Faculty Sandrine Raoult Havret / Petite section / Preschool teacher Sandrine was born in northern France. With an education and background in applied arts and interior architecture, including teaching CAD (computer aided design) software skills for a year at a top architecture school in France, she began her career in elementary schools as an educational assistant in grades 1st through 5th at the school Victor Hugo in Lambersart. Sandrine led workshops in animated computer design, Visual Arts, and theatre for four years, while studying Liberal Arts, Art History and Archeology at the University Charles de Gaulle of Lille, finishing her studies in 2002. During the same year she earned her university degree in medieval archaeology, Sandrine took and passed the national qualifying exam (CAPE) for teachers (Professeur des Ecoles), achieving the 4th highest score. She then completed her classroom teacher training and certification at l’Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maitres (IUFM) where she became an ‘art referent’. Next, Sandrine taught for 4 years in a class of MS-GS (Pre-K and K) in Condé sur l’Escaut, choosing that specific area of France so she could give back to an underserved population similar to one from which she came. Following the principals of Freinet, Sandrine develops inter-disciplinary projects while emphasizing visual arts and ecology. Last year Sandrine and her students participated in a project to increase the children’s awareness of healthy and ecologically grown food. Together they created an organic garden with heirloom varieties of vegetables, enriched by ‘lombricompostage’ (‘vermicompost’ worm compost) and completely managed by the children. Other than her interest for nature and visual arts, Sandrine takes part in folk dances from Brittany, Ireland and Scotland. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Emeline Joncour / Petite Section / Pre-School assistant Emeline comes from Brittany, France. After passing her Baccalaureat Exam, she earned her BA in English, graduating in 2006 from University of Western Brittany. Emeline then spent the following year working with four primary schools in the Salford area, in England. She worked with children from various backgrounds, both individually and in groups: writing, reading, listening games, songs, music and tutoring. Emeline volunteered to tutor students with their homework at the Maison Pour Tous (“A House for All” Community Center) of l’Harletoire in Brest, with children from ages 6-14. She was a student for a semester at the University of Southern, Maine, which is when she realized Maine was a place she would love to return to again. With an interest in libraries and literacy, her experiences demonstrate her enthusiasm for working with children on reading, both in French and English while pursuing her education and after. She has been a children’s librarian in two municipal libraries in France and organized workshops for children and parents. Her international experience includes a humanitarian mission, which included health conferences with women and activities for children in Mali, Africa. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Elodie LeNezet / Moyenne Section - Grande Section / Pre K-Kindergarten teacher Elodie was born in Normandy, France. Growing up, she traveled extensively around the world, to places such as New Caledonia, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.  From this travel comes Elodie’s love for languages and cultural differences.  Elodie studied English literature and civilization at the University of Angers, France, where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in English and French as a Foreign Language. Elodie also attended the University College of Dublin, Ireland.  Elodie began her teaching career in New Orleans at the International School of Louisiana as an assistant in a kindergarten classroom.  She chose to stay a second year, during which she was the music and dance teacher’s assistant. While working, Elodie wrote a research paper on the American filmmaker David Lynch, which earned her a distinction. Elodie returned to University of Angers, France to earn a Master’s degree in Teaching French as a Foreign Language. Elodie has taught French phonetics and conversation classes to foreign students enrolled at the CIDEF (Centre International d’Etudes Françaises), which teaches French language and culture to hundreds of foreign students every year. Elodie teaches also French Adult Education at l'ecole Française du Maine. Elodie began working at EFDM in September 2005. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Ludivine Dos Santos / Moyenne and Grande Section Assistant Ludivine earned a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Applied Languages (studying English and German) and completed her Maîtrise in English. She studied at the University of Tours, France, and was an exchange student at the University of Bremen, Germany and Stirling, Scotland. Last year, she taught French as a Foreign Language at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. She is interested in how one teaches a foreign language and is very happy to experience this first-hand with the children in the preschool and kindergarten class of L’Ecole Française du Maine. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Murielle Brimaldi-Jensen / CP-CE1 / 1st-2nd grade teacher Murielle has been teaching early childhood and kindergarten for the past 14 years. She worked as an activity coordinator for children’s summer programs in Italy, Switzerland, Greece, The Bahamas and Mexico. She then moved to the United States and began her teaching career at the Portland French School in Oregon. Murielle began as an assistant in maternelle while continuing her studies. She then went on to become a full-fledged teacher and the curriculum coordinator for the Maternelle and primary grades (PS, MS, GS: Cycles 1 and 2). During her tenure she was the CP-CE1 replacement teacher, and was the substitute teacher and study hall tutor for elementary grades. We are thrilled to have Murielle on board with all of her positive energy, tremendous experience in immersion education in the United States, and her love of working with children. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Francis Carlier / CE2-CM1-CM2 / 3rd- 4th- 5th grade teacher Francis was born in the Pyrenees in the far southwest of France in 1969. After completing a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Visual Arts, Francis went on to the College of Arts from 1989-1991. Francis is a painter. After these two years, he was accepted at the School of Fine Arts in Lyon for one year. He completed his military service during the following 10 months. He then worked as an Art teacher in Bordeaux for one year to finance his graduate studies. In 1994, he enrolled in the University of Toulouse where he studied History and Art History for five years, earning a master’s degree and completing classroom teacher training and certification (IUFM). He successfully passed the national exam to become a professional elementary teacher in June of 2003, in Paris (CAPE). Francis then relocated to Portland, Oregon to teach a multi-age class of grades 3-4 and subsequently a self-contained grade 4. With his students, Francis took on very ambitious projects of his own design. For example, he integrated his passion for and knowledge of art with the sciences, writing and math, in a photography project. In the subsequent year, his students applied and built on their conceptual understandings in math and science through another unique project. He integrated writing, technology, science, and math with the visual arts in the creation of an animated film. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Friederike Munz / 6th Grade Friederike was born in Freiburg, Germany, bordering the Alsace region. Growing up, she traveled extensively to France and was a student of a French High School. She completed a Masters Degree in Bilingual Teaching at the University of Education in Freiburg and studied French and Mathematics at the University of Perpignan, France. She is a certified middle school teacher with a specialty in bilingual teaching: She taught at a French immersion school in Canada and was highly involved in the formation of a bilingual curriculum at her recent school in Breisach, Germany. There, she was a German, French and Mathematic teacher and taught Math in French. Friederike is especially interested in multiculturalism, evolutionary linguistics and intercultural communication. She was a volunteer organizer of German-French summer camps and Youth Meetings. Her personal interests are: Music (Piano and Trombone), reading, traveling and outdoors (Hiking, Mountain Biking, swimming and snowshoeing). Friederike began working at EFDM in January 2008. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Elodie Chancelier / Langue Etrangère / French teacher Elodie earned her Bachelor’s and Maîtrise degrees in Applied Languages from the University of Tours, France.  Elodie speaks German and English and has had several experiences abroad, having been an exchange student in Germany, Canada and Scotland. Elodie teaches FLE (French as a Foreign Language, equivalent to ESL) at L’Ecole Française du Maine. With specific training in this area geared towards working with children learning a foreign language, Elodie brings the ideal qualities and training to this position. For the past three years at L’Ecole Française du Maine, Elodie has worked closely with small groups of children and individual students to increase their French skills and enhance their experience at the school. Elodie has worked extensively with young children in a variety of settings, having participated in workshops and having completed an internship in classrooms at a primary school in Bourré, France. Her personal interests are: music, cinema, storytelling, traveling, and reading. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Stephanie Michaud / English Language Arts Teacher Stephanie earned her Bachelor of Science degrees in both Special Education and Elementary Education, with a concentration in math and computer science from the University of Maine at Farmington. Stephanie is certified by the Maine Department of Education in both Elementary Education (K-8) and Special Education. Since that time, she has provided developmental therapy in a preschool setting for children with a variety of disabilities including autism, sensory integration, ADHD, speech delays, hearing disorders, severe emotional disturbances and for children who have been abused and neglected. She has worked at the Bangor Montessori School where she was the kindergarten teacher and supervised a student teacher. She has spent the past three years as a program specialist for the Girl Scouts of Kennebec Council, where she has worked to introduce scouting to the immigrant and at-risk population in Lewiston. She is also a volunteer with the Boy Scouts and a coach for Youth Basketball and Soccer in Sabattus. As the mother of two students at EFDM, she has been proud to reintroduce the French language and culture to her children and a strong supporter of the immersion curriculum at the school. She looks forward to being able to share her skills and experiences to continue the tradition of excellence and performance that the school has established and to further enrich the learning experiences of the students. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Sally Ng / Mandarin teacher Sally was born in Beijing, China and grew up in Taiwan. Over the years, she has enjoyed working with a range of students with different ages and backgrounds. Sally began her career as a secondary high school chemistry teacher and was later engaged in the biomedical field for 20 years after further education in the United States. Twenty-five years ago, when her daughter started taking Chinese, Sally got involved in teaching Chinese in a New York Chinese heritage school. In 1988, her family moved to Portland, Maine, and Sally Co-Founded a weekend Chinese school with her husband, mainly to allow their children to continue their Chinese studies. Although she has held different full-time jobs unrelated to Chinese education, she developed a passion for teaching Chinese early on and kept her hand in it all the while. Ten years ago, she entered the ETEP Program, in USM, to take education courses. Since then, she has taught Chinese at Portland Regional Schools, at the Children’s Chinese School, sponsored by CAFAM (Chinese American Friendship Association in Maine), at adult education schools in Old Orchard Beach and Portland. Last November, she left her full-time job at Portland High School and has concentrated on teaching Chinese. She is very excited about the Mandarin Chinese program at L’Ecole Française du Maine and the opportunity to share her language and culture with our school community. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Chiharu Naruse / Piano Teacher Chiharu, whose parents are both piano teachers, was born in Japan and began studying piano at the age of four. In 1997, she moved to Germany to study under Klauss Bassler and Wolfrahm Rieger at the music conservatory Hochshule Fur Musik-Hans Eisler in Berlin. She performed numerous recitals and concerts while at the conservatory including a concert to raise money for Amnesty International and was the featured performer at the German-Japanese Culture center in Berlin. Chiharu has competed in a number of piano competitions throughout the world including the Internationaler Motzartwettbewerb in Salsburg, Austria, the Pescara Academie Piano Competition in Pescara, Italy and was awarded the silver prize at the Hyogo Piano Competition in Hyogo, Japan. Chiharu moved to the United States in June 2002 and currently lives in Hallowell, Maine where she teaches and studies under Frank Glazer. Chiharu Naruse teaches music and piano through the Suzuki approach at L'Ecole Française du Maine. This method of learning by listening mirrors the Immersion approach to learning language. Many of the students enrolled in the school are already Suzuki students. As the mission of the school is to open children's eyes to other cultures and celebrate diversity, Chiharu brings to the school much more than music. Having grown up in Japan and traveled extensively, she enriches the school in countless ways. She is accepting new students of any age for private piano lessons. Chiharu began working at EFDM in September 2002. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Nathan Kolosko / Classical Guitar Critically acclaimed classical guitarist Nathan Kolosko has performed throughout the United States and Europe in numerous venues. Nathan has been a featured soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Amherst Chamber Orchestra, and has performed for the St. Paul’s Cathedral recital series, and the Colorado Springs Classical Guitar Society concert series. Nathan’s debut recording Sonatas & Sonatinas has received praise from many critics. “ An excellent program expertly executed… a musically engaging performer.” – American Record Guide. In 2003 Nathan gave the world premiere performance of Ricardo Iznaola’s score for Garcia Lorca’s “Blood Wedding” in a co- production between Casper College and Stage Three Theater Group. Nathan received his Bachelors degree in classical guitar performance from the University of Buffalo where he studied with Joanne Castellani of the world-renowned Castellani-Andriaccio Duo. Nathan went on to receive his Masters degree at the University of Denver where he studied under the legendary Cuban guitarist/composer Ricardo Iznaola. Nathan has also studied privately with other prominent guitarists such as Jonathan Leathwood and Masakazu Ito, and has participated in numerous masterclasses with such artists as Oscar Ghiglia, Marco Socias, Ignacio Rodes, Stanley Yates, John Holmquist, and televised master classes with Sharon Isbin and Christopher Parkening. Nathan has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a grant from the Allied Arts Foundation to study in Milan, Italy with Lorenzo Micheli. Nathan has also received grants from D’Addario Strings to perform at both the Rome Festival and Chautauqua Festival, and from the Musser Fund and B.O.C.E.S. to support various performances and community forums. In 1997 Nathan was chosen to study in France with guitarist Pierre Bensusan, and in 2001 was a prizewinner in the MTNA national guitar competition. Nathan has also been honored with the position of performance / teaching assistant at the Bowdoin Music Festival in Brunswick Maine. “Nathan Kolosko’s playing demonstrates great technical agility, along with superb musical phrasing and insight. His performances are always emorable.”Castellani-Andriaccio Duo. Nathan is accepting new students of any age for private lessons. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Yasmin Craig Vitalius / Violin Yasmin Craig Vitalius received her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Stanford University in 1997 and her Masters of Music in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music in 2001. In 1997, she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in which she studied Turkish Folk music and played with the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra in Ankara, Turkey. In 2003, she was the recipient of the National Association of Music Teachers' STAR award for achievement in teaching. From 2001-2004 Yasmin was a fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. Yasmin is a member of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, the Meliora String Quartet and the Improv String Quartet. She also plays regularly with the Portland Ballet Orchestra, PortOpera and Maine Grand Opera. Yasmin is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Maine Suzuki Association and the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Yasmin teaches violin at her home studio and is the Suzuki violin instructor at L'Ecole Francaise du Maine. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Linda Vaillancourt / Music Theory Teacher Linda received her BM in Music Education from the University of Southern Maine. She then went on to teach several years in the public schools, teaching all grade levels from K-12. She completed her MM in Viola Performance at the University of Maine, and continues to teach in several school systems. She directs the middle school band and the string ensemble at North Yarmouth Academy, and also teaches at Lewiston High School and Trinity Catholic School, where she started the instrumental music program. She performs regularly in many area ensembles, including the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and the Maine Chamber Ensemble. She currently lives in Lewiston with her husband, Scott, and two children. [ Back to Top ] . . . . . . Scott Vaillancourt / Chorale Teacher and Accompaniment Originally from the town of Van Buren in the French-speaking St. John Valley of Maine, Scott Vaillancourt received his BA from Bowdoin College and his MM in Tuba Performance and MM in Music Composition from the University of Michigan. He has held organist positions in several churches throughout Maine, and is currently music director at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston. He is an active teacher, serving on the adjunct faculties of Bowdoin College, the University of Maine, and the University of Southern Maine. He lives in Lewiston with his wife and two daughters. [ Back to Top ] Home | About Us | Admissions | School Life | News & Calendar | Community | Giving | Download Brochure | Contact | Directions | Sitemap © 2008 L’Ecole Française du Maine – All Rights Reserved.