The first day of school for all College & Lycee students and most Primary School students is Tuesday September 2^nd 2008. Kindergarten & Primaire children will receive notice of the exact start time through the post* stating time of arrival and how long students are expected to be in school that day.  These times will be posted on the website as they become available. College and Lycee students generally have a 2 hour orientation with classes starting the following day.

* It is very important that the school has an up to date address for you, even if it is temporary.

The lists of school supplies for each class will be posted on the website from mid July. Kindergarten and Primaire children are expected to take all their supplies in on either the 1^st or 2^nd day, as specified at the top of each class’s list.  Everything must be labelled with your child’s name and all books covered (tip: you can buy packs of pre-cut plastic sheets to cover text books from any supermarket or stationary store).

 

College and Lycee students only need a pen, notepad, cahier de textes (homework diary indexed by days of the week) and a back pack to carry home books on the first day. They will also be asked to bring a number of passport photos (tip: buy at least 10 passport photos as you’ll need a lot of them at the beginning of the year) and some stamped envelopes (this does not apply to adaptation classes).

 

Students will receive their timetable, carte de sortie, carnet de correspondence (gradebook) and Carte de Cantine (Cafeteria Card). Text books lent by the school will be distributed.

 

Students also will need to bring various cheques (for lockers, deposit for books, for cafeteria tickets, to purchase English books from the school bookshop). Adaptation students should wait before bringing checks for books in English, see "Adaptation school supllies" in the adaptation classes section. You will receive a letter containing detailed instructions by post. These letters will also be posted on the website under documents. If you don’t yet have a french cheque book, please contact Catherine Jedor in accounts.

Kindergarten and Primaire parents are asked to hand over their children to the class teacher and then to leave. College Adaptation students (A4, A3) will have orientation meetings that parents are encouraged to attend as there will be a great deal of information given out. 2nde International students should come alone. For the regular French classes, the students go into their year group meetings on their own, but 6eme (grade 6) parents may, if they wish, attend the welcome speech by the Directrice of College. After this, parents will need to leave the school whilst the students will go to their new home rooms for approx. 2 ½ hours. Tip: If any new College families would like a tour of the school before school starts, please contact the Head of College. New Adaptation families should contact head of Adaptation, Mrs Brown.

In Kindergarten it is usually a gentle half day getting to the teacher and each other. In Primaire it is also a gentle day getting to know the new teacher and class mates plus checking of supplies and learning about the structure of the school day. In Primaire Adaptation, the teachers will speak French but, in the early days, will use English if necessary to make sure that important information is understood. Students joining the regular French classes in College and Lycee will be expected to come into school for approx 2 ½ hours. Times will be posted on the website during the summer. After an initial welcome from the Directrice of the section, classes will be read out and students will then join their home room teachers and their new classes to carry out all the administrative procedures. 6ème students will also be given a tour of the school buildings.

Yes ? if you come to one of the welcome picnics on Saturday 30 August 2008 (Rain Date Sunday 31st August 2008). New Theatre students 12h-14h30 and Dupleix/Suffren 16h-18h. Click here for more details.

Each section and grade provides a summer reading list in French and English. These lists are also published on the website under your child?s section (primary, middle or high school) and can be found under documents. Children joining Adaptation classes who are beginners in French are not expected to do French reading, but those joining the advanced classes will find their lists under Adaptation/documents. For English, there are compulsory reads in College and Lycee and the English department also publish suggestions for other reading appropriate to the grade level. Students admitted late in the school year, are required to go through as much summer reading as they can, although it is admitted they might not have been able to finish everything.

During July the school will post a complete list of supplies needed for your child under parents - documents. It is important to bring all the supplies on the first day of school if required by your child's section. Please note that there are quite a few supplies required for Primary Students. Most of those supplies will be left at school but your child should have a durable backpack and you will need an additional carrier bag on the first day. Be prepared to replenish some supplies during the course of the year and buy additional supplies as the teacher requires. Please note that text books must be covered and labelled with your child's name. You can use the clear plastic film in rolls or buy the pre-packaged plastic covers. Everything else must also be labelled (down to the last pencil). A labelling machine such as dynamo can be a good investment. You also need to label all clothing that might be removed during the school day, especially coats and jumpers/sweat shirts. The Kindergarten and Primaire lists are long and, to foreigners (and to many French!) difficult to understand. English translations of A1 and A2 lists will be posted alongside the french lists. These supplies can be obtained from the recommended school bookshops. Simply hand in the list and they will put the whole package together overnight. This is a stress-free way to shop at a time when all of France seem to be out buying their school supplies. The only drawbacks are that it is a bit more expensive than, say supermarkets (like Monoprix or Carrefour), and the kids don't get to choose the more personal items. Please note that the last weekend before school starts is a very busy time to buy supplies!

Yes, Please call the bookshop (they speak English). Emile, for example, (136 avenue Emile Zola - 75015 Paris - 01.45.75.16.15) near the Theatre site, will have copies of all the class supply lists so they will just need to know which class your child will be joining.

Everything that your child needs will be posted on the website under parents documents. If, for some reason, your child is missing something on the first day don't panic. The teachers will not be hard on the children although they will expect you to get the item reasonably quickly. Use your parent partner as a source of information if you have difficulty sourcing something.

Information meetings will be held for each class usually towards the end of September. In Kindergarten and Primaire these will be in the class room with your teacher and other members of staff whom your children will have contact with. The programme will be explained and practical matters will be discussed. You will have the chance to ask questions. These meetings will be in French. Please let the teacher know if you have difficulty understanding there will certainly be another parent who will be happy to translate the main points for you after the meeting. There will be separate meetings with the English department to explain the English programme. In College/Lycee, the information meetings are held in the auditorium by year group. These will be presented by the Directrice and her assistant and will usually involve heads of department. Adaptation meetings will be conducted in English and in French. Meetings with individual teachers in College & Lycee take place during parent/teacher conference evenings. These are usually held in Oct/Nov. Due to pressure of numbers, interviews are limited in time. If you would like a longer meeting with a teacher, please make an appointment to see them at another time.

 

The schedule depends on the class timetable. In general, classes start (earliest) at 8:30. Middle School (Collège) classes usually end at 16:35, occasionally at 17:30. Upper School (Lycée) classes usually end at 16:35, although some electives continue until 18:35. The lunch break (which can be of variable length, 30 to 60 mins is timetabled between 11:30 and 13:30.

There are no Saturday classes until 11th and 12th grades when some Saturday mornings are used for subject tests. The schedule is given at the beginning of the school year.

Only students in the Upper School (10th grade through 12th grade) have classes on Wednesday afternoon. College students will finish at either 12h40 or 13h40 depending on their timetable. The school sports association runs various classes on Wednesday afternoons for College students.

Unless students have signed up to go home to lunch (in which case they must leave the school premises for the whole of their lunch period), up to the 9th grade (3è) students may not leave school the day unless parents give written permission to do so (this is not encouraged). Students in 10th grade () may leave school during lunchtime only students in 11th and 12th grade (Première and Terminale) are free to leave school outside class hours. All students must carry their student ID card called a Carte de Sortie (issued on the first day of school) at all times.

Théâtre Primaire children are taken by their supervisors to a nearby large playground (2 minutes walk away) at lunchtime and during afternoon recess in order to have plenty of room to run around. At Dupleix children are taken to play in Dupleix square. At Suffren, the older children (CP, CE1 & CE2) are walked around the corner to the large playground at Bon Conseil. The smaller children play in the school courtyard.

In Kindergarten & Primaire, children are handed over to parents or identified adults. Even though departure times are staggered by year group, it can get a bit crowded around the school entrance and parent’s patience is requested for the safety of the children. Parents of older Theatre Primaire children in CM1 & CM2 (4^th & 5^th grade) may wish to request a carte de sortie with ‘sortie libre’. This allows your child to leave school without the school staff having identified an adult to pick them up. You can then arrange to meet your child a little further along the pavement, out of the crowd. Clearly, you need to trust your child to be responsible and wait for you if you are delayed for some reason.

 

College students also have 3 choices:

• Sortie Libre: enables them to leave school after classes on their own. I a teacher is absent and not replaced at the ned of the day (i.e. after 15:30) they may go home without notifying parents.
• Sortie Libre crossed out: students may not leave the premises before the end of the day even in case of a teacher's absence past 15:30. Moreover, your child should not call you asking a last minute authorization to leave the school. For your child's security and insurance reasons this will not be allowed.
• Sortie Libre completely backed out: requires an adult to identify themselves to the supervisor before the child is allowed to leave the premises. 

The school provides a garderie for children in Kindergarten and Primaire until 17:30. The Garderie provides supervision only - no tutoring or formal assistance with homework. Current rates for garderie are 4.50? per half hour. Parents are able to register for the garderie by contacting the school secretary. During school vacations EABJM does not provide any Garderie/Out of School care.

No, however the students are expected to dress appropriately for their day at school!

There are no formal homework requirements in the Primary School. In Middle School, students are expected to dedicate around nine hours per week to homework. Aside from daily lessons, assignments are usually given one week in advance. Upper school students will need to spend more time on their work at home, although most 11th and 12th grade students will have study periods available during the week, depending on their electives.

There are no organized study halls at present, but the school library is open until 17:30.

The most important school information will be sent by post so it is vital that the school has an up to date address for all families. Increasingly, the school is trying to cut down on paper and parents are requested to consult the web site regularly for new information. In Kindergarten and Primaire, many documents will be sent home via your children. If you have a child who might forget to tell you that they have a letter, you need to check their correspondence folder at least every Friday! The information is also posted on the web site, you must check it regularly. College and Lycee adaptation parents (A3, A4, 2nde Internationale) should consult their e-mail regularly. Another important source of information is via the APE and the network of class correspondents who forward on emails from both the APE and the school. It is important to make sure that the school has an up to date email address and that you consult your email regularly. The Partners in Adaptation "Coming Soon" weekly emails also contain useful information about what is going on at school. To subscribe to this mailing, please email pia@pobox.com.

The teachers at school may be reached by e-mail (using their first initial-dot-last name@eabjm.net) for example; Mr. Robert Smith's address would be: r.smith@eabjm.net. You may also contact a teacher in writing, by writing a note in your child's carnet de correspondance in the pages dedicated to this which he/she shows to the teacher, or you may write a note which your child takes to school and gives to the teacher. If you wish to speak to a teacher, you may telephone the school office and leave a message with your number so they may return your call. Please understand that they may not have the opportunity to call you immediately due to their class schedules. The quickest and most efficient way to communicate with a teacher is by e-mail. If the teacher wishes to speak to you they will contact you by phone, email or by sending a note home with your child. If you are concerned about anything, it is best to contact the teacher sooner rather than later. They will be happy to make an appointment to see you.

These are evenings, once a year, when parents from a year group can meet with individual teachers in College & Lycee. For 6è, 5è and 4è these are held in October/November. In 3è and 2nde they are held in January when the teachers know the students better and are able to help with their orientation choices. Due to pressure of numbers, interviews limited in time. If you would like a longer meeting with a teacher, please make an appointment to see them at another time. There are no formal parent/teacher conferences in Kindergarten or Primaire, but you shouldn't hesitate to make an appointment with your class teacher to discuss your child's progress.

Check your email regularly and the school website. Most importantly, try to attend the monthly APE (Parent's association meetings) for your section. These are attended by the Directrice of the section who will update parents about what is going on at school and also answer any questions. Minutes of these meetings are posted on the website about a week after the meeting

There are a number of ways in which you can volunteer to be part of school life. Here are a few examples: In Dupleix and Suffren, anglophone speakers are welcomed to read to children during story time. All the Primaire sections run a video and audio library which is run by parent volunteers. Teachers will request help (usually via the children) for parents to accompany visits around Paris. In 5eme (7th grade), the Living History programme requires parental volunteers to accompany the history visits. From time to time, there are special events, such as the 7eme Maths Ralley when parent volunteers are sought to come in and help. In the college, parents run craft sessions at lunchtime. All such opportunities to participate will be discussed at APE meetings as it is the APE and the class correspondents who coordinate this help.

If other parents can't answer your questions, your best sources of helpful information are the excellent school administrative staff especially the secretaries of each section. You will find them friendly and very helpful. All speak English. Their names can be found on the school contact list in the survival guide.

Parents who have not had the opportunity to attend a presentation of the school's pedagogical project, are invited to do so during the school year. The calendar will be posted on the web site. In the meantime, you will find information regarding the curriculum on the following page. During the school year, feel free to contact the headmistress in charge of your child's school level for more information. Their names can be found on the school contact list in the survival guide. At the beginning of the year parent teacher information meetings are organized to explain the programme, as well as objectives and expectations. These are held with both French and English speaking teachers.

You’ll find a chart with equivalent grade levels for the French, American and British systems on page 3 of the survival guide.

 

Age	French grades		US & UK Grades			EABJM adaptation classes
4	Moyenne Section	Primaire	Pre-K		Lower school
5	Grande section		Kindergarten	Year 1
6	CP		1st grade	Year 2
7	CE1		2nd grade	Year 3		A1
8	CE2		3rd grade	Year 4
9	CM1		4th grade	Year 5		A2
10	CM2		5th grade	Year 6	Middle School
11	6è	Collège	6th grade	Year 7		A3
12	5è		7th grade (Form I)	Year 8
13	4è		8th grade (Form II)	Year 9		A4
14	3è		9th grade (Form III)	Year 10	High School
15	2nde	Lycée	10th grade (Form IV)	Year 11		2nde Internationale
16	1ère		11th grade (Form V)	Year 12
17	Terminale		12th grade (Form VI)	Year 13

The traditional French grading system is from 0-20. In the Lycée, we convert French grades to US-type letter grades according to the Franco-American Commission Guidelines:

 

For reasons steeped in tradition, however, it is more difficult to obtain a high grade in the humanities than it is in the sciences. In French literature, for example, a grade of 13 is probably equivalent to a 15 or even a 16 in math or in physics.

The International Baccalaureate grading system is on a scale of 0-7 as follows:

Sports (Physical Education): Physical Education at school (EPS in French) is mandatory and is taught to all grades except for the IB diploma where it is optional. The students are required to wear gym clothes (T- shirt, gym shorts, and gym pants) and athletic shoes (sneakers/ trainers) for PE. The athletic attire may vary depending upon the sport. Some classes will have swimming and will be required to have bathing suits, towels, bathing caps, and goggles. It is a good idea to have a nylon bag or plastic bag to hold wet bathing suits. Some students prefer to have a separate bag in which to store their gym clothes. The primary school students usually have PE in the gymnasium at school. The middle school and high school students use both the gymnasium at school and often use city sports facilities, a short bus ride from school.

Science Curriculum

Primary School students may opt for a meal provided by the school or bring their own lunchbox. Middle and Upper School students choose a full meal (demi-pension or half board) or a snack menu (cafeteria - salads and sandwiches). There is no lunchbox option for secondary students.

College and Lycee students have two options: half-board/demi pension or cafeteria. Students registered for half-board will get a card credited with 16 points per day for a full 4 course meal: starter, main course (served with vegetables), cheese and dessert. If they don't eat the full lunch, there is no refund. Students registered for cafeteria pay for their meals on a daily basis according to what they choose - using the points system on their debit card. This allows the student to plan a meal to fit his/her taste and level of hunger. They can use this card in the Cafeteria or the Canteen so they can buy a full meal. Cafeteria students pay a registration fee which is invoiced each term. At the beginning of the year the card must be credited with a minimum of 80 Euros which corresponds to 200 half-points. The card will be credited on receipt of a cheque made payable to the ECOLE ACTIVE BILINGUE JEANNINE MANUEL. From 2nde (10th grade), many students choose to eat out of school in local cafes or restaurants. They can still buy food at school, but only if they have registered and paid for a canteen card.

Yes. There is always a vegetarian option on offer in the school canteens.

If you are concerned about what your child is eating each day, it is possible to request a print out of their canteen accounts, showing exactly what their points are buying! Please contact Catherine Jedor.

Yes, but this needs to be registered with the school and needs to be a regular arrangement. The child must leave the school premises for the whole of their lunch break.

Yes. The EABJM has a vibrant Parents' Association, the APE (Association des Parents d'Eleves) which is involved in all aspects of the life of the school community and dedicates a great deal of time and effort to help families moving to Paris adapt to the opportunities and challenges of their new life. For detailed information on the APE click here.

The APE offers a variety of ways to get involved:

 

• Become a Class correspondent (like a room parent): a communication link between the class parents and the teacher and the APE. There are generally 2 or even 3 per class. The correspondent creates, maintains and disseminates the class list of contact information for the parents.
• Attend the Monthly Meeting (whether you’re a correspondent or not), for each section of the school, with the section administration, APE coordinators and correspondents. The meetings are open to all and are an excellent way to keep in touch with what is going on. Minutes of the monthly correspondents meeting are sent to all parents in English and French.
• Attend a Partners in Adaptation (PIA) activity – French/English conversation groups, book groups, hikes, Paris walks, cultural visits, pot luck lunches and dinners, Cordon Bleu.
• Read ACCENT, a newsletter published two - three times a year and consider contributing an article.
•  Attend an evening organised by Etre Parent Aujoud’hui (EPA) which organises talks and debates in both French and English on a wide range of topics relating to parenthood.
• Help out with various APE initiatives related to seasonal celebrations (Halloween, Christmas, Easter etc) or craft workshops.
• Stand for election to the Conseil – the 25 member parent body that oversees the work of the APE.  Elections are held at the Annual General Meeting which is generally held in mid October.

Partners in Adaptation (PiA) helps support parents who arrive at EABJM from abroad – returning French nationals as much as foreigners – in their adaptation and successful integration into a new education system, a new environment and a new culture. It actively welcomes the involvement of longer term EABJM parents of all nationalities and aims to provide informal occasions to help strengthen school ties and friendships. The intention is to organise small-scale convivial get-togethers where people have the chance to get to know each other.

 

PiA and the APE organise a number of welcome initiatives:

 

• Parent Partners: New parents who request a partner are paired with ‘old’ parents who have children of similar age/ gender in the same section.  New parents can contact their Parent Partner for all kinds of questions; from the philosophical to the practical. For more information on Parent partners and to request one for your family click here.
• The Welcome Picnics on Saturday 30^th August 2008 (Rain date Sunday 30th August 2008) at 12h-14h30 for Theatre families and 16h-18h for Dupleix and Suffren. Please click here for detailed information.
• Peer Leadership – a student-student initiative. The Peer Leadership programme is designed to help new Theatre students adapt quicker and more easily to EABJM and life in Paris and to build and foster community between the different language groups at the school. Pairs of dynamic, multilingual Peer Leaders, chosen from the terminal (senior) class, will mentor each adaptation class for the first four months of the school year. Peer Leaders will earn CAS (Community Action Service) credit for their service to the school. The Peer Leaders organise the welcome picnic, visit the homerooms to catch up with the students, talk to newcomers in the halls and plan a few social events (such as ice skating and bowling).
• New Parents Information Meeting & Cocktail: There will be a special evening for parents of new students on Tuesday September 9th at 6:00pm, in the big gym of the school at 70, rue du Théâtre. This evening will be in English and is orientated towards the new Adaptation parents, but all new parents are encouraged to attend. After a brief introduction from members of the School Direction, there will be a series of short presentations from a panel of parents aiming to help new parents get their bearings on a range of subjects related to settling in to the school and to Paris.  There will be the opportunity to ask questions, followed by a cocktail when you can meet other new parents. For more information click here.
• New Parents Coffee: Each section will organise a new parents coffee morning when you will get the chance to informally meet with members of the school administration, Ape coordinators and each other.

 

There is not a whole school directory. Class lists are compiled by the class correspondents and circulated to all parents in the class. If you don?t wish your details to appear on the class list, you need to notify the school at the beginning of September.

The Fondation Jeannine Manuel was created under the aegis of the Fondation de France to bring to the school the financial support it needs to continue to be at the forefront of pedagogical innovation while continuing to serve the school’s mission to educate the future citizens of the world.

EABJM offers a variety of extracurricular activities at school. By and large most extracurricular activities for the primary school (école primaire) and the middle school (collège) are offered on Wednesday afternoons. Each primary school location organizes its own activities. In the middle school and high school (lycée) the activities are organized by l’Association Culturelle de l’EABJM. During the first few days of school your child will bring home a form with a description of the available activities and a form to sign up. The description of extracurricular activities may also be found on the website.

L’Association Culturelle de l’EABJM offers Basketball, Soccer, Wall Climbing and Horseback riding, Art, Drama, Dance and Music.

 

There is a very active Debate club which participate