When six-year-old Léonie walked into École des Grands-Vents, everything felt unfamiliar: new school, new city, new language. Her parents enrolled her at this French-first-language school — one of the few in the entire province — so Léonie could learn to communicate with her Francophone family.

There were many tears at first. But Léonie’s kindergarten teacher, Jakiera Rideout, had a certain je ne sais quoi that changed everything. Madame Jakiera helped Léonie celebrate her roots with students from other Francophone cultures around the world. And, by encouraging Léonie’s attempts to speak French instead of correcting every mistake, Léonie was confidently speaking French in record time. She used to wave at her Francophone grandparents on FaceTime. Now, she chats their ears off — en français!