A new school year is underway, and we are excited to reconnect!

In this first 2026-27 edition, discover our Les Bons Plans for upcoming family-friendly events, meet Lisa Chevalier, mom of three and founder of SoVous in our Community Spotlight, and explore our new À Table! section, featuring a community recipe for Lasagne alla Bolognese. We will also catch you up on TÉPA Highlights, with a look at what has already happening and what is ahead for our community these coming weeks.

Welcome back, and happy reading!

Les Bons Plans*

Looking for family-friendly cultural outings? October is always a busy month full of celebrations - Halloween, indigenous People's day, Dia de los Muertos… you won't get bored!

👻 Halloween

• High Line Halloween : Gnome-topia 

  📍On the High Line at 14th Street  🗓️Saturday, Oct 24, 2026 | 11AM - 2PM

  A whimsical Halloween celebration with games, magic, face painting, music and, of course, candy! Especially fun for ages 6–10.  Infos & tickets

• Trick Or Streets

  📍Accross the 5 boroughs  🗓️ All through October

  NYC turns streets and plazas into car-free spaces for Halloween activities and family fun all month long! Complete list of car-free locations and signature events on nyc.gov/trickorstreets.

🦅 Indigenous People's day 

• Third United Lenape / Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow in Prospect Park📍Lefrak center at Lakeside, 171 East Drive, Brooklyn, NY 🗓️ Oct 3 - Oct 5, 2026 | 12PM - 6PM

  Celebrate Lenape/Lunáapeew culture in their ancestral homeland through traditional drumming, dancing, singing, art, crafts and food.

🏵️ Dia de los Muertos 

• Dia de los Muertos at the New York Botanical Garden

  📍NYBG 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY 10458  🗓️ Oct 3 - Nov 2, 2026 

  Celebrate memory, life and renewal with music, crafts, fall displays and a Día de los Muertos parade on Nov 1. Infos & tickets

• Dia de los Muertos at El Museo del Barrio

  📍1230 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, United States 🗓️ Oct 17, 2026 | 10AM - 2PM

  A free family celebration with art-making, live music, community altars and hands-on activities.  Infos

♟️🐥🗽🇯🇵And a few more activities for the whole family

• Mille Secrets de Poussins by the Collectif Quatre Ailes 

  📍L'Alliance New York, 22 East 60th street, New York, NY 10022

  🗓️ Saturday, Oct 24, 2026 | 11:30AM  & 3PM

  Claude Ponti’s mischievous poussins escape from the books in this playful North American premiere. In French with English subtitles. Infos & tickets

• Open House New York Weekend

  📍 Accross NYC 🗓️ Oct 16-18, 2026

  Go behind the scenes at hundreds of NYC buildings, parks, workshops and hidden gems. Info

• Exhibition : Art of Manga

  📍Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York 11238

  🗓️ Oct 3, 2026 - Jan 31, 2027

  Discover more than 600 drawings in a major exhibition exploring Japanese manga as an art form. Infos & tickets.

💡 Have an event or tip for Les Bons Plans? Send it our way — we’d love to share it in a future edition! info@theecolepa.org.

Follow TÉPA for more bons plans:

• Instagram: @theecolepa

• Facebook: @theecolepa

*good tips and recommendations.

Community ⁠Spotlight

Can you tell us a little about your background?
My path has never really been linear, and I kind of think that’s my strength. From kindergarten through high school, I trained as an artist and a violinist. I went to Cleveland School of the Arts and Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, where I learned to see proportion, balance, and pay attention to subtle details and things. Later, I studied neuroscience, biology, and nutrition. I worked as a personal trainer and an operations manager at a Best Buy retail store.

Training clients gave me an early, hands-on appreciation for the connection between people, wellness, and people’s confidence. Running a retail store gave me my first real education in business. And then after that, I went on to earn my master’s degree in medical science to become a physician associate. I’ve been practicing for about 17 years.

How did SoVous come to be? What inspired you to create your own practice?
I worked at a plastic surgery practice, so I had a front-row seat to a little revolution in the industry. Patients were moving towards more non-invasive treatments, but yet they were still very concerned about keeping them a secret. For me that was an issue, I wanted to change that conversation that I was having with patients. When the people I worked with retired, I opened my own office. We just celebrated 10 years of SoVous!

Our hearts have always been with women, because it was the foundation of the aesthetics industry, but we serve many men as well, including many of the École parents. It’s so fun when I see a familiar face in the office!

But our philosophy is the same for everyone. Every treatment that we offer is grounded in real science and guided by an artistic eye. And it’s delivered with genuine care and trust to try to pull hospitality back into medicine, so that each person leaves looking recognized and feeling themselves, without walking out feeling like they’re nervous about any treatment that they had done.

A decade of building from the ground up also showed me where our business was being underserved in many ways. Rendevu, the other company that I founded, was born from that realization. We  just launched the app in the App Store so now we’re working on our first capital raise, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead.

If someone is considering their first cosmetic treatment but feels unsure or intimidated, what advice would you give them?
I think the most important thing is to begin with the conversation, not an actual treatment. The right provider is going to listen to what you’re looking to achieve more than they’ll sell it to you, and you should never feel rushed into making any decision because the decision is all yours.

Ask about their training and ask to see their work. In a field that can sometimes lack clear regulation, credentials and integrity really matter enormously.

Trust how you feel in the room. If the bedside manner doesn’t suit your needs, it’s ok, we all align with different people. And I think that’s a huge motivator for why we choose the providers that we choose.

Start conservatively. The goal is to look like yourself, rested and refreshed, never like another person.

And, you know, beauty and aesthetics, it’s never really a single moment, It’s an evolution. I think there’s beauty at every single age, so I always tell my patients: we’re not striving towards perfection. We’re striving towards making you look your best version of you and let that unfold at its own pace.

Why did you enroll your kids at The École?
It’s a funny story, we talk about this a lot with other families at school. When Philip and I were in our 20s, the school was along our walking commute. It was much smaller, two doors down. It used to be a steakhouse called BLT Prime, and it was our special-occasion spot. So when The École took over the space, it was bittersweet. But we’d pass families, kids chattering in French, and I’d always think, one day, when I have kids, they’re gonna go there. Philip is French Canadian, and passing along the gift of the language and his cultural heritage to our children has always been something that was important to us.

And so just a couple of years later, our kids were enrolled at the school. We traded one part of our story for another, and it’s fun to think that the space is still part of our story with The École.

Learn more about SoVous here and Rendevu here.
Follow SoVous on Instagram here.

[For the full interview, visit our website!]

*** Be Our Next Guest! ***
Do you have a special talent, unique hobby, or business you’d like to share with our community? We’d love to feature you in an upcoming Community Spotlight! If you’re interested in being showcased, please reach out to us at info@theecolepa.org.

À Table!

This month, we’re heading to Italy: thank you Angela, mom of Sophia (CM2/5) and Victor (CE1/2), for sharing your recipe. Buon appetito!

A Word from TÉPA President

We begin the year with encouraging feedback: every respondent to our year-end survey was “very satisfied” with TÉPA’s efforts. Our newsletter’s exceptional open rate tells a similar story—though we wouldn’t dream of competing with Jean Yves’s Weekly Letter (or would we?).

With 12 TÉPA officers, 34 class reps, and a record 19 volunteers at our latest Uniform Swap, that engagement is showing up in person, too!

You asked for more opportunities to connect, welcome new families, and share interests. This year, we’ll build on that momentum, alongside cultural and educational enrichment for our children.

Whether you contribute time, ideas, or simply your presence, thank you! Life in New York is a juggling act; there’s no pressure to do it all. Our hope is simply that every family finds a sense of belonging.

Annabelle Zabetian, mother of Leo (5/CM2-A) and Daria (8/4è)

Highlights from September 2026

Uniform Swap Fundraising: A New Record!

Our first Uniform Swap Fundraising held on September 24 & 25 was an incredible success. Thanks to the generous donations from École families, uniforms found new homes while raising a record-breaking $3,026 to support TEPA initiatives through the Community Care Scholarship.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated, shopped, and helped make the event such a success, and especially to our wonderful volunteers who sorted, organized, and kept everything running smoothly. See you in the spring for our next Uniform Swap!

Annual Membership Dues: What You Need to Know

TÉPA annual membership dues are $145 per child* this year, with discounts for families with multiple children. Thank you to all the families who have already contributed! Your membership helps fund the programs and initiatives that bring our community together throughout the year, from cultural celebrations and teacher appreciation to family events and more. In addition, each class rep receives $85 per student to organize class gatherings and activities that help families connect. Thank you for supporting another year of community, connection, and celebration!

*TÉPA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

Affinity Groups: More ways to connect

Since September, six new affinity groups have launched, creating more ways for families to connect around shared interests, activities, and experiences beyond the classroom.

Want to join? Explore the groups through the “The École Families” WhatsApp Community. And if you have an idea for a group that doesn’t exist yet, request a new one here and help bring like-minded families together!

Meet the 2026-27 TÉPA Team

New school year brings a new TÉPA team! This year, we’re excited to welcome a mix of new and returning parents, representing families from Maternelle through Middle School. With new faces, expanded roles, and plenty of ideas for the year ahead, our team will be working together to support our community, strengthen connections, and bring TÉPA initiatives to life throughout the school year.

We look forward to another great year together!

President - Annabelle Zabetian

Secretary - Matthieu Serviat

Treasurer - Maricela Alejandre

Head of Fundraising & Treasurer-Elect - Jessica Wang

VP Maternelle - Devon Lawrence

VP Elementary - Florine Magalon

Co-VP Middle School - Amy Mok

Co-VP Middle School - Pauline de Vivie de Regie

Communication Lead - Emilie Legrand

Co-Community Engagement - Irina Arnold

Co-Community Engagement - Olessia Lapina

Strategic Development - Aurelie Tetzlaff

What’s Next from TÉPA

Class Gatherings Are Underway!

Many class reps have already started planning their first gatherings of the year, and we love to see it! From casual meetups at the park to cocktail hour on rooftops, these events are a great way for families to connect outside of school and strengthen our community. With an $85-per-student class budget provided by TÉPA, reps can plan gatherings throughout the year, whether they kick things off this fall or save something special for later. We can’t wait to see what each class has in store!