Maggie Cournoyer
Faculties: French ImmersionBiography
My name is Margaret Cournoyer. However I prefer Maggie, a name I acquired when I attended university in Charlottetown, P.E.I. I am a grade 6 French immersion homeroom teacher. I live near Legal. I have been married for 23 years to Denis Cournoyer a native of St. Albert. I have 3 daughters, Megan who is in grade 8, Jocelyne who is in grade 12 and Geneviève who graduated and is working at upgrading. We have 1 dog Miko and 2 cats. Animals are an important part of my family.
I grew up in Montreal, Québec. After visiting P.E.I with my family during 5 summers, I decided that was where I wanted go for my university education. I always wanted to be a teacher since I was 7 years old. So there was no question in my mind, I was going into education. I enjoy working with children watching them grow in their learning. I have always had a soft spot for children who have difficulties. At university, I volunteered at a school for the deaf, working with hearing impaired children.
I graduated from U.P.E.I, with a Bachelor in Education and History. It was then that I had to make a hard decision: continue my education to work with hearing impaired children or go to northern Alberta to work in a small town called La Crete. I decided to move to Alberta. I spent 4 years in La Crete teaching grades four & five. In 1986 I decided to go back to Québec and get a degree in French at University of Laval in Quebec City. After this I moved back to Alberta to work in Grimshaw teaching grades nine to twelve FSL. It was at this time that I met my husband who at the time was living in St. Albert. When a job opportunity opened up for me in Barrhead, I jumped at the chance. I taught in Barrhead between 1989 and 2003, grades 3-6 in the French immersion program. Finally an opening became available in Westlock! Now I am exactly where I want to be.