french american international school
middle school
GRADES 6-8
The pivotal transition. Our Middle School students are making the pivotal transition from late childhood to adolescence. They acquire the study habits and organizational skills to navigate a daily menu of academic subjects taught by specialists. There is no glass ceiling in our Middle School because the teachers also teach at the highest level in our International High School. Many teachers request Middle School classes because they particularly enjoy the enthusiasm and special energy of the adolescent years. Our program is unique. We offer the undiluted curriculum of the French Ministry of Education, taught by teachers trained in France. In addition to this, our students are further challenged by program elements, taught in English, essential to a well-rounded education in an accredited California independent school. Students use their iPads for online access and to organize, manipulate and present their work creatively.
Middle School Program Highlights Two mother tongue literature classes—Our “balanced bilingual” students study literary greats like Shakespeare and Molière. Other authors include: Gerald Durrell, Richard Wright and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. As early as Grade 6, the students read and analyze an abridged French version of Homer’s Odyssey.
A third language—Our students are fearless language exponents by the end of 5th Grade.
We offer fast-paced beginning courses in Spanish, Mandarin and Italian and Arabic. Students can participate in cultural and linguistic adventures in China, Guatemala, Spain, Jordan or Italy.
Two cultural perspectives on mathematics—In order to complement their mathematical studies in French (where geometry and line by line defensible logic are traditionally privileged), students attend intensive algebra classes taught in English. By the end of 8th Grade our students are solving quadratics and dividing complicated algebraic polynomials.
History and Geography taught together—The famed French histoire-géographie
program begins with the birth of agriculture in Mesopotamia and ends with revolution, the Enlightenment and the seeds of modernism. The approach is a global one rather than Eurocentric. Texts are chock full of documents and period artworks. Students learn to interpret primary and secondary source material themselves. The same critical thinking and evidence-based approach is echoed in our US history class taught in English.
Hands-on sciences taught in French integrated with digital technology—Our students learn to manipulate scientific apparatus, analyze data and design their own experimental protocols.
Interscholastic athletics, leadership and the creative arts— We compete in basketball, soccer, volleyball and cross-country against peer schools. Global citizenship is fostered through service learning, our peer conflict resolution program, Student Council and conference participation. Education of the whole student is rounded out by delightful and various opportunities for “days in the sun” in the performing and visual arts.
Climactic exchange trip to Paris—This genuine exchange is a rite of passage that takes place just before graduation. Our families have already hosted their French “correspondents” before the entire grade embarks for Paris in May. Many of our students initiate lifelong friendships and connections during this time. The Paris Exchange truly represents the culmination of Middle School and a ten-year bilingual quest for each one of our students.
Experience the world.
FRENCH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL | LYCÉE INTERNATIONAL FRANCO-AMÉRICAIN OFFICE OF ADMISSION 150 OAK STREET, SAN FRANCISCO CA 94102 | 415-558-2060
coumbad@frenchamericansf.org | www.internationalsf.org