Yassine Merchi (Kindergarten/First Grade Teacher) comes to Maine from the Joseph Haydn School in Immendingen, Germany where he has taught preschool/kindergarten for the past two years. Originally from Northern France, he has been teaching for the French Ministry of Education in the Metz region for the past seven years. After a math/science Baccalauréat Yassine studied History and Geography at the University of Metz, and joined the Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres (Teacher’s Training Program) to teach younger children, and he became a certified teacher.
For the first few years of his career, Yassine taught all elementary levels and he was an intern at the Staatliche Europa Schule European School in Berlin, Germany. He is particularly interested in innovative technology, history and visual arts. Yassine has developed computerized games to help students with phonological concepts: some of them can be used on Yassine's blog which compiles innovative activities and art work of Kindergarten students from the Joseph Haydn School in Immendingen, Germany.
Yassine has travelled extensively, mixing family time and academic research. He is a cyclist and an accomplished table tennis player (French National level) and was a certified official referee for that sport. Yassine and his wife Philomène are thrilled to bring their passion for teaching to L’Ecole Française du Maine.
Philomène Rossini (Assistant Teacher) comes from Metz, capital of the Lorraine region at the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg. After earning her Baccalauréat Degree (French High School Equivalent), she went on to complete a Bachelor's Degree at the University of Metz, majoring in European History. Philomène has taught in preschool and elementary schools throughout the Lorraine Region; She also taught high school history and helped her students prepare presentations on the role of women during the French Revolution.
She has a strong interest in children's literature and has been involved in various school libraries (Bibliothèque Centre Documentaire d'école -BCD), offering workshops and activities using books and innovative technologies to engage students in preschools and elementary schools.
Her interest in education and history of art were further reinforced by her extensive travels with her family (Paris, Rome, Venise, Prague, Austria and Germany). She is an avid runner and practices hiking throughout the Alps and the Pyrennees. Philomène loves to read, cinema and she is quite a decent cook!
