2015-05-29



Secondary News:

The end of the 2014-2015 academic year is fast approaching, with only three weeks remaining. It is an extremely busy time of year for all involved; staff, students and parents. Please ensure that students do not switch off earlier and that they attend classes until the last day of the school year, Friday 19th June, when they receive their final academic report.

The Year 13 Graduation Dinner last Friday was another highlight of the year, with family and friends celebrating the success of another Uplands cohort. It was full of many laughs, many tears and a lot of reminiscing about their time at Uplands.

There was another excellent article in The Telegraph Education Section last week, which again drew on the advantages of taking the IB Diploma as opposed to A-Levels. It highlighted that the number of IB Programmes offered around the world had increased by 50% in the past five years and reiterated that, “it develops the student as a whole and it cultivates the attributes that help them become lifelong learners.” It continued with,

A key advantage of the IB is that it is accepted by universities worldwide. In the UK, in the past few years it has become much more widely known and recognised, to the extent that some universities have lowered their offer for IB students.” Please click on the below link read more:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/11608922/UK-curriculum-turmoil-boosts-International-Baccalaureate-appeal.html

Please note the following events and schedules which will take place during the final week of this academic year. This is different to previous years and has been revised to ensure students are in classes for the entire week except for the major, annual events which will take place.

Monday 15th June

Period 1 & 2: Secondary Awards Assembly in MPH (no timetabled classes).

Period 3 – 9: Normal timetabled classes

Tuesday 16th June

Period 1 – 8: Normal timetabled classes

Year 6 Transition Day (Uplands & SCIPS Year 6 students on campus – special program to be devised)

Wednesday 17th June

Period 1 – 6: Year 7 – 9 Swimming Carnival (no timetabled classes). Afternoon classes as per timetable.

Year 10 & 12 – Normal timetabled classes all day

Thursday 18th June

Normal timetabled classes all day

Presentation Day rehearsal from 3:30pm for those students receiving awards

Friday 19th June

Reg – Period 1: Whole School Assembly – farewell

Period 2: Tutor Groups / clean up / report distribution / students can have a snack. Students to keep bags and unopened reports in their lockers. No locks to remain on lockers at end of day.

9:30 – 9:45 – Students enter MPH for Presentation Day Ceremony (staff to be dressed formally – suit and tie for males)

10:00 – 12:00 – Presentation Day Ceremony

12:00 – Students dismissed from MPH

Following the Presentation Day proceedings, refreshments will be served in the refectory.

Last week I sent an email to all Uplands parents in regards to the re-modelling of the House System and the introduction of “Kelawei House”. To introduce a new House we need the support of the entire Uplands community. If any families wish to make history and be an inaugural member of Kelawei House I would like to hear from you as soon as possible. To make this change please contact me – craig.skinner@uplands.org

On Wednesday this week we finally finished the recruitment of teachers for next academic year. Please see below for the new secondary teachers who will be joining Uplands in August:

Andrew MacLachlan – Head of History

Andrew MacLachlan (Mac) is originally from Ontario and Nova Scotia, Canada. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada and a Bachelor of Education (Honours) from the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He also holds an M.Ed. in International Education from Framingham State College in Framingham, Mass., USA. Mac is accredited by the Ontario (Canada) College of Teachers and has 19 years of education instruction and leadership experience. He began his teaching career as an English Lecturer in Czechoslovakia (Slovakia) with the Education for Democracy programme. Mac has held subsequent teaching positions in Egypt, Venezuela, Canada, Japan, Thailand, and Italy. He has taught humanities, English, AP history, IB MYP and IB Diploma history and TOK. He has held a variety of leadership positions including Head of Humanities and House System Coordinator at the Prem Tinsulanonda International School, Chiang Mai, Thailand. For the past two years Mac served as MYP Middle School Principal at the International School of Como, Italy. His interests include cooking, writing, reading, travel, and woodcarving. He is also teaching himself to play the great highland bagpipes. He is accompanied by his wife Mary (an accredited elementary teacher) and daughter Maeve (13 years). Mac joins us at Uplands to take up the position of Head of Department for history.

Philip Rebbeck – English Teacher

Phil grew up in the southeast of England and studied at the universities of Warwick and London. He qualified as a teacher in 1994 and then worked for a decade and a half in schools and colleges in and around London. In 2008 he took up a position with the Ministry of Education in Singapore and has lived and worked in Asia ever since. Uplands is his third international school and he is very glad to be here as Malaysia has long been a favourite country of his. In his spare time, as well as travelling, Phil likes to relax by reading, listening to music and playing and watching cricket. He is also a long-suffering supporter of Fulham Football Club and has a passion for Indian food that he developed while living in New Delhi.

David Johnston – School Counselor

David’s working life started in the late 70’s as an Outward Bound Instructor in Tasmania, South Africa and the UK. One of his most memorable trips in 1984 was spending 7 months sea kayaking along the coast of Alaska with whales, bears and lots of ice. In the late 80’s he began working with young offenders from the inner cities and became qualified as a Social Worker specializing in young people in 1993. Since then he has worked in UK based residential schools and youth focussed projects as either a counsellor or therapist. He and his wife Joanne co-founded Carevisions in 1998 which became one of the most successful Therapeutic children’s resources in Scotland. More recently he has worked as a Counsellor for the National Health Service (UK) in the CAMHS team (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) and prior to coming to Uplands he was the School Counsellor at an International School in southern India. In his spare time he enjoys outdoor activities such as scuba diving, cycling and rock climbing and during quiet times reading, music and art.

Phil Macoun – Design Technology

Phil has spent most of his life living in Canada, interspersed with various adventures around the world. After completing an undergraduate degree in Biology and Environmental Science he spent a year training as an outdoor pursuits instructor in North Wales before moving back to Canada to work as an outdoor educator. He later completed a teaching degree before moving to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he taught Science and Math for five years. In 2003 Phil helped start an independent IB school on Vancouver Island, Canada, and over the past 12 years has been the school’s MYP Design Technology teacher, as well as Technology Coordinator and, more recently, MYP Coordinator. He has also started volunteering as a site visitor and MYP Design workshop leader for the IB, and is in the process of completing a Masters in Educational Leadership and Management. Phil is moving to Penang with his wife, who is a Senior Scientist at World Fish, and his 10 year old daughter. Outside of teaching, and his family, Phil’s interests include climbing, exploring and paddling.

Merissa Bush – Learning Support Teacher

Merissa is from the south eastern part of the U.S., having graduated with a B.S. in Collaborative Education from her home state of Alabama. She later earned her MA in K-12 Technology Integration. She has also taught most recently at an international school in Shanghai, China. She brings with her thirteen years of Learning Support experience. She is passionate about working with students with learning differences and is looking forward to bringing that passion to Uplands. An avid knitter, she likes to get students involved in charity knitting projects. Joining Merissa is her husband and two sons, aged 7 and 1.5 years old.

James Butterfield – English

After completing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, James worked in the multicultural affairs sector, including seven years as a policy advisor in the Victorian State public service. A shift to teaching was always in the back of his mind however, so embarking on a Graduate Diploma of Education was a natural step. Teaching led James and his family to Nanjing, China, where his two children’s Mandarin proficiency rapidly outstripped his own. Outside the classroom, James enjoys travelling, food and sport, not necessarily in that order and occasionally all at once. He also loves attempting to voice all of the characters when he reads aloud from The Magic Pudding. He still harbours an ambition to run a sub 3 hour marathon.

Kim Derudder – English / Head of Year 10 & 11

Kim Derudder, originally from Belgium, obtained his degrees from Belgium, England and the US. He is currently working towards his Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Kim loves teaching and education as it offers him the opportunity to have a positive influence on the lives of individuals who will go on to have an impact on the world. Kim has spent the last 15 years abroad teaching in Cambodia, Egypt and Thailand before joining Uplands in Penang, Malaysia. He feels passionate about travelling, art, history, reading, tennis and spending time with his family. The motto of the school was something that truly resonated with Kim when he first heard about Uplands.

Carole White – French

Originally from Savoie, France, after graduating with a Masters of Foreign Languages she set off for 1 year in Australia as a French exchange teacher and stayed 14 years. After having a family she moved back overseas to teach French in International Schools in Oman, Dubai, and Syria before moving to South East Asia. Her daughter has just graduated and completed her IB diploma and she has a son in Year 8.

Michael White – Head of Faculty (Science)

Originally from Tasmania, Australia, after teaching Science, Maths and IT in Tasmania he headed overseas to teach in International schools, first in Oman, Dubai and Syria, then in Brunei and Indonesia. He has taught in American and British Style International Schools and has experience teaching IGCSE, A Level and IB Chemistry. He has always had an interest in the outdoors and appreciates the range of outdoor opportunities provided by travel from the deserts of Oman to the forests in Tasmania. He has a son in Year 8 and a daughter who just completed her IB.

Bob Pearson – Head of Secondary Physical Education

Bob graduated from Edinburgh University with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education. After working in Scotland for a year in an inner city school, he moved down to East Sussex working in an international boarding school. From there he moved to Egypt where he worked in Cairo for 3 years. After Egypt, he decided to move further East and has been in Bangkok for the last 13 years working in three different schools before being employed at his current school, St. Andrews. Competing in FOBISIA, he has known and competed against Uplands for a while and is really looking forward to being part of the team that will now be competing against St. Andrews. Bob comes from a sporting background with his main sport being football when he was younger. As he got older, he started to play Rugby and that has been his chosen sport for the last 10 years. Lately he has become interested in cycling and the occasional triathlon.

Lynne Pearson – ESL

Originally from Newcastle in the North East of England, Lynne has been teaching ESL in international schools for her entire teaching career. She worked in two international schools in the UK, where she met her husband, Bob. When their son, Andrew was 18 months old they moved to Cairo where Lynne was Head of English. After 3 years, the family moved to Bangkok with their son and daughter, Holly, who was born in Cairo. They have been in Bangkok for the last 12 years. Lynne has taught at two schools in Bangkok, teaching ESL to beginners through to IGCSE and IB. Outside school Lynne enjoys keeping fit, yoga and reading.

Heather Adkins – Film & Media

Though Heather is an American/Canadian by passport, she grew up in Kenya and her family is five generations in Kenya. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communications / Film / TV / Journalism from Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Seattle Pacific University out of Seattle, Washington. She has taught at four international schools and two universities. Most recently she was living and working at King’s Academy in Jordan before coming to Uplands

Ruby Marshall – Physical Education

Ruby has a Bachelor of Education specializing in Physical Education & Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning. She is originally from New Zealand and has spent the last two years teaching in London and travelling around Europe. When the job for a PE teacher came up at Uplands at the International job fair in London she knew this was going to be a fantastic opportunity to combine her two passions of teaching and travel. In her spare time she enjoys playing basketball, running, reading and writing blogs.

Estelle Owens – Head of Music

Estelle is originally from Tasmania, Australia and received her Music degree specializing in Education from the Tasmanian University. She has taught music for the past 18 years, mainly in Hobart and recently in Dubai UAE. Estelle has taught a wide range of students, a variety of curriculums including IGCSE and International Baccalaureate MYP and DP, and led a variety of music groups from Rock bands to choirs. Her main instrument is piano but she also dabbles in flute and singing and composition. Estelle is looking forward to her new position in Uplands as well as exploring what Penang has to offer.

Alison Hurst – Head of Drama

Alison is originally from Essex in the UK, although for the last ten years has worked in schools around the world including Dubai, Brazil and Spain. In 2001, she graduated with a 2:1 in Media Performance before going on to work in the Television Industry. In 2004 she gained a Masters degree in Performance and Culture at Goldsmiths College, University of London and has taught IB Diploma, MYP, PYP, A-Level and GCSE. She enjoys organising school visits, workshops and performances, particularly leading international residential trips to both New York and London. Outside school, she enjoys travel, photography and meeting new people.

Jodie Sharpe – Drama Teacher

Jodie Sharpe, originally from Lincolnshire, England, obtained her degree in Drama and Education Studies at Bishop Grosseteste University Lincoln. She then gained Qualified Teacher Status and became the Head of Drama and Performing Arts in a secondary school in Lincolnshire. Jodie enjoys tennis, swimming and going to the theatre.

Have a great weekend!

Craig Skinner

Head of Secondary

craig.skinner@uplands.org

Follow us on Twitter: @UplandsSecSch

Have a great weekend!

Craig Skinner

Head of Secondary

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