com Eye Exercises to Improve Vision in Gener al
At the conference Optometr ist Dr. Simons explained that children with ADHD may have 20/20 vision, however their sight needs to be retr ained. "It is a str uggle to refocus the eyes between words and lines." There is so much to lear n.
The 34th Annual Abbot Kinney Festival on the last Sunday in September brought even more... The Education Committee of the Venice Chamber of Commerce, chaired by Madame Dumas, was presented with a gr ant for the WAVE Awards to honor teacher s for their spectacular work. Thank you to the Abbot Kinney Festival Association Community Gr ants Progr am! #AKF2018 25 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
A D V ERT I SE W IT H O U R CO M M U N I T Y For r ates please contact Media@LAClairefontaine.or g
Register via LAUSD for Richland Elementary French Academy Mon, 1 Oct - Fri, 9 Nov
Tour 18 Oct, 9am Contact Principal Girard Granade (310) 473-0467
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Ecole Claire Fontaine, an Ar t, Language & Nature School near the Pacific Ocean www.LAClairefontaine.or g 352 Westminster Ave. Venice 90291 ~ 310.314.9976 27 ECOLE CLAIRE FONTAINE
©EcoleClaireFontaine2018