K and G1 Teacher
Mme Lepannetier was born in Vendôme (France), a city rich in art and history, located close to the Loire castles. She obtained her teaching certification CRPE (Recruitment Competition of Professor of Schools) at the University Paris Sorbonne after a first Master’s degree in Management Sciences and a second in Humanities and Social Sciences. She has a lot of teaching experience, ranging from kindergarten to 5th grade in the Academy of Paris.
What especially stayed with her is the diversity of Parisian schools requiring continuous adaptability, a perpetual search for effective teaching tools, and a successful collaboration between parents and teachers.
Mme Lepannetier is passionate about French, foreign and children’s literature. Among her favorite authors are Charles Perrault, The Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen. Exposing children to stories from around the world facilitates the awakening necessary for learning to read and write.
She also likes to develop artistic sense in young people through the works of Pablo Picasso, Robert Delaunay and Henri Matisse; a necessary step before reading and writing start.
Curious and attracted to foreign travel and languages, she is happy to be part of the EFAC and Lincoln team. She has lived in Chicago with her husband and two daughters since September 2017.
G2 and G3 Teacher
Originating from Nancy, in Lorraine, Mme Pellenz spent two years in a Literary Preparatory Class, followed by a year of studies in León, Spain, and then completed her education with a Master’s degree in Primary Education in Nancy. Always aspiring to be a primary school teacher, she realized her dream by passing the CRPE in 2018. She has taught at various levels in Meurthe-et-Moselle for several years, serving as a substitute, a tenure replacement, or as a full-time class teacher. For the past two years, Mme Pellenz has been teaching in a preschool class in Medellín, Colombia, which has allowed her to refine her teaching skills by introducing French to Colombian students.
She is passionate about traveling, languages, swimming, cycling, and reading. She is eager to join EFAC to explore a bilingual environment and a new culture!
Contact: marie.pellenz@efachicago.org
G4 and G5 Teacher
Originating from Bourgoin-Jallieu, located halfway between Lyon and Grenoble, Mme Bon Ribella completed her studies in Lyon, earning a bachelor’s degree in English language and civilization followed by a master’s degree in education. She passed the CRPE (Teacher Recruitment Competition) in 2019. For five years, she held the position of sector teacher, which allowed her to teach students from CP (1st grade) to CM2 (5th grade), including non-French-speaking students. She demonstrates adaptability and desires for her students to thrive fully at school. Outside of school, Mme Bon Ribella has a passion for music and travel. She is eager to settle in Chicago and explore the United States with her husband and their cat, Farine. She is delighted to join the EFAC team.
Contact: nolwen.bon-ribella@efachicago.org
Middle School French and History-Geography Teacher
Mme Rioche is originally from Brittany and loves literature and traveling the world, meeting people from all walks of life. To satisfy these inclinations, she embarked on two years of preparatory classes for grandes écoles (CPGE) to pursue studies in literature and to obtain the CAPES in modern literature with a specialization in French as a foreign language. She then became a French teacher in China and France for newly arrived students often coming from countries at war. Mme Rioche also worked with a French-speaking public in Alsace, in middle and high schools. Her wanderings continue towards the New World, where she is eager to discover the extent of perspectives and the spirit of conviviality! Moreover, life has led her to the passions of painting and combat sports to allow her to express the void and the fullness evoked by the Tao.
Contact: constance.rioche@efachicago.org
High School French Literature, DELF and IB Teacher
M. Iliev was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He received his master’s degree in French language and literature at the Bourguiba Institute of Modern Languages (now Higher Institute of Languages of Tunis) in 1995 and an MA in Teaching of writing at the Institute of Education and Continuing Studies (University of Tunis co-supervised by the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud). His doctoral thesis focuses on the teaching of text and image pragmatic purpose. André Iliev started his career in 1997 as an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Labour and Social Studies (University of Carthage) and the Higher Institute of Documentation (Manouba University) where he taught literature, grammar, language and techniques of expression. He joined the team EFAC in 2007. André Iliev is passionate about drama, radio and journalism. At the EFAC, he runs a film club and a radio.
Contact: andre.iliev@efachicago.org
