[Oxford63] French teacher
oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
Mon Feb 22 10:12:14 MST 2016
Betsy -
What a memory! My sister went to Miss Hewitt's in NYC, and Mme LeFaivre
was the French teacher there before she came to Oxford. I also remember
rumors that she had been married to a Russian prince? After she retired
to 1 Bis Rue de Siam in Paris (I'll take credit for remembering, though
not the correct capitalization), I had occasion to spend 3 weeks there
before heading to the University of Geneva for a French summer program.
Mme LeFaivre and I went to the Tutankhamen exhibit at Le Petit Palais.
She also got me to go with her to a Moliere play (sure don't remember
which one!) at La Comedie Francaise. I did stay in touch with her on and
off forquite a while. I remember one year she sent a Christmas card that
she had drawn herself - a simple line drawing, red on white paper. I
remember being impressed that she had talent.
I'm in her camp, but clearly she made an indelible impression on all of us.
*** Jane ***
Cyber Mesa Telecom
Santa Fe Headquarters
Tel 505-988-9200
/Local Contact Numbers/ <http://www.cybermesa.com/ContactUs.htm>
On 2/22/2016 8:48 AM, oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com wrote:
> Betsy - So great that you reminded us all of this - I remember Sept
> d'un Coup very well. And all the other things, especially Hum-sah!
> xo Claudia
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From: *oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> *To: *oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> *Sent: *Wednesday, February 17, 2016 9:34:40 PM
> *Subject: *Re: [Oxford63] French teacher
>
> I just looked back in my 1960 yearbook at the list of faculty names:
> Mme LaBrecque’s given name was Yvonne.
>
> I never had French with Mme LaBrecque, but I had Mme Lefaivre in 7th,
> 8th, and 9th grade. She was my favorite teacher. The bark was much
> worse than the bite, I discovered. I do recall that on the very first
> day of class she told us that if we hadn’t done our homework (and
> there might be a perfectly legitimate excuse), we should come to her
> before class began, and she wouldn’t call on us. But if she called on
> us and we didn’t know the answer because we hadn’t done our homework,
> and we hadn’t confessed it to her before class began, well… all bets
> were off! She was very demanding, but I learned so much French, that
> after taking French I with her at Oxford, I was jumped into French III
> my sophomore at Abbot! (Where I had another French teacher, Mlle
> Arosa, who was an equally demanding tyrant, but that’s another story.)
>
> What I remember best about Mme Lefaivre was her amazing story-telling
> ability. When we had finished our lesson and grammar, if there was
> time enough before the bell, she would tell us stories from history
> etc. There was the story of Saint-Christophe, and stories of
> Catherine de Medici, and once she was in the middle of a ghost story
> when the bell rang, making all of us jump out of our skins. It helped
> us learn by listening, in a very pleasant manner. I remember our
> first little yellow book of stories: “Sept d’un coup”, about a giant,
> and “Les Chandeliers de l’Évèque” from “Les Misérables”, and “La
> Chèvre de Monsieur Séguin” from "Les Lettres de mon Moulin” of
> Alphonse Daudet. She made us put our heads down on our desks before
> we started an exam, and breathe deeply, saying “hum-sah” several
> times. Precursor to mindful breathing!! And very effective for
> calming down enough to write a good exam. I used the technique all
> through school and university.
>
> The grounding I received from her and from Mlle Arosa enabled me to
> function fully in French when I moved to Québec to sing in the Opéra
> de Montréal. They made it possible for me to have a career in
> singing, and later teaching ESL in a francophone college. I couldn’t
> be more grateful! I wish I had kept up contact with her, but I saw
> her only once after I left for boarding school. I’m so glad you
> stayed in touch, Katie, and had such fun experiences with her in
> France! I thought she was just wonderful!
>
> Hope you are all staying warm and looking forward to spring! Love, Betsy
>
> On Feb 17, 2016, at 8:47 PM, oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> <mailto:oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com> wrote:
>
> my favorite . . . still have le livre! Bon chance, Lelly!
> Susan
> -----Original Message-----
> From: oxford63 <oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> <mailto:oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com>>
> To: oxford63 <oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> <mailto:oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com>>
> Sent: Wed, Feb 17, 2016 6:26 pm
> Subject: Re: [Oxford63] French teacher
>
> And I am taking a French class at our library, and we are just
> finishing Le Petit Prince!
>
> Lelly
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Feb 17, 2016, at 6:13 PM, oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> <mailto:oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com> wrote:
>
> Yes, she was!!
> Interestingly enough, about a year ago, while commuting in
> traffic on I-95, started to translate license plates into French!
> I have been thinking/ speaking in French ever since! A method
> to avoid Alzheimers? Who knows, but I am loving it!
> Susan
> -----Original Message-----
> From: oxford63 <oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> <mailto:oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com>>
> To: oxford63 <oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> <mailto:oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com>>
> Sent: Wed, Feb 17, 2016 12:33 am
> Subject: Re: [Oxford63] French teacher
>
> Yep, Simone LeFaivre. Who could forget that bitch.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Feb 16, 2016, at 6:34 PM,
> oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> <mailto:oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com> wrote:
>
> Simone
>
>
> *** Jane ***
>
> Cyber Mesa Telecom
> Santa Fe Headquarters
> Tel 505-988-9200
>
> /Local Contact Numbers/
> <http://http//www.cybermesa.com/ContactUs.htm>
>
>
>
> On 02/16/2016 8:25 PM,
> oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com wrote:
>
> A good memory and good to have found the packet of
> letters. I remember Mme LaBrecque, but do not know
> her first name. In fact, I only knew a few teachers'
> first names - Barbara Jarrell, Edith Evans, Shirley
> Storrs...What was Mme. LeFaivre's first name?
> Curiously, Claudia
> *From: *oxford63 at mailman.cyber-community.com
> *To: *"oxford63" <Oxford63 at cyber-community.com>
> *Sent: *Tuesday, February 16, 2016 10:08:56 PM
> *Subject: *[Oxford63] French teacher
>
> I happened to find a packet of letters my mother
> received after my grandfather and father died in 1969.
> One of them was from Wilfred and Anne La Brecque. I
> wonder if it was from Madame La Brecque who taught at
> Oxford as she was a good friend of my grandmother's.
> Does anyone remember if her name was Anne?
> I hope everyone is safe from the bad weather.
>
>
>
> Barbara
> Brucket at aol.com
>
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