Kids out. Coffee pod in. Roast. Pour. Add milk. Enjoy.
Teacher Fiona MacNicol-Clark has to do it quickly — her preps don’t last too long.
And sure enough, it’s not long after sitting down with the Richmond News that the stream of Grade 1 and 2 French Immersion students begins.
Hot and sweaty after gym class, Division 13 is directed, in French, by their ‘Madame’ to sit down on the carpet and review the class calendar.
On this day, a cold morning shower passed over Dixon elementary, making way for a warm, sunny afternoon.
Upon exhausting the students’ weather vocabulary, MacNicol-Clark sends them in two directions: outside and to the art table.
Most of them choose to go outside, so MacNicol-Clark takes her coffee and plants herself at the open doorway of her portable, with one eye on the playground and the other inside her classroom.
It doesn’t take long for her to extinguish a “war” between the girls.
One girl, flustered at the events on the playground, begins speaking French, although she quickly turns to English to plead her case to the judge.
MacNicol-Clark, speaking French, finds an easy solution for all of them, by sending them in different directions.
“The bottom line is you have to keep kids happy and learning. And kids learn better when they’re happy and active,” said MacNicol-Clark.
“I will miss them,” she added.
MacNicol-Clark retires next month, after 30 years of teaching for the Richmond School District.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, the natural-born linguist took to languages quickly, learning Latin, then German and eventually French.
She spent two years in her early 20s in the Black Forest, Germany, teaching ESL.
MacNicol-Clark chuckles when she thinks of serving as the town’s translator for French soldiers and the locals, who often squabbled.
The 59-year-old came to Vancouver in 1980. She never looked back, as the city offered all the adventure she could think of.
With an education degree in hand from the University of Aberdeen, it took MacNicol-Clark a few years of tutoring to finally land a job at Dixon, where she’s been ever since.
She laughs at explaining how she married an Irishman and an Englishman after immigrating to Vancouver.
While the Irishman didn’t work out, the Englishman has stuck around, she said.
The two are now set to launch their golden years in Kelowna and Mexico, after selling their home in Steveston. She says she will miss her friends here but looks forward to meeting new people and taking on a different pace of life.
The soon-to-be snowbird notes she’s proud to have taught many teachers (many of them former students) in the later stage of her career.
While optimistic for her own future and retirement, she worries about the new crop of teachers.
“I think respect for teachers has gone downhill somewhat, especially after the last strike. It was very distressing for us who have been professionals for so long. The teacher-bashing was very hurtful for those of us who have dedicated our careers to teaching children,” she said.
And while “there are a lot more opportunities for kids here,” than her native Scotland, she’s also concerned about ballooning class sizes.
“It’s pretty shocking to still have class sizes of 30 kids in this day and age. How can you possibly do personalized learning for every kid?” she wonders.
A student runs into her and gives her a hug.
Time’s up. Clean up. Pack your bags. Line up. Au revoir, Madame.
