New French teachers join Costa staff

By Alde Nguyen

Staff Writer

Two new French substitute teachers say ‘Bonjour’ to Mira Costa as they temporarily join the Mustang staff to instruct French classes for a portion of this school year.

Dr. Higgins and Mrs.Villanueva began teaching in the Costa French department this school year, with Villanueva teaching since the school year started and Higgins recently starting. The two substitutes are filling in for Mrs. Buck, a Costa French teacher who has taken maternity leave. The two will remain teaching at Costa for the duration of the first semester.

The staff directory of Mira Costa High School

“I chose to teach at Costa because it is such a fabulous school and I appreciate the enthusiasm along with the kindness of the students.”Villanueva said. “I  also believe Costa adds quite a variety of classes for students to take and I enjoy the very welcoming staff.”

Higgins teaches French 1 and 4 and Villanueva teaches French 2. Both teach in room #53 and  Higgins teaching during periods 1 and 2 and Villanueva teaching during periods 3,4 and 5. Both teachers have a background within the language as Higgins garnered a degree in French and Villanueva taught French at MBMS for 15 years.

Photos: Mrs. Villanueva’s class play a game where she says a term in English and the class writes the word in French on their whiteboards.

“I have been living in the South Bay for 10 years now and I enjoy being able to teach in the community where I live.” Higgins said, “ I love having the opportunity to teach French and being back into the classroom because I have been teaching for 11 years now.”

The two teachers both have their own principles regarding to their ways of teaching, says Villanueva. Higgins says she believes learning should be enjoyable to inspire the students to become lifelong learners and have a passion for the subject they are studying. As for Villanueva, she says she focuses on allowing the students to be comfortable with using the language and widening their view of the French culture through the study of the language.

“We haven’t had Dr. Higgins for long but she seems to understand what she is doing and everybody in the class seems to enjoy her,” French 4 student and Junior Geena Radville said.“ I believe she’ll be very effective in teaching French because of her experience within the language.”

Both teachers have had experience within the French language and teaching. Villanueva completed her 4 years of high school in France and studied French at Northwest University while receiving her undergraduate and masters degree in different bachelors of science. Higgins received her bachelors degree in French at The University of Illinois and obtained a masters and doctorate degree in education and leadership, respectively.

“I began to study French in the 9th grade because my whole family spoke Spanish so I wanted to be different and I ended up falling in love with the language, and living in France studying abroad,” Higgins said, “ I also felt an attachment towards high school so I knew that was a place where I wanted to work and teach.”

Both teachers have expectations for their short time here such as helping their students develop their French skills and to teach them to enjoy communicating with their peers in a different language, says Villanueva. Dr. Higgins says she hopes the students have a smooth transition between new and old French teachers and learn a lot from her teaching.

“I chose Mrs.Villanueva and Dr. Higgins to teach here because they are really great people who love working with kids and have a lot of expertise in the content.” Dr. Dale said, “I have been in their classrooms a few times to see them and I think they are doing a great job teaching.”