After 15 years at Prep, Madame Davis is retiring from teaching French class. She will be missed by her co-workers, students, and the entire Prep community! Most importantly, her legacy as a fun and a dynamic teacher will live on!

Madame says her final ‘au revoir’ to the Prep family: “Teaching French is fun and creative work! Also, you really get to witness the students’ progress which is incredibly rewarding. My students are so full of life and they give me hope. They can be very witty and often make me laugh.”

Madame keeps French class interesting by showing a funny music video to the class or coming up with a game that involves throwing plastic food. Jackie Williams ‘20 reminisces about the memorable times in French class: “one time our class couldn’t stop laughing when Charlie hid behind an umbrella in the back of the classroom for 20 minutes and he got marked absent.”

Emily Cook ’20 states, “French class is such a small tight-knit community because we’ve been together for so long. We are truly ourselves in there. Sometimes we get a little crazy.”

Madame’s unique and fun teaching style has helped the students improve from only being able to say ‘bonjour’ and ‘oui’ to having a full conversation in French! Not only do the students speak well, but their writing and listening skills improve tremendously. In addition, they are knowledgeable of Senegal and regions of France.

Madame decided to retire this year because “teaching is so demanding. I think you know when it gets more difficult to meet the challenge.” She will miss teaching at Prep, but she is excited to focus on her hobbies and learn something new: “I love reading, walking, seeing films, hiking, and traveling. I hope to do some volunteering, take some classes, work on my Spanish, and help with a few of the organizations in Senegal that promote girls’ education.”

Madame states, “I’m going to miss my pals and my so many supportive colleagues—all the inspiring teachers and students! This community has been a true blessing in my life.”