September Campus Transformation
It was a busy summer on campus as the Maternelle buildings reach their final stages. Each of the four Maternelle buildings saw significant progress during the warm weather, and crews are working hard to get them completed.
The TPS building is the closest to completion. Crews just need to paint and do the final building clean. The preschool and kindergarten buildings are a few weeks behind the TPS building. Both need final carpentry work, tiling, and painting. The pre-k building will be the final one completed. The building is framed, and now crews are working on finishing the siding. The construction team is starting to work on the landscaping. They’ve begun pouring concrete for the courtyard, sidewalk, and stairs.
Check out this year’s annual magazine, the Global Mindset, for a series of construction progress photos.
Campaign Update
As the Capital Campaign enters the 2025-26 school year, we are especially grateful for the founding co-chairs of the Capital Campaign Committee: Patti Shaffner Jordan and Sophia Skaar. Patti and Sophia launched the leadership phase of the campaign, and because of their incredible collaboration, FI secured over a quarter of the necessary funding for the Grow With Us Capital Campaign. Thank you, Patti and Sophia!
We are excited to introduce this year’s co-chairs: Merritt Olson and Kelly Long. Merritt and husband Steve, a French International Trustee, have three kids at the school, and Kelly, Trustee, and her husband Ben are first-grade parents. Merritt and Steve joined French International's community in 2022, enrolling their daughters, Sylvia in K and Louise in Pre-K. In 2024, they enrolled their son, Reed, in TPS. They were drawn by French International's fantastic community and its international diversity.
To date, we have raised 33% of our $8 million goal. The Maternelle buildings are one phase of our campus transformation, and thanks to our leadership donors, they are near completion. We now invite the entire community to help complete the vision and support for the Lower School.
As we transition to this Community Phase, we look forward to engaging broader support in our community, continuing to offer campus tours, and announcing more naming opportunities.
