TFS - Canada's International School

Guerda Jacquet: Guerda Jacquet: The Natural Nurturer The Natural Nurturer Intro SK Teacher, La p'tite école Intro SK Teacher, La p'tite école Guerda Jacquet's quest to become bilingual enticed her to seek out English- speaking countries, which ultimately brought her from Haiti to Canada. She took her bachelor of arts in education in Montreal before eventually moving to Toronto and discovering TFS. Immediately, she knew that TFS, with its blend of the Ontario and French national curricula, and the IB programs, would be the kind of educational environment where she would be able to apply all that she had learned at university and continue to grow as a teacher. Now in her sixth year at TFS, currently teaching Intro SK at La p'tite école, Mme Jacquet has yet to encounter a student who was not motivated to learn French. As many of her pupils have little prior knowledge of French, it is her task to ensure that their French language skills are brought up to the level of the students who started in PK, while at the same time ensuring they do not fall behind in the curriculum. Sensitive to each child's needs, Mme Jacquet teaches with great care, but also with a dash of playfulness and plenty of energy. To bring the language to life for her young students, Mme Jacquet will sing, play and immerse herself in the learning experience with them. She enjoys hearing from parents who tell her that their child is excited to be learning French and eager to share each newly acquired word with them. Once in a while, however, a student will need some extra help. By applying individual learning strategies and collaborating with the parents, Mme Jacquet swiftly deflects discouragement and nurtures the child's growth mindset instead. Gifted with a curious and restlessly active mind, Mme Jacquet is constantly researching and learning in order to refine her skills and approach, receiving every support imaginable, she says, through workshops, professional development and from colleagues. She pursues her research privately as well, through reading and self-reflection, much as she did when she was at university. In fact, she feels that working at TFS is like being at university. Every year she finds new ways to change or improve her teaching approach, then thoughtfully applies these techniques and insights to her classroom. "Children at that age like to be independent, and verbal encouragement works wonders, but each child learns differently, at a different pace. My intent is to make sure that they all achieve the same goal, and that may mean the path is just a little different for each one, depending on their personality. Seeing children enthusiastic to learn is my joy." "Children at that age like to be independent, and verbal encouragement works wonders, but each child learns differently, at a different pace." 29 TFS ENTRE NOUS 2016

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