News from the American Section

Congratulations to 58 members of the American Section Class of 2021! We are very proud of their hard work and dedication, which are illustrated by their impressive OIB results. 5% of the class received a mention assez bien, 38% a mention bien, 43% a mention très bien, and 10% mention très bien avec félicitations du jury!

Two of our Termainles were recently honored in a ceremony organized for the winners of the Concours National de la Résistance et de la Déportation. Alexander was awarded first place in the Yvelines and second in the Académie de Versailles this year. Julie won first prize in the 2019-2020 session of the contest for her project centering on the role of the press in the Resistance of 1940.

Our budding authors and illustrators in Lower School successfully completed the publishing of their White Books, which are no longer white. In fact, they are filled with personal narratives, magic bean adventures, animal stories, mysteries, poetry, and fantasies. From Kindergarten to Fifth grade, students drafted, edited, wrote, and illustrated a book according to their level’s theme.

With the lifting of Covid restriction in June, a different version of our well known "Tournoi des Etoiles" was invented in order to give all 500 plus players across 14 sections a chance to play and win the cup. 

American Section students at Roby were recently invited to contribute to a "community art project" in the library. The goal was to create something that would symbolize the diversity and unity of our student body.

As visitors are not allowed onto the Lycée campus, the Middle School Theatre production of The Wizard of Oz was filmed and then live-streamed to a home audience on the evening of June 16. 

The American Section's Middle School Faculty and Staff joined students and proud parents to celebrate their end of collège. The ceremony, which was held online, was every bit as moving as could be expected.

The Lycée International "Promo 2021" enjoyed a Covid-style version of the Lycée International's traditional Fête des Terminales on Monday,  June 7 in the beautiful park around the Château d'Hennemont. 

The Roby Quatrième team, which included four American Section students, won the Dicos d’Or competition in their category! The contest took place on Youtube last Thursday, May 20.

The 350 Terminale students from the Lycée's fourteen sections were treated to a colorful Covid-friendly "Prom" concocted by the American Section on May 20.

This past week, the Lycée International Student Council offered a groundbreaking workshop on an important life skill--How to Speak in Public.

The newest members of our community are a pair of fluffy sheep who have come to eat the grass! They arrived from Brittany and are currently living in a pen at the top of campus. 

This year, after months of learning and raising awareness about gender and racial discrimination within education, the Human Rights Team hosted their annual informative event on May 4. 

Our Night In virtual gala raised over 38,000€! Thank you to all the local businesses and individuals who contributed to our extensive auction catalog. Every penny raised directly benefits our students.

A big thank you to those who participated in the recent donation drive! We received several hundred euros worth of diapers, infant formula, and diaper wipes. The benefits went directly to mothers at a local refugee center.

What do you get when you combine a published poet with a bunch of eager Quatrièmes? You get magic, that's what! It was  another memorable moment in our Middle School classrooms when Quatrièmes got to meet Sarina Romero, a Master of Fine Arts graduate from New York University.

The health restrictions brought on by the pandemic have compelled us to appreciate in-person exchanges more than ever. Nowhere was this more in evidence than this past Wednesday when our 58 Terminale students were fêted with the Section's traditional 100 Days Celebration.

The 2020-21 edition of Compass magazine was published this week. The theme of the magazine is A Year Like No Other. 

Compass is available for online reading here. 

Last week, our Sixièmes got to participate in some essential learning for the future when they met for a special lesson on the importance of "'team building," how to achieve it, and why its creation is important.

Terminale student Maïa Lundy appeared on France 24 earlier this week, in a debate about Disinformation in the Digital Age. She very capably represented the American Section and the Lycée International. You may watch a video of the interview here. 

"How do you get a detention?" "Are there vegetarian meals in the cafeteria?" "Do the older students bother 6èmes?" "How do you know where your classes are?" These are just a few of the questions that 5th graders "asked the experts" at Wednesday evening's "What's It Like in Sixième?" event.

Thank you to scores of American Section students and their families who took part in the 2021 edition of the Lycée-wide read-a-thon! American Section students raised well over 11,600€!

Last week all sixty of our Troisièmes deleted all social media apps from their phones and discovered what it was like to live "off-line." Here you will find a fascinating five minute video of what they discovered during this experiment. 

Aligning, once again with the projet d’école at the Lycée, our theme for Project Week this year was Portraits. Each level chose an artist or artistic idea to study and eventually create a masterpiece of their own.

From historical figures such as George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Jessie Owens, to contemporaries including Amanda Gorman and LeBron James, our Lower School students have spent the past month researching, reading, and writing about generations of influential African-Americans.

In the spirit of Martin Luther King’s life work, the Human Rights Team decided to hold its first annual “Mix It Up” at lunch. The idea of “mixing it up” is that the students go sit with someone new and find something they have in common or simply get to know each other better.

COVID restrictions might keep us from gathering for special events in person but it can’t keep us from getting together online.Moving the event online this year allowed us to include Kindergarteners, 1^st graders, and 2^nd graders as well as 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th graders.

America's debt to its immigrant ancestors received major recognition this past week with the Cinquièmes' presentations of the annual Immigration Project. Students were able to learn from and appreciate different aspects of this vital part of American history through hands-on peer learning and sharing.

In honor of the inauguation of the 46th president of the United States of American, we hosted special "coffee breaks" for the French teachers on our three campuses.

As part of our celebration of Black History Month, teachers are having important discussions with their students about the state of things 58 years after MLK's "I Have A Dream" speech. 

In their study of different types of nonfiction texts, fourth graders studied news reports and the parts of a newspaper. Using notes from their classmates, they wrote brief news stories telling what their classmates did during the December vacation.

The Schnapper community came together and collected an amazing 395 kilos of needed food and hygiene products to serve our local community - a community, like many others, going through some difficult times.

Our students learned first-hand how to participate in the democratic process, as secondary students cast their ballots for the United States President at both Marcel Roby and Lycée International voting centers. .

How to organize a meaningful send-off event in times of coronavirus? A vision, some 'outside of the box' thinking, a hefty sprinkle of spontaneity, and the stage was set.