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Mon francais est très, très, très mauvais! At least it was before I walked into grade 9 French with Mme Quach. I spent 88 days with her, being forced into group activities, relentlessly competing for Quach bucks (ifykyk), and re-learning the basics of French from the alphabet to conjugation. But turns out, it wasn’t painful at all. Through her humour, her hilarious attempts to use “Gen Z slang”, and her overall passion for the subject, I was excited to arrive to class. So excited, that I made an impulsive decision to take French again. And there I was, round 2, grade 10 French. Although it was much harder than the year before, Mme Quach did her absolute best to create a safe space for me, where I wasn’t afraid to raise my hand in class, even if I was unsure of the answer. Now, we’re here. I’ve signed up for Grade 11 French, much to my own dismay, but before she departs for maternity leave, I had the chance to sit down with her and get to know her, beyond the classroom. 

 

A little bit of background…

As many of her students know, Mme Quach is an only child, although growing up, she spent lots of time with her cousins. “We played games like pretend office and school,” she says. “I guess [teaching] just naturally fit with my skill set”. In high school, Mme Quach eagerly participated in clubs and obviously took French from grade 9 to 12. From there, she studied social science and French in university but found that her true calling was teaching. “I liked working with youth, seeing them grow and helping them to realize what they are capable of.”. This is her 13th year as a teacher, 5th at John Fraser. So, why this school? “I applied for a job at John Fraser because it was teaching full French and, I love convincing children of the John Fraser community to take French from grade 9 all the way to grade 12!” 

    

Her connection to the Fraser community:

If you’ve had Mme Quach before or even if you’ve just seen her around the school, you probably know how incredible she is. She knows every student’s name, is able to support multiple clubs within our school, and many students in the school community turn to her for support. I asked her, why does she go the extra mile? “One of the things that made me want to be a teacher was to be a person that I wished was around when I was a teenager,” she reflects. “But overall, I just want students to know that there’s always someone who values who they are as a human being”. Mme Quach is currently the primary staff sponsor for Fraser French Club. She is also the secondary staff sponsor for Positive Space, Fraser’s Gender Sexuality Alliance, and the Muslim Student Association. 

 

Fun Facts about Mme Quach:

What’s something your students don't know about you: “I am having a boy!”. The list of baby names is top secret.

Favourite show: Abbott Elementary

Favourite song: Saturn - SZA. This was the safest answer; do not judge her!

Favourite book: Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho. 

 

Finally, some advice from Mme Quach:

“Be you unapologetically because the world is a better place because of you.” 

 

So if you made it this far through the article, you now must have appreciation and respect for Mme Quach, if you didn’t before. If you see her around in the hallways, take a second to show her that appreciation because she definitely deserves to hear it. Mme Quach, merci d'avoir créé une passion dans la communauté scolaire pour cette belle langue. Félicitations pour votre famille qui s'agrandit! Votre famille chez Fraser vous souhaite tout le meilleur dans cette nouvelle aventure.

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