A new school year is already underway! We are so happy to see you all again and to get to know the new families who have joined us this year. Welcome to our first newsletter of the year! We use our newsletters to keep you informed about what the PA is up to and about important dates and events.
Winter Festival
Tis the season for the first party in our brand new school building, so save the date now: Our traditional WINTER FESTIVAL for the entire school (M, P, and S) and parents will take place December 12! We hope it’ll be even more festive than in the past thanks to this fantastic building that we can inaugurate all together.
A detailed program will come later, but we can give you a little sneak peek now. Our children will delight us with songs, there will be a potluck grand buffet, drinks, and a Christmas Market! Prepare yourselves for a merry time!
In order to make this the best celebration possible, we need your help. We will need your help preparing cakes and other specialties that you would like to share for the grand buffet as well as volunteers for the day to set up, serve treats and drinks, clean up, etc. If you can donate even a few minutes of your time, or if you have any ideas for the Winter Festival, please email fundraising@apeeelm.eu or bureau@ape-eelm.eu
Important Reminders
Class photos will be taken November 6-8
The Winter Festival will take place on December 12
Volunteers are needed for the Winter Festival. Please email fundraising@ape-eelm.eu or bureau@ape-eelm.eu to sign up
Work Group Updates
All our working groups have started back up. We are so thrilled to see so many new parents in all the different groups. It’s not too late to join one or more groups if you’d like to get involved. Don’t hesitate to send us an email: bureau@ape-eelm.eu !
Eco-School Group
The Eco-School Work Group will continue to lead projects that promote values at the heart of our school: sustainable development and solidarity. The list of ideas is long (and that’s a good thing! ☺️), so we’ll be prioritizing and working jointly with the school to bring as many projects to life as possible throughout the year.
Eco-Mobility Group
The Eco-Mobility Work Group is delighted to welcome you to the new school year. This week, from October 16 to October 20, the School Eco-Mobility Challenge is taking place for M and P classes (for S students, your turn is in March 🙂). The challenge is supported by the school and by the teachers who talk to the children about it in class.
For adults and children who would like to equip themselves, we are selling high-vis vests for 9 euros each: https://www.payasso.fr/ape-eelm/gilet-de-securite-apeeelm-2023. For families interested in shared rides or other travel-related issues, please contact us at mobility@ape-eelm.eu.
Communication Group
The Communication Work Group is hard at work preparing to update the PA’s website. Our goal is to keep you informed about what we do and showcase the actions that our different working groups lead over the course of the school year. We will also be creating and sending you these newsletters to keep you informed of the PA’s projects several times this year. We hope you enjoy them! We’re also looking at ways to keep you better informed. Stay tuned. If you would like to get involved, please contact us at communication@ape-eelm.eu
Library Group
The Library Work Group has exciting news to announce – it will soon be possible to borrow books from the library (BCD). All you need to do is sign the BCD user guidelines, which should arrive before the October holidays. The library’s online catalog is available at: https://v2.hiboutheque.fr/mediatheques/2836-ecole-europeenne-de-lille-metropole-college/
This year, we will be working on the organization of several literary projects, including a storytelling night in December, a book festival, and a reading club during the Tuesday lunch breaks (for P students). We are also keen to launch the second edition of the “Spring Reading Festival”, a reading time offered to our children during the lunch break. If you would like to join the adventure, or if you have any questions, please contact us at the following address: library@ape-eelm.eu.
Fundraising Group
The Fundraising Work Group has set the bar high for this year. Our families and the school need financial support for the growing number of trips. 350 pupils will be taking part in these projects this year, and the PA has granted an average subsidy of 50 euros per pupil. To support and develop this financial help, we are maintaining our projects such as the publication of the yearbook, the organization of class photos (note down November 6 to 8 if you haven’t already!), the 3 Easy Wednesday events – the first of which took place on October 18 with 150 pizzas sold! We are looking into the possibility of adding new items to our store (information coming soon)!
Diversity Group
We have more parent volunteers on our team this year, so we can organize actions to promote a diverse and inclusive community that reflects the strong sense of unity at our school. Our actions aim to enable children to become ambassadors of this mindset, encouraging them to respect differences and to explore the possibilities of the intercultural links presented to them at our school. Our philosophy is centered on the common belief that despite our differences, with openness and respect, we remain connected through all that we share, collectively creating a better future. We welcome your ideas, views, and perspectives! If you have questions or would like more information, please contact us at culture-diversity@ape-eelm.eu. We look forward to hearing from you!
After School Group
The new organization has started off well with 370 children registered for lunchtime and before and after-school care in M and P. There are also 94 children registered for Wednesday afternoons. Once again this year, we are delighted to have 242 registrations for the 24 extra-curricular activities. We continue to refine and adjust the organization as well as answering parents’ questions. For any questions or requests for information, please use the following email: periscolaire.eelm@gmail.com.
Secondary Group
The very first meeting for the new Secondary work group took place on October 4. More than 20 parents answered the call and got involved in various projects. We’ll let you know more about these projects as the year progresses. In this first newsletter of the year, we focus on the first project: European inter-school mobility. This project was launched last year, and 15 S5 students are studying (or will leave in the coming weeks) for 2 to 4 months at a European school in another country (Greece, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, etc.). It’s a great achievement for a first year! If you don’t have children in S4 or S5, you probably haven’t noticed, but EELM is also hosting (or will be hosting) 8 students from other European Schools – another amazing chance to experience diversity! To contact us, send a message to secondary@ape-eelm.eu.
Thank you for your support, your ideas, and your attentiveness.
For the entire PA team