NewsLetterIssue4 April-June10.indd - RIS stories
NewsLetterIssue4 April-June10.indd - RIS stories
NewsLetterIssue4 April-June10.indd - RIS stories
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
CURRICULUM AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT<br />
EARCOS 8 th Teachers’ Conference 2010<br />
by Teresa VandeLune, <strong>RIS</strong>T ETC Teachers’ Representative and Olivier Fernandez, <strong>RIS</strong> ETC Teachers’ Representative<br />
he East Asian Region Council<br />
Tof Overseas Schools Teachers’<br />
Conference (ETC) was held<br />
March 25-28, 2010 in Manila,<br />
Philippines. Over 1,000 teachers<br />
and counselors from several Asian<br />
countries including Thailand, Japan,<br />
Mongolia, China, Myanmar, Hong<br />
Kong, and Philippines attended the<br />
conference. From our campus, eight<br />
representatives from <strong>RIS</strong>T and 52<br />
from <strong>RIS</strong> took part in professional<br />
learning opportunities at ETC.<br />
Two counselors, Pascale Thomas<br />
of <strong>RIS</strong> and Steven Summerfield<br />
of <strong>RIS</strong>T, were presenters at the<br />
conference and shared their expertise<br />
with fellow conference attendees.<br />
Steven’s workshop was entitled,<br />
“My Homeroom is My Castle” and<br />
Pascale’s workshop was entitled<br />
“Be True to You.” Both were well<br />
attended by teachers from throughout<br />
the region.<br />
<strong>RIS</strong> and <strong>RIS</strong>T teachers were inspired<br />
by the Keynote speakers with the<br />
“ Attending ETC is always inspirational, and I especially<br />
enjoyed Taylor Mali’s poetry workshops. I came back to<br />
school enthused and ready to teach a new poetry unit”<br />
Tim Mitchell, <strong>RIS</strong>T English teacher<br />
poetry of Taylor Mali, the technology<br />
knowledge of Alan November, and<br />
the brain-power of John Joseph.<br />
Teachers and counselors were able<br />
to attend workshops, connect with<br />
former colleagues, examine the new<br />
books and tools in education, and<br />
learn about Philippine culture.<br />
The conference left teachers<br />
pondering which ideas they could<br />
utilize to improve their teaching<br />
skills and what to try first. Melanie<br />
Fawcett, <strong>RIS</strong> High School English<br />
teacher commented, “The ETC<br />
was a wonderful experience as an<br />
International teacher, the opportunity<br />
to meet other teachers and participate<br />
in workshops with such excellent<br />
leaders, was also truly a highlight.”<br />
Walter Koertge, <strong>RIS</strong> Middle School<br />
Art teacher felt that the comment by<br />
a fellow artist, Jennifer Delos Reyes<br />
showed the importance of the ETC<br />
Art Focus, “Social practice artists<br />
are affecting the world, setting things<br />
in motion, fostering connections<br />
between people and organizing<br />
everyday life so that it can be seen as<br />
engaging and meaningful.”<br />
NEWSLETTER Volume 3, Issue 4<br />
13
Change language