La Gazette Archive

French International fifth-grader, Ashten Hintzman, and his team of three neighborhood friends won the Oregon FIRST LEGO League Championship earlier this month. Ashten and his team competed against nearly 400 other teams to win the title. Because of their win, Ashten and his team will represent Oregon and the United States in the World Competition.

Throughout the year, we are sharing weekly mission moments on social media to demonstrate how the mission is playing out in our school on a regular basis. 

During the first semester, Middle School teacher, Minda McCandless, taught a new eighth-grade communications class. It was called Shark Tank Class and was an introduction to entrepreneurship for students. Throughout the semester, students learned about different aspects of business and their final project was to pitch a business proposal to three "sharks" from the French International Community.

Third, fourth, and fifth graders collaborated for Marché des Connaissances or Knowledge Marketplace. Each student picked a topic of interest and taught their classmates. There were a few topics each round and the rest of the students decided what they wanted to learn.

On January 28, French International hosted its first in-person Family Game Night since 2020. The goal was to bring the community together for family fun for all ages.  There were board games, card games, bowling, rock climbing, “minute-to-win-it” style games, bingo, and coloring.

Pre-K classes learned about the French tradition of the Galette Des Rois. The classes made the treats together and put a small token in the cake. The tradition says whoever has the token in their slice will have good fortune!

Throughout the first semester, eighth graders dedicated hours to their community service projects. Community service is a requirement at French International and the Middle Years Programme (MYP). Students learn about meaningful action throughout their time at French International. Those lessons culminate with community service projects in eighth grade.

It is officially the Year of the Rabbit, and French International celebrated Lunar New Year in a variety of ways. Mandarin-track students made dumplings, all Mandarin students performed during an assembly, and Web Radio interviewed a French International parent from Taiwan.

Shawna Foster, Director of Development, takes over this month's Scott's Blog to talk about what it means to her to be a part of the school community.

October kicks off our admissions season with group and individual tours followed by open houses which start in November. It’s a busy time for our admissions team and since the team has a new face and a familiar face in a new role, we wanted to give you a chance to get to know them a little better.

This year, French International updated its mission statement to better reflect who we are and where we want to go. We also updated our guiding principles and core values - now called “Who We Are” and “How We Create Belonging.” Throughout the year, we are sharing weekly mission moments on social media to demonstrate how the mission is playing out in our school on a regular basis.

As part of opening up students' minds to the world, Cedric’s fifth-grade class recently got to hear from Mundiya Kepanga, Chief Papou. Mundiya Kepanga is from a traditional tribal community in Papua New Guinea. The opportunity was put together by the Mission laïque française (MLF) during their week of environmental citizenship. Later this year, Cedric’s class will have the opportunity to connect with Mundiya Kepanga and interview him for Web Radio.

November 10 was Community Day at the Middle School. The goal of the day was to foster community, build relationships, and have students make connections with their peers. Advisories from different grade levels paired up for different activities facilitated by eighth-grade event design students. This year’s Community Day helped build on themes of belonging and fostered connections among students.

Five chickens have arrived at French International. The idea for these feathery friends hatched last spring when pre-k students hatched chicks. Chicken care will be a student-led project. A Lower School class will pair up with a Maternelle class each week to tend to the chickens.

The second unit of the school year for preschool students is about the five senses. To learn about their senses, preschoolers did lots of fun activities. They painted rainbows, tasted different fruits, and more!