EPeeps Nancy Lefebvre | Teacher Consultant

Kia ora! My name is Nancy and I am the newest Teacher Consultant based out of Canada! I am a former teacher, wife to my wonderful husband Rob (just married in October), mom to my two little girls, Elliott and Stevie, and I own my own professional organizing side hustle called Freakishly Neat. We live in Windsor, Ontario, just across the US border from Detroit. We also have 3 cats and an 80lb lap dog. Needless to say they all keep me on my toes!

What brought me to EP was, first and foremost, the pandemic. In March of 2020, we as teachers were all sent home. Soon after that, my husband and I found out we were expecting and, when September and a new school year rolled around, my doctor gave me the go ahead to stay home and rest until I gave birth in December. Fast forward to September 2021 and, having been home and able to spend more time with my family for almost two years now, I did NOT want to go back to work at the end of my mat leave. As fate would have it, Education Perfect was looking for a teacher (check), with an FSL (French as a Second Language) background (check), who ALSO has consulting experience (check). It was the perfect job with the best timing imaginable. So I sent off my resume and the rest, as they say, is history!

Why do you love working at EP?

I love working at EP because of the strong sense of community. Everyone I have interacted with so far has been so lovely and helpful. I truly feel like I am a part of something amazing.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

The thing I enjoy most about my role is that I can take my experience and expertise and help teachers on a larger scale. This role has also allowed me to view education from a variety of perspectives from all over the world.

What are you most excited about?

I am super excited about the fact that I am joining EP at a time when it is just starting to gain traction in Canada. There is so much potential for growth and I am so glad that I get to be a part of that.

Tell us your favourite teacher/student story

I have so many, but one of my favourites was at the beginning of my career and I had a long term position covering maternity leave in a grade 3/4 class. It was my first ever job as a teacher and I had NO idea what I was doing for the most part. I had one student in particular who, from the beginning, was having a hard time. He didn’t really get along with other students and never really wanted to participate in class. As the months went by, you could see he was slowly coming into his own and he eventually became one of my favourite students. Just before the end of my contract, we had parent teacher conferences and his mother told me that I was the reason he came to school every day. My heart melted and my entire perspective shifted. From that moment on I decided that I wanted to focus on the well-being of my students first and then on the curriculum.

What is your secret talent?

It’s super strange and totally useless, but I am able to place a cookie on my forehead and move it to my mouth using only my face muscles.

What’s the funniest joke you know by heart?

Would you believe that I actually went through a “stand-up comedy” phase where I literally told jokes on stage and I can’t, for the life of me, remember a joke right now. OH! Ok I have one…

There were three cats. Their names were One-two-three Cat, Uno-Dos-Tres Cat, and Un-Deux-Trois Cat. They decided to have a swimming race (you know, as cats do). One-Two-Three Cat came in first place. Uno-Dos-Tres Cat came in second. But Un-Deux-Trois Cat sank! 

Tell us about your pets!

In our home we have 3 cats and a dog.

Wicket, the queen of the house, is an 11 year old Ragdoll cat. I like to call her my soulmate in a fur coat. She has been by my side through many ups and downs throughout my life and is the perfect combination of sweet and sassy.

Grisou, our 3 year old Russian Blue mix, is the typical middle child. He’s such a sweet boy who just keeps to himself, but he is always up for pets and cuddles when guests come over.

Cooper is our 1.5 year old Boxer/Retriever mix. He is our pandemic puppy and he just loves love. He’s always up for anything and you can almost always guarantee that he is somewhere in the vicinity when I am online and on a call.

Finally, Mr. Jinx is our newest addition. He is a 4 month old tabby kitten and has been the missing piece to our family. He is Cooper’s best friend and, because of that, the dog thankfully now leaves the other two cats alone. It can be hectic at times and you will always have fur on your clothes, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. 

What advice would you pass on to a younger version of yourself?

Keep doing what you’re doing. The road will be hard and it will hurt sometimes, but the view right now is pretty awesome!