The family that is the science department welcomes its newest member this week: physics teacher Mr. Fabrice Allais.  

Hailing from France and coming to Palm Beach Gardens after living in Stamford, Conn., Mr.Allais will be teaching both AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2. 

He initially started teaching to put himself through higher education, as he earned his masters in Plasma Physics with a specialty in hot plasmas relevant to nuclear fusion from the University of Paris-Saclay Orsay. 

“After my initial teaching in France, I taught all around the world including Congo, Lebanon, Turkey, Canada, Japan, and the United States. I came to the U.S. to start a private company training students for the SAT, AP exams and academic competitions in both Physics and Math. That being said, I enjoy teaching Physics and Math the most,” said Mr. Allais. 

Florida will be a big change in culture and climate for Mr. Allais, but he is excited for the move, and he even thinks it will remind him of where he grew up in the south of France. 

“I am very excited to teach at the Benjamin School. It is a perfect environment to teach, the team and students are both wonderful and on top of that it is located in Florida. I am from Aix-en-Provence in Southern France, a place where sun or sea are always present in your life. I have missed them in the Northeast,” he added. 

Despite being far away from his home, Mr. Allais tries to return to France as often as he can.

“With the pandemic, the last time I went back to France was 2 years ago. The family is the center of our life where everything starts and ends, so even though we video conference with each other on a daily basis, these two years have been difficult for all of us,” he said. 

Mr. Allais said he will definitely be enjoying everything that Florida has to offer outside of Benjamin as well. He is looking forward to getting his scuba diving license and being able to fish and snorkel more frequently.

Chair of the Science Department Dr. James Haley thinks that Mr. Allais will be a great asset to students and is excited to have him as a member of the faculty.

“Mr. Allais has extensive experience preparing students to take the AP Physics exams through his former tutoring company, and I am confident that he will leverage that experience to the benefit of our students. I think students will find his interactive teaching style to be quite engaging,” Mr.. Haley said. 

When discussing the goals he wishes to accomplish throughout his time at the School, Mr. Allais said, “My first goal is to serve my students and help them get a good result on the AP exam. I will consider myself blessed if after having taken my class, some of my students decide to pursue their studies in Physics. As any teacher, I hope I will be able  to give my students the necessary impulse for them to start walking alone on their path, whatever it is.”

Mr. Allais will feel comfortable by the family of the Benjamin faculty as his own family is full of teachers.

“My sister lives in India where she teaches French in an orphanage and I have a half sister working in an elementary school,” he said. 

Mr. Allais is definitely excited to start the next chapter of his career at the School, and we wish him the best of luck on his upcoming journey.