La Gazette Archive

Throughout the year, we are sharing weekly Global Mindset moments on social media to demonstrate how the mission and our Strategic Plan are playing out in our school on a regular basis. Here are the Global Mindset moments from March.

Over the last few weeks, seventh graders have worked on a multimedia project about every day and extraordinary heroes. Students were given a list of everyday and extraordinary heroes to choose from and these were people from underrepresented groups including people of color, people with disabilities, people from the LGBTQ+ community, women in history, and more. This project ties in with the current seventh-grade language and literature unit as students are reading books on persistence, adversity, and everyday heroes.

Recently, French International staff explored the Strategic Plan pillars of "Programs that Prepare" and "Create a Presence in Portland and the World" through professional development trainings. In addition, French International TPS teacher, Nadine Zaouk-Strapart, demonstrated the Presence pillar during a presentation for the Mission Laïque Française (MLF) Brain Week.

French International is proud to have a diverse and dedicated group of parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and grandparents who have all committed to positively shaping the French International experience for our community! Each month, we want to highlight a different donor or volunteer to showcase the many reasons why people choose to support French International. This month we are recognizing the Steen family.

On March 2, the French International Eagles brought home two basketball league championships. This was the first time in school history that both the boys' and girls' basketball teams won the league title in the same year.

For the first time in school history, French International had representation at the Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) state tournament. Congratulations to the seventh-grade team of The Sauruses who made school history and were great ambassadors of French International. 

During advisory, Mme Cansse and Mrs. McCandless’s students learned about Changemakers, people who transform the world for the good of everyone. Check out the video below for their stories.

French International Web Radio took first place in the Médiatiks 2023 International Contest in the school radio and podcast category. It’s the third time in school history French International has taken first in this contest. Web Radio is a great opportunity for French International students to practice their French in a new way and build confidence in their language skills.

French International welcomed Sébastien Gavignet and Brice Verdure from SLAM Tribu to host poetry workshops with French International Lower School students. Every Lower School class had a 75-minute workshop on poetry, stage presence, body language, and showing emotions. In addition, fourth graders participated in a podcast workshop with the two poets.

Earlier this month, seventh graders finished up an interdisciplinary unit about water that bridged their science and individuals and societies classes. They learned about ecosystems and climate in their science classes. They learned about history, geography, and how water relates to human development in their individuals and societies classes and in their language track. The focus was water on the African continent.

On April 12, French International fifth graders presented their Primary Years Programme (PYP) exhibition projects to their classmates, teachers, parents, and other French International students. The exhibition is a culmination of seven weeks of research, action, and reflection on a topic of choice. It's one of the last projects during the PYP process and gives students a chance to demonstrate the aspects of the learner profile while making a difference in the community.

Throughout the year, we are sharing weekly Global Mindset moments on social media to demonstrate how the mission and our Strategic Plan are playing out in our school on a regular basis. Here are April's Global Mindset Moments.

Over the last six weeks, preschoolers have been diving into the program of inquiry, how we organize ourselves. In preschool, the transdisciplinary theme is we depend on one another. They learned about different jobs from French International staff and other guest speakers. They finished the unit with Fête des Chefs where they worked together to make crepes for each other and other invited guests.

On Saturday, April 29, parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, and friends of French International celebrated at the Annual Gala and Auction. With more than 300 people in attendance, this year’s Gala was the biggest in school history. We are grateful for the generous support of our community who helped raise more than $150,000 and counting.

As part of the sixth-grade curriculum, students study languages and their importance. Each student writes an essay on why they think languages are important and what language French International should add if it considers adding another track. Language-track teachers selected essays from each language track.