SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When a teacher receives an award for their educational accomplishments, it reflects on the success of the district as a whole - at least according to Jean-Marie Mariez.

Jean-Marie Mariez, supervisor of instruction in French programs at Yellowknife Education District No. 1, will receive the Andre Obadia award at the end of October for his achievements in French-language education. Mariez was commended at Yk1's board meeting on Oct. 8, where he is pictured with acting chair John Stephenson, left. - Candace Thomson/NNSL photo

Mariez will receive the Andre Obadia award at the end of October for the work he has done in both public school districts in Yellowknife, as well as his work with the GNWT and the College Nordique Francophone. The prestigious national award recognizes the accomplishments of educators in French immersion.

Mariez, supervisor of instruction in French programs at Yellowknife Education District No. 1, has had a large part in making Yellowknife a city full of choices for parents wanting to get their children into French immersion programs, with a plethora of resources and hand-picked staff to lead programs.

"If you look at parents, they have choice here in Yellowknife, and the children do too," he said. "It's very rewarding to be able to offer that."

The programs parents have to choose from in Yk1 and Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS) include bilingual preschool, early French immersion, late French immersion, the intensive French program, and full immersion at J.H. Sissons School. There is also the francophone school, École Allain St-Cyr.

Part of the success of Yellowknife Education District No. 1's programs is keeping the interest of parents and students alike, Mariez said.

"We keep the interest of parents because we involve them and have parental representatives on our committees, like the French Steering Committee and Canadian Parents for French," he said.

As for the students themselves, Mariez said having energetic and passionate teachers is the key.

"If students go into a class and they see a teacher who doesn't want to be there, it will create issues," he said.

"Teachers need a good sense of humor, to be able to give the students interesting projects, and to be able to build a good relationship with them."

Since his childhood going to school in Sains-du-Nord, a small French town on the Belgium border, Mariez said he knew he wanted to be a teacher. He moved to Canada when he was 15 with his parents and spent the rest of his adolescent years in Quebec.

In 1989, he moved to Yellowknife to begin work as a half-teacher/half-adviser for Yellowknife Catholic Schools to help the district expand its French immersion program, before switching to Yk1 two years later.

Aside from working with YCS and Yk1, Mariez has also been chair of the College Nordique Francophone, chair of Yk1's Intensive French Steering Committee, a member of the board for the Canadian Association of French Education, a co-ordinator for the NWT Heritage Fair, and a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Association of Second-Language Teachers.

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