By Erika Leibowitz, NHS President

Madame Paleos is a phenomenal French teacher who has an immense passion for elevating the next generation academically and in all facets of their lives. Madame prioritizes making her classes insightful and fascinating. She is extraordinarily kind and compassionate to all of her students. To her, “a good day at school is a well planned day.” 

Madame Paleos recognizes the fact that preparation is made up of two factors. The first factor is physical preparation, where all of her materials are ready to go. The second factor is the years of preparation she has in and outside of the classroom. She believes the more experiences one has, the better they perform. 

Madame has a personal mission of spreading joy within her communities. One of her favorite parts of teaching is creating connections with her students and conversing with them. She finds the most fulfilling part of teaching is when she watches the evolution of her students as they blossom into adulthood. Madame Paleos priorioritizes students gaining as many skills as possible. She believes her students are far more than just a grade. 

Madame Paleos has a strong admiration for Madame Simard because she is such a successful French teacher. She enjoys learning from someone who has just as much passion for the French language and culture as she does. Madame Paleos would love to be a student in the Fair Lawn High School art classes. This corresponds with her love of the arts. She would love to be a spoken word artist and a performer. One of her largest dreams is to write novels and poems. She believes that the arts are a wonderful platform for individuals to express themselves. 

Students may believe that when Madame is at home, she frequently breaks out into the French language. However, her response to this question is, “jamais! [never]” She is able to recall memories from her early childhood as a student. Madame Paleos feels that teaching has always been her calling and it comes very naturally to her. She has always had the incredible, innate ability to explain information to others. 

Madame Paleos has two masters degrees and has had experience teaching all over the world. She taught English in the Middle East and in France. Some may wonder how a Greek native ended up teaching French in America! She won a Rotary Foundation Scholarship to spend a year in France and completely fell in love with the language. She ended up teaching in France for seven years. Madame Paleos is a true linguistic master! If she could win the lottery, she would simply want to sit and write forever. Madame lives by the following paradox, “remember how important and unimportant you are at the same time.” She believes, to obtain optimum happiness and success one must not take things personally. Instead, they should seek ways to better themselves daily. Madame feels that whether or not her students remember her, they will always have the lessons and skills she taught them. She has every student’s best interest at heart and will do anything to help them succeed. Merci beaucoup, Madame Paleos!