Ms. Sandrine Labadie started teaching the French class last January after the previous teacher of five months, Ms. Quirk, left the school unannounced. Labadie is originally from Lille, France. She moved to Colorado with her husband, and they both made the decision in light of job opportunities. 

Ms. Labadie has taught French before in England and completed most of her education in France. Labadie said, “Schools are more strict in France. You have a lot of books in France, you work [and] you learn with books. No iPad, no phones.” She thinks it is better to teach with books rather than with iPads, though in her class iPads are still utilized to enhance learning.

When she arrived she didn’t know a single word of English, and it was very difficult for her to pick up on the language. However, Labadie has learned a lot from her students. “It’s cool that we are able to teach each other things,” she said.

Ms. Labadie has enjoyed her time here so far and she looks forward to continuing to learn new things from her students. She is excited to be teaching at MHS.

French student Maggie McMillan (‘23) said it’s interesting to have a new teacher, “especially a native speaker”. “It’s really cool,” she said. She continued that yet another new French teacher is “definitely a shock for the class”.

Because there have been so many changes in the French class, it’s been slightly  difficult in some areas. McMillan (‘23) said content difficulty has been a little behind in her experience

Ms. Labadie is the third French teacher the school has had in the past few years. McMillan (‘23) said, “I always compare it to us being [in] Defense Against the Dark Arts.” For those who are not Harry Potter fans, it seems to some like this teaching position is cursed.

Despite the challenges of staffing changes, students are optimistic that Ms. Labadie is here to stay and improve the French department at the school.