News & Weekly Letters

As you may know, I started this week in Florida, in St. Pete, to be exact—a name that conjures up images of sun, sea, and sand. And it’s true the weather is definitely milder there. For example, the sun is so strong that everyone eats lunch in the shade, which makes you feel like you haven’t flown two and a half hours by plane but rather time traveled 6 months and landed smack bang in the middle of July. But since I was in St. Pete for work, I spent the vast majority of my time in an impersonal conference room (in a few years, I won’t remember the time or the place when I look for my face in the group photo misleadingly taken around the swimming pool).

It has been a little while since our last update. As you can imagine, the end-of-year period was relatively quiet, and there was not a whole lot to report, but since last week, things have accelerated considerably.

On Thursday, January 14, we did a final walkthrough meeting with the architects and contractors, and after finalizing a few important layout details, the construction crew was on-site and looking very busy at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, January 15.

When you are a French person living abroad–and this is true of all nationalities–you realize pretty quickly that the locals often have a stereotypical image of you. Through cinema, literature, sport, politics, or the economy, everyone already has a clear vision of what it means to be French. For example, French people smoke cigarettes in the street, wrapped in designer scarves, shielding them from the cold. French people complain, philosophize, rationalize, and read books written in tiny font. French men open doors for women while clenching a rose between their teeth (true story: when interviewing a Taiwanese family applying for the Lycée français de Taipei, I asked them why they had chosen a French school. Their answer: so our daughters can marry French men.)

Last week, I wrote about how I wanted to read more during winter break–and beyond–which served as an excellent starting point for the wonderful Reading Week that has just drawn to a close at The École. A huge thank you to all the parents who dropped in as guest and mystery readers–there was excitement in the air all week! Thanks also to our Reading Week Team, Dara, Maya, Sara W., and Sophie, for coordinating this year’s event.

I naturally must begin by wishing you a wonderful 2025, full of the things and people you love. The new year started with a cold snap but also with a double victory for the Falcons in their first basketball games of the season. We are so proud of them and are looking forward to seeing them play in Madison Square Garden on Monday. I consider their victory an excellent omen for The École to kickstart what will be a busy year for us with the move on the horizon.