Madame Catherine Jolivet, a native of France, is the owner of the International Enrichment Center, Inc. dba French For Fun, a well-regarded program which began more than 30 years ago at Monte Gardens Elementary school in Concord, where her two older sons attended the Back to Basics program. With Robert, her younger son, Catherine discovered Montessori education and attended St Mary's College in Moraga, CA to learn more about Maria Montessori's philosophy and how her principles could be implemented and adopted at French For Fun. She holds a credential in languages and world history at the secondary level. She participated in many institutes focusing on the teaching of languages at the elementary level. She is a member of ACTFL, the largest foreign language association in the U.S., as well as the National Association for Education of Young Children. Catherine has conducted workshops nationwide for Fles* teachers. She is recognized as one of the most experienced FLES* (Foreign Language at the Elementary School) teachers in the United States.

Recently, Madame Jolivet attended DVC to puruse her education in early childhood education administration in anticipation of having French For Fun's morning program licensed by the Dept. of Social Services of California.

More former students are bringing their own children to Madame Jolivet and that is of course her most meaningful recognition!

Paulette Ove, Early Childhood Director, is a native Californian. She grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the town of Soquel. French, Basque, and Spanish were languages spoken regularly in Paulette's house. This environment coupled with early family travel to Europe stimulated Paulette's interest in foreign language and culture. This led her to study abroad in both France and Mexico during high school and college. She is thrilled to be part of the French speaking community and looks forward to tuning up her French language skills.

Paulette holds a Master's Degree in Education with an Early Childhood Education concentration. She recently earned her Child Development Program Director Permit through the State of California's Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Besides teaching and supervising in high quality programs for both children and adults in Contra Costa County, Paulette lived and taught in the mid-west for nine years. While in Chicago her son, Bryce, was born. Bryce is now eleven years old, and he will be attending Springstone Middle School in Lafayette for the 2011-2012 school year.

Madame Isabelle Magidson is a native of the Central Western part of France called Poitou. She has been teaching in our morning immersion programs for 5 years now and is presently enrolled in a Montessori training course to continue her education in ECE (Early Childhood Education). She is married to an American, and a mother of two teenagers. She has the equivalent of a BA in English Literature and Civilization Studies, and has been teaching French as a foreign language since she moved to the US in 2003.

She is also a professional singer and guitarist, and very much enjoys using her talent as a teaching method.

Monsieur Baimba Kamara is a French native, raised in Paris in a multicultural family. His mother was an elementary school teacher, and his father (born in Sierra Leone) taught English, so education has always been important to him. He is passionate about contemporary art, both as a practicing painter and a student of art history. While attending La Sorbonne, he worked as a recreation supervisor in several elementary schools in Paris, and upon graduating with a degree in Art History, he moved to the Bay Area to be with his American fiancée, now his wife.

He has been working at French for Fun for the past two years, and spent his first year assisting Madame Jolivet both in the morning and in the afternoon program. Therefore he had the opportunity to work with children from pre-school to middle-school.

This school year, Monsieur Baimba has been teaching and planning lessons for the four and five years old class. At the same time, he has been continuing his education in ECE (Early Childhood Education), which gave him the opportunity this year to put in practice the methods he learned, particularly in math and science. In the afternoon, Monsieur Baimba teaches on his own one immersion class at the upper elementary level, and two Fles classes.

He plans on continuing his education as a language and culture specialist with an emphasis in art, since Monsieur Baimba is effectively integrating his talents as an artist in his curriculum.

Madame Parastou Nobari has a Master's degree in French Language and Literature. She grew-up attending French school starting from an early age. She is trilingual in Farsi, French and English. She has been in the field of education and teaching for over 17 years in college and university at different levels. Her experience includes teaching, training, developing and promoting French language programs, researching and implementing different teaching techniques, researching and providing supplementary subjects to text books, managing and supervising more than one thousand students and forty five instructors as the principle and supervisor of a French language center. She is a mother of a school age child

Madame Caroline Clerempuy a French native, is a parent volunteer at FFF and she assists us with office matters. Originally from Normandy, she grew up and spent most of her life in Paris area. She had the opportunity to work in various countries such as Germany, Spain and USA. She came to California over ten years ago when she was transferred by her French employer to handle major accounts and sell packaging to the Napa & Sonoma Valleys' wineries. She has a Bachelor's degree in business & marketing, specialized in International Trade.

She is now married to an American from Orinda and is a mother of two young bilingual children.