Talanoa volume 1

Principal’s Report

15 February, 2016 Ta l a n o a Volume 1

Newsletter of International School SuvaNewsletter of International School SuvaNewsletter of International School Suva

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to the first issue of the Talanoa for 2016. Whether you are new to the school or an existing member of our community I hope you find

the newsletter informative and interesting. This issue includes photographs and information on all our teachers, please take some time to get to

know our teaching staff. I am sure that you have all noticed our building project which has started in the Primary School, please see the article

on the „first pour‟ in today‟s issue. At this point I would like to thank Ram Bali and his team for the hard work which went on throughout the

vacation to get our school ready for the opening of the year, it often takes place behind the scenes but is not unappreciated.

Last week I returned from a two-week fellowship at the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia

University. This fully-funded fellowship is awarded to twenty heads of schools annually and the program is designed to provide independent and

international school leaders with an opportunity for focused professional enrichment, renewal and reflection. Together we looked at some issues

and challenges in independent and international schools. We focused on four main themes: teaching, faculty evaluation and development,

technology infrastructure and integration, and community and diversity and approached these themes through three different lenses: the research

lens, the ethical lens and a change lens. Over twelve months ago we were asked to submit our research proposal and I had opted to focus on

professional development. So, whilst I worked with the group looking at faculty evaluation and development it was apparent from the outset that

we could have all been in any of the groups as the four themes were of interest to everyone present.

Despite being waylaid by snow and having to make an unscheduled, three-night stop in Los Angeles which resulted in my arriving on

Wednesday afternoon, there was no time lost in catching up work missed during the first half of the week. My first week‟s timetable involved

writing a mini research paper where I researched and reviewed recent literature around effective teacher professional development. Visits to

four schools in New York and interviews with the other Heads in my cohort also afforded other insights into this area during the second week.

Whist acknowledging that it may be difficult to measure the impact of teacher professional development, key findings in this area, which were

consistent across all sources, included:

professional development must be aligned to the schools stated mission and development goals,

no single model works in all schools and the context of the school has to be considered, and

content-specific professional development which allowed for school-based activities had the greatest positive impact on learner outcomes.

As mentioned during the second week we visited four schools and met with their administration and faculty. Each of the schools visited allowed

us open access to their classrooms, buildings and staff and provided a unique opportunity to talk about their successes and challenges. Each

school was different in terms of location, enrolment, infrastructure and resources, but each school had a strong sense of identity and an

understanding of their own context. Rather like at ISS when I hear students tell each other „at ISS we do it like this‟, I heard similar words in

these schools. Whilst there were challenges in each of the schools, the importance of community and mission was evident.

Having the opportunity to talk with colleagues from schools from across the world, to share challenges and successes and to discuss future plans

was a wonderful experience and one which I could not have had without the support of the Heads of School and I thank Karen Whittaker, Mere

Fong and Megan Navunisaravi for this.

Anna Marsden

Principal

Inside this Issue

Principal's Report

Chair of Council

Primary Ground Pouring Ceremony

Primary Update

Celebrating Middle School

Service Club

Library

Year 6 Camp

Year 7 Article

Congratulations High

School

From a 2015 Graduate

New Scholarship Students

Sports Update

Counselor's Corner Student Reflections

Primary Teachers 2016 Secondary Teachers 2016 Upcoming Events

The Role of the ISS Council and Committees and How They Operate

All ISS councillors, committee members and staff operate under the ISS

Articles of Association which contains the rules of how the school is to be run.

These Articles include (but are not limited to) the following -

1. Defining membership of the association,

2. The make-up of the Council and their duties,

3. The duties of the Principal .

For this article, I just want to concentrate on the Council duties and

responsibilities as distinct from the Principals‟ duties and responsibilities.

However, if you wish to gain a more in depth understanding, a copy of the

current Articles of Association can be found on the school website.

The Council is made up of a number of individuals who volunteer their

services. We currently have six parent elected members, two elected teaching

staff (one primary, one secondary), the Principal and two appointed by

Council.

Committees can be made up of Council members, teacher representatives and

we are also able to co-opt other persons specifically selected for the skills they

can bring to that particular committee. We currently have three standing

committees namely Finance, Governance and Facilities and a councillor is

required to chair each committee. Further ad-hoc committees such as the

recently established HR Review committee are created as and when required.

Committees act under direction from the Council with the chair of each

committee reporting their proceedings and providing recommendations to

Council through Council meetings that are held on average eight times a year.

We have recently introduced and are implementing a Code of Conduct to be

signed by all Council and committee members. This sets out our agreement to

abide by the Articles, expresses our commitment to the school‟s mission

statement, establishes standards of behaviour including confidentiality,

discusses our commitment to work through the proper channels and processes,

talks about our commitment to the community and deals with conflicts of

interest. A copy of the latest Code of Conduct can also be found on the school

website.

Council‟s role is threefold namely fiduciary, strategic and generative. We are

guardians responsible for ensuring sound financial stewardship and adherence

to policies, setting and reviewing strategy and looking into the future as to

where our place is to be in the world. We do not involve ourselves nor

interfere in the day to day operational running of the school (and in fact this is

clearly noted in our Articles) – this is the responsibility of the Principal and her

team.

The Principal is responsible for the day to day operational management of the

school which includes the appointment of all school staff as well as the

maintenance of teaching standards and discipline amongst staff and students.

In addition, the Principal implements policy decisions made by the Council and

is able to sit on a number of committees.

A fitting analogy is that the Council is to the school as a lighthouse is to a ship.

Council directs and guides whilst remaining separated from the day to day

management of the school.

Jacquelyn Terry

Chair of ISS Council

From the HR Review Committee Following the EGM held on 23rd November 2015, the HR review committee comprising of four members of Council, four parents and four teachers was formed. They have met twice since this date. More information on this will be given out in due course. The School Council is fully committed towards this project and looks forward to sharing the outcomes with you once the project has been completed.

New Primary Building - First Pour

International School Suva celebrated another significant event onsite when it

held its first Concrete Pouring Ceremony for the new Primary Building on

February 14, 2016. This ceremony signifies the end of the excavation phase

and the birth of a new building.

The special occasion was witnessed and cheered on by all of Primary. The

students and staff of Primary then joined Ms. Carol Apted, who is currently the

longest serving primary teacher at ISS as she did the first pour.

The primary students were then treated to hot dogs and ice blocks, which they

thoroughly enjoyed.

The school moves forward and knows that the ISS of tomorrow will be well

equipped with space and equipment to help cater for the growing number of

students and their expectations. This development will create a meaningful and

positive impact in the

ISS community.

Salote Narayan

The proposed architectural drawings can be seen below, however for more

pictures and a more detailed plan, please click on the following link: http://

www.international.school.fj/index.php/15-about-us/council/157-architectural-

ISS Primary Ground Pouring Ceremony - Friday

Welcome to the first primary update via the Talanoa for 2016. We have had a fantastic start to the learning year and all classrooms are in full swing! Thank you for your support in helping the

beginning of school to be so great for one and all.

To being our 2016 school year, we would like to share with you our ISA results from 2015. Annually, our Year 3—5 students participate in ISA, the International Schools’ Assessment pro-gram designed especially for students in international school. It is based on the internationally endorsed reading and mathematical literacy frameworks of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assess-ment (PISA). In 2015, over 73 000 students from 340 international schools participated in the program. It is important as an international school that we have an external measure of our school’s performance in relation to other international schools so as to gauge the success of our teaching and learning and to be able to plan for improvements and celebrate successes. We have included a table which highlights our mean scores in relation to all other schools who participated in the assessment. Our results speak for themselves. In the upcoming Primary Press we will be showing you cohort tracking from year to year which follows a group of stu-dents through from Year 3 — Year 5.

How do we then use these results to help plan for the future? Much time is spent with teachers further analyzing each area, looking specifically at the areas or comprehension types within the assessments, highlighting areas of need and planning for improvement within our classroom teaching. If a particular strand in math's or area in reading becomes a target area, then we look at the system or curriculum in place to further enhance or improve what is already being done. This could result in using a common reading strategy across the school to assist with reading comprehension such as the one we use at ISS, SCORE. For those parents new to ISS, the SCORE strategy provides a schema (a mental model) that supports a reader to independently comprehend and respond to text. The SCORE strategy (or sequence of actions) aims to create strategic readers, bridging the gap between sound classroom reading pedagogy and success-ful reading by students. Since its introduction and continual revision as new teachers enter the

school, we have seen our reading results increase, even more so in last year’s results. Our fo-cus on how to teach writing as a whole school, particularly narratives saw us introduce the Sev-en Steps to Writing Success. With the implementation of this program, we saw demonstrated improvement in this area in our latest results for writing narratives, in most year levels.

So then, what do our results say to us this time? Over the next few weeks, we as a staff will focus on how these results can help us to write class and year level goals within each area. Additionally, we are going to work with the students in helping them to also set goals reflecting on their ISA assessment results and the school based PAT assessments recently completed from Reception to Year 5.

At the beginning of the year, we also use the PAT assessments to establish what students al-ready know. It is only by the end of the year, where we assess once more, that we get to see the real picture of a student’s, class, year level and primary school progress in these given are-as. These are the results we use in conjunction with ISA and other classroom assessments including observations to form our analysis and feedback for the next school year. If you wish to know more about the process, send an email or come in and see me. We can discuss it fur-ther.

Our first Primary Press will be coming to your email inboxes at the end of Week 6. Here you will find information from right across the school including our Support for Learning program, year level and single subject updates and other primary information. We will also share with you what teachers have been learning since the beginning of the new school year and where we are heading with this new learning. This also includes the effect that homework really does have on a child’s progress at school. We would love to hear your views on homework so please email me if you feel strongly about this topic and why?

Have a great week ahead!

Karen and the Primary Team

MathematicalLiteracy

Reading Writing Task –Narrative

Writing Task -Exposition

ISS Allother

ISS All other

ISS All other

ISS All other

Year 3 357 327 337 257 389 363 411 391

Year 4 383 377 394 316 407 406 434 427

Year 5 427 427 467 361 475 455 512 467

February 11, 2016 Primary Update

“Children must be taught how to think and not what to think” Margret Mead

Using an inquiry and integrated approach to teaching and learning has impacted learning in the

Middle School. Research regarding adolescent learning encouraged us as a middle school team

to develop:

a shared ethos

interdisciplinary teams

an integrated curriculum

seamless transition

a constructivist approach to teaching and learning

larger classes of students sharing a small group of teachers

a focus on pastoral care

flexible use of place and time

Below are the 2015 middle school results for the International Schools‟ Assessment: Reading,

Mathematical Literacy, Narrative Writing and Exposition Writing.

When we look at data, we reflect on our own practices, which helps us to make decisions as a

school on how to make continuous improvement. This could mean refining our middle school

action plan which will then inform policy & curriculum reviews, professional development

needs, approaches to teaching & learning and the type of resources we order etc. It may also lead

us to do further research on new strategies to inform our programmes. We intend to continue

pursuing this upward trend.

Rosi Uluiviti and Mere Fong

Middle school curriculum team

2015 - A Look back at TUESDAY AFTERNOON SERVICE CLUB

Nothing makes me happier than to see someone smiling

from what I have done for them. During our after school

activities, a bunch of fellow students and I have been

able to observe beautiful smiles from teachers and young

children at the small and welcoming kindergarten, “St.

Joseph The Worker”. We come together every Tuesday

after our daily classes and mash our brilliant art skills

together to paint chairs and tables from the kindergarten.

Realizing that the classrooms were very dull looking, we

decided to make the tables and chairs as colorful and fun

as possible. Coming from a well-built school it was a

great pleasure to share some of the great facilities we

have here at ISS. The Service club has been a great

learning experience for me and has taught me that there

are people out there that are less fortunate than me and need my help. I am now motivated to

help others in need.

Thank You Service Club.

Talei Semaan

During Semester Two students met every Tuesday afternoon.

We thought of great ideas to help the kindergarten. We painted

the tables and chairs and made them colorful, they all had

different designs. We did both classrooms and when we

finished the first lot we took it to the kindergarten. The teachers

there were very happy. It was great that they loved what we did.

We also got to meet a couple of children from the kindergarten

and they seemed to just love it as well. I believe that all

members of the Service club enjoyed painting the tables, and

all we wanted was for the children to have a happy and colorful

learning environment.

Jade Matthews St Joseph the Workers’ Team

receiving donations from ISS PTFA

Cel ebra t i ng

Mi ddl e Schoo l ! !

Reading Mathematical

Literacy Narrative/

Reflective Writing Exposition/

Argumentative Writing

IS

Suva All

Schools IS Suva All

Schools IS

Suva All Schools IS Suva All Schools

Year

6 448 406 474 464 504 480 512 489

Year

7 501 457 499 507 554 517 564 525

Year

8 520 489 522 529 566 540 594 550

Year 6 Camp In week 3 Year 6 went on a camp to Namuamua Village. After a 40-minute bus ride and1 ½ hours in the boat,

we finally arrived at our home for the next 3 days. We had to wear a sulu to be welcomed into the village by

the Chief in a ceremony. We then quickly got ready for our first activity a bilibili ride down the river. We

walked back along the river through villages, it was a tiring walk but when we understood that the children

walked this path everyday on the way to school, we felt less tired. After our long and muddy walk we bathed

in the river. Although all we wanted was rest, when we got back to the village we had to start making our own

dinner.

The next morning, we woke up early because we were excited about the day‟s activities. Then we went on a

long hike, walking through rivers and mud. We crossed many rivers and the currents were so fast that we had

to wear life jackets and hold on to a rope to get to the other side. Finally, we arrived at a massive waterfall

that was very beautiful. We swam under the waterfall, but it was hard to see because the water was splashing

in our eyes.We spent the afternoon playing in the river, jumping into the river and floated down to the teach-

ers. The village had prepared a lovo for us all to share together. The children performed songs and we were

able to perform a dance and songs to thank the village for hosting us.

After breakfast on our last day, we packed our bags; we were really excited to see our family again but also

sad to leave because there was still so much to experience and we really enjoyed spending time with the peo-

ple of Namuamua.

Year 6 camp was the most challenging camp we have been on but it was a great adventure. We had to be

responsible for ourselves and learn to work and live together.

Written by Typhaine Nervale on behalf of Year 6

“It was really awesome because we actually now know how much it means to be in a good

school and also how kids got from home to school and from school to home.”

Marcus

“My favourite thing about camp was definitely the waterfall from 10 metres away you could

still feel the wind and it was so powerful that you couldn‟t get to the middle…the most chal-

lenging thing was probably cooking our own meals and keeping our stuff together.”

Griffyn

“What will stick with me is the memories from the village for example playing with the kids,

cooking our own food, playing activities with the people from the village and last but not least

going hiking.”

Aastha

“Camp made me grow as a person in becoming more and more aware about how much I have

and how much others can teach you even with language barriers.”

Welcome back to another new year at ISS Library. We have some exciting new activities and resources added to our collection this year. To support our students’ love for reading, a group of middle school students have chosen to be part of the library book club, coming together every Tuesday afternoon from 2.30 pm to discuss books and to recommend popular reads to their peers. Later in the term, we will also post our reflections on a variety of books from different genres in the library blog. We will be updating you on our progress in the next issue of Talanoa. For those who are new to the school, do visit our library webpage where you can find links to our subscription online databases - http://issfijilibrary.weebly.com/online-databases.html

The library also subscribes to a wide variety of magazines keeping our students abreast of current events around the world.

Calling for parent volunteers in the library! Our new “maker-space” is available to all students. If you would like to volunteer to help in the library to teach a craft, jewellery making, lego craft, adopt a shelve or just to read a story to our students for 30 minutes at lunch time, please let me know. We’d love to have you. Please contact: [email protected]. The library staff is ready and excited about this coming year and is committed to making the library your child’s favorite place in school! Parents are most welcome to visit the library with your children from 2.30 pm - 3.50 pm daily (Monday—Friday).

Hope to see you at the library soon! Ms Salu Vaciloa - Librarian

New in the Library!

Maker Space Section

A space where stu-

dents can explore

their creativity and

much more..

Available soon in the

library -

Kindles!

Thanks to PTFA, our

library will soon have

20 Kindles for students

to use later in the term.

ISS Scholastic Book

Club

Issue 7, 2015 arrived

during the holidays

Need something to

read? LIBRARY

Year 7- Talanoa

SPACE, SPACE, SPACE- We love our space in the Middle School block. We are slowly organ-

ising our rooms and they are starting to look terrific. There is still much to be done though to

improve our learning environment and we would like to take this opportunity to thank the ISS

Maintenance Team for all their hard work.

We welcome our returning students as well as our new students Paul, Manueli, Caedyn, Sophia,

Rosinda and Gautum. They have settled into and have adapted very well to the ISS community.

Essential Agreements

Year 7 worked very well in groups for a period of one and a half weeks during pastoral classes to

come up with the class essential agreements that are based on the Student Learner Outcomes. The

intention was for students to read and understand what each learner outcome entails and arrive at

an agreed statement that they will strive to show and apply during their learning experiences both

inside and outside the classroom.

Vanity Video

As a way of introducing themselves, each student produced a vanity video about themselves

which included their hobbies, favourites, families, country of origin, places of travel and much

more. The class watches videos of three to four students during pastoral time and we still have

some more to watch. The Year 7s have enjoyed their 1 minute and 20 second spotlight moment

and it has been delightful to see how the students have developed a new appreciation for their

peers after learning something they didn‟t otherwise know about their friends. They have been

fun to watch as we get to enjoy the creativity of each student from the compilation of their own

videos. Great work Year 7s!

Excursion

The class is studying “Climate Change” which involves the disciplines of Science, Maths, Social

Science and Science. The chain causes of climate change which starts from high levels of emis-

sion of carbon dioxide gas and other green gases into the atmosphere due to burning of petroleum

products which then causes global warming and finally changes in climatic conditions probes the

class to look at alternative energy sources. Year 7 are then looking at some clean sources of ener-

gy such as solar energy, wind energy, hydropower geothermal energy and tidal wave energy. To

enrich their learning experience, the students will be visiting the Butoni Wind Farm in Sigatoka

on Monday, 15th of February. Please see below for a snapshot of what the 7s are investigating

this term:

GLOBAL CONTEXT Scientific and technical innovation (How do we understand the world in which we live?) Students will explore the natural world and its laws; the interaction between people and the natural world; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on communities and environ-ments; the impact of environments on human activity; how humans adapt environments to their needs. GUIDING STATEMENT How does the changing nature of the Earth influence human behaviour and the choices people make? KEY CONCEPTS: Change, Causation & Global Interactions (responsibility) RELATED CONCEPTS

INQUIRY LINES

How the Earth is changing

Impact of human behaviour on the Earth

What practices can we implement to protect our planet

Global connection

SKILLS

Thinking

Acquisition of skills, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation & dialectical thought

Research

Formulating questions, observing, planning, collecting data, recording data, organising data, interpreting data &

presenting research findings

Self Management

Organisation, time management & informed choices

Social

Cooperation, respecting others, accepting responsibility & adopting a variety of group roles

Communication

Listening, speaking, writing, reading, viewing, presenting, non-verbal communication

General Patterns Science Transformations Interaction (adaptation) Mathematics Quantity

Measurement Social Science Sustainability (survival) Resources Globalisation (humanity) English Context Point of View

Congratulations….

I am very happy to report that the results achieved by the Year 10 and Year 12 students in

2015 were amongst the best we have had in recent years. I would like to congratulate the

students on their excellent performance and thank their teachers, parents and guardians for

their help and support in ensuring the students performed to the very best of their ability.

The following results for IB Diploma, ACT ATAR scores and the IGCSE have not excluded

the scores of any student. They reflect the inclusive nature of the school where, should a

student wish to sit a particular set of examinations, they are given support to do so.

In 2015, 15 students sat the IB Diploma out of a graduating class of 44. Our top score was 42

points (from a maximum of 45). The average score for students was 33, a significant

improvement on the average of 31 achieved in 2014, and higher than the World Average of

30.98. Two students also gained a bilingual Diploma. Looking at comparative statistics, ISS is

doing well considering the very small number of students who sat the examinations. In New

Zealand where 340 students sat the Diploma, the average pass rate was 93% and only one

student achieved a perfect score of 45. In Australia, 2160 candidates sat with a pass rate of

92% and 30 perfect scores. In both cases, the average score was 34.58 and 34.57 respectively.

One bulletin published that only 81 students around the world achieved a top score of 45 in

November, making the achievement of 42 very significant. The average grade in a subject was

5.19, consistent with World Averages; however, a number of students managed to achieve top

scores of 7 in several subjects and „A‟ grades were evident in the Extended Essay and Theory

of Knowledge results.

Our results for the ACT Senior Secondary Certificate and ATAR (Australian Tertiary

Admissions Rank) are also outstanding, with 69% of the class of 45 students achieving an

ATAR of 70 or more, 51% being over 80 and 27% attaining a score of 90 or above. Our top

ATAR was 99.45, putting this student within the top 0.05% of the cohort of around 3000

students (the maximum ATAR score is 99.95). The median ATAR for ISS was 81.8; this can

be compared with the median for all students in the ACT program being 77.65. ISS is one of

only 7 schools that have a median above 80, out of a total of 28 schools that run the program.

The IGCSE results were also good. In all subjects, 76% of students who sat examinations

achieved a passing grade of A*-C overall. Overall, 79% of the students achieved passing

grades in 5 or more (up to 9) subjects in 2016. It is particularly pleasing to see an increases in

the numbers of A*, A, and B grades achieved this year. The continued policy of encouraging

students to sit examinations in the subjects they are studying has proven to be a positive way

to allow students to see success.

I wish all the current Year 10 and 12 students every success in their performance this year.

Megan Navunisaravi

Head of High School

Aninda Saha 2015 ISS Graduate

A reminiscence of my ISS experience: My ISS journey began the day I received an email from Dr. Marsden in late

2013 confirming that I had been awarded a scholarship to concurrently

undertake the IB and ACT programs at ISS. To say the least, the experience

has been absolutely surreal and I still feel grateful every single day for the life

-changing opportunity that I was granted with.

The challenges faced during the two years were prodigious and there were definitely many

moments of immense stress and frustration that we faced together as a year level. But I feel that the

rigorous standard was an extremely efficient disciplining tool and going through the difficult

moments side by side with friends and teachers really created a very wonderful family-like bond.

As a scholarship student, I constantly felt an urge to be better, to give back and to prove myself

worthy. The ISS environment not only inspired me to excel academically but also to attempt to be

a more open-minded and kind-hearted global citizen and I feel that this will help me a great deal in

my future career and in my future interactions with different people in my life‟s journey. The great

difference that I felt transitioning from local schools to ISS is the diversity of experiences it

provides; from academics to a multitude of sporting activities to service projects to creative

productions and many other extra-curricular activities.

I said it the first time I came to ISS and I will say it again, ISS has really been my stepping stone

for tertiary studies abroad. As 2015 neared an end, we approached a vital turning point in all of our

lives as we had to make the very important decision of what we were going to do in 2016 and

beyond. Making a sensible, informed decision about our career paths was vital at this point and

ISS invited various professionals to come and help us gauge the best option for ourselves.

University applications became another daunting task that we had to deal with besides our final

examinations. There were many documents to submit, many personal statements to write and

many emails to follow up on. My ability to handle these real world interactions have been

significantly enhanced by the wide variety of experiences I gained from ISS. As of today, I have

received a number of offers for engineering courses from world-reputed universities but I am

still waiting on a few of my other application responses before making a final decision.

I would like to end my reflection by thanking everyone from the ISS community for a

wonderful two-year experience. I do encourage all my loving juniors to keep persevering towards

your dreams and ambitions whatever they may be and above all to become the best human being

that you can be. I have seen all of your potentials and the world needs every single one of you to

help make a difference.

Aninda is congratulated on his exceptional results last year, having achieved the top ATAR

score of 99.45 and also the top IB Diploma score of 42!

L-R Rahil Prasad, Anaseini Hurstel, Carena Zhong, Yehwan Kim

Rahil Prasad — Year 11

First year in ISS

2015 – Rampur College

“ISS provides a multi-cultural

environment, and I found that it has

taught me a lot about being open-minded and mature. I love the cur-riculum ISS offers and I am thankful to ISS for giving me this wonder-

ful opportunity”

Carena Zhong – Year 11

First year in ISS

2015 – Yat Sen Second-ary School

“I would like to further my education abroad and am thankful for this opportunity to study IB as it is not

available locally. I love the International Diver-sity and have felt wel-

comed from day 1.

Anaseini Hurstel – Year 11

First year in ISS

2015 – Suva Grammar School

“In my few weeks here , I

have met some good challenges that have

molded me to become an international thinker.

The opportunities and the curriculum available here cannot be found anywhere else in Fiji. I

am indeed grateful to ISS for this opportunity.”

Yehwan Kim – Year 11

First year in ISS

2015 – Marist Broth-ers High School

“ ISS provides a great curriculum, and re-ceiving this scholar-

ship has motivated me to do my best. I love how the school en-courages us to be

critical thinkers and global citizens. Thank you ISS for giving me

this opportunity”

Our New Scholarship Students 2016

SPORTS UPDATE - FEBRUARY

The ISS sporting year opened with the annual Fun Sports event. This is a competition

held on the first Friday of the school year. Its goal is to provide a challenging set of

team activities that will foster team work and leadership. New students find

themselves in a situation where they are literally squeezed in among older students.

This does not give time for students to feel left out or be shy as each team has only 3

minutes to gain as many points as possible. New teachers also get an opportunity to

meet other staff members and students in a more relaxedsituation.

Each House is divided into two teams and they all have to complete a round of eight

activities. The activities are not your usual sport and are designed to challenge team

leaders and team members alike. Those students who become House Captains are the

ones who stand out in this competition.

This year the eight activities included the Caterpillar race, Sand skiing, Firemen drill,

and Paper chase to name a few. The teams compete for the coveted Coconut Trophy.

A lot of fun was had by all despite the very hot weather. A number of the activities

involved the use of water which helped to offset some of the heat.

So the winner for 2016 is Kangaroo House, who collected the most points over the

entire 8 activities.

SECONDARY School Inter-house Athletics Competition, 2016

This is due to take place on Tuesday 16 February at the ANZ National Stadium at

Laucala Bay. This is a compulsory event where all students are expected to

participate in no more than 4 events. The competition is a PE assessment requirement

for Years 6 to 10. Year 11 and 12 are expected to participate or assist with the

running of the event.

The ISS athletics team to the Suva Zone finals will be selected after this competition.

Those already involved in athletics clubs or doing athletic training will use this

opportunity to perform well in order to be selected for the school team.

Parents are invited and encouraged to come along and watch their children perform.

While there is a strong competitive focus, many of the students will only be focusing

on self-improvement, while others will be focusing on making the school team. All

students who complete an event will earn house points and the different place getters

will earn more points. Entry is free and Year 12 will be selling healthy food

throughout the day. Funds from these sales will go towards their Senior Ball Funds.

Bula Everyone, Welcome to another new academic year

which will no doubt be filled with many new exciting

opportunities, challenges and definitely fun-filled

programs. In this issue, we shall look at the importance

of career planning.

It is never too early to start thinking about one‟s career. Career planning is absolutely necessary in

this rapidly changing world with new career openings. The more traditional careers are being

changed and shifts are taking place in occupation skills and education requirements. With all

these changes, one may feel that there is no real point in developing a career plan. Nevertheless,

the challenge is to build up a set of career goals based on one‟s interest, personality, values and

skills. In short, students will have to first develop an understanding of who they are.

Choosing a career is a process; it is not a decision to be made overnight.

There are many on-line Career Interest Assessments and Self Assessment

Activities that can be worked through to give students and parents insight

into future career goals. These assessments are designed to stimulate

thought and discussion and help in identifying the potential for success and

satisfaction in a particular career. Furthermore, it enables students to

manage learning and remain focused in their academic pursuits as they

work towards achieving goals.

The main purpose of a Career Expo is to provide students with the prospect of gathering

information about different careers. It is also an opportunity to meet face-to-face with

professionals in the various career fields and for students to receive first hand information about

general requirements.

The ISS CAREERS EXPO 2016 promises to be a great event. It is

expected to spur student interests in their search for meaningful careers.

This will be held on Thursday 3 March. More details will be made

available to you as we draw closer to the scheduled date.

Some thoughts to ponder:

Parents can have the greatest influence over their children’s career choices

Little kids love talking about possible jobs— explore with them future openings as these can have

a positive influence of career and education choices

Do not be surprised if your teen doesn’t find career exploration interesting

The goal of career planning is to link academic knowledge and real-world experience to

determine the path of one’s future professional life

Help your teen experience as many work situations as possible. Have them take advantage of

work exposure opportunities

Students should not expect to make a final career decision lightly

Year 11 and 12 students- for information on 2016 USA Tours, visit: http://www.college-visits.com

I wish you all a very successful year and once again invite you to be

at the ISS Careers Expo 2016.

Fenella David

[email protected]

Reflections from current Year 12 scholarship students

It gives me great pleasure to share my experience in this

prestigious school; International School Suva. I was

fortunate enough to receive a scholarship the previous year

and although this is my last year here, I already feel right at

home. Indeed it will be difficult to depart. I remember the

warm welcomes I received from my new classmates. Now

they are my best friends, my companions in the struggle to

graduate successfully. Truly, they made it easier to fit in. I

clearly recall a conversation I had with my friend last year

as she had asked “How many new students joined us this

year …. 5?” and I replied “Hm? Did you count me?” to

which she responded “Oh right! I forgot you came this year!

I thought you were with us last year!” Instantly I felt that I

belonged here. ISS has a great academic environment with

great resources and facilities. I truly believe ISS fosters

young individuals into adults who are capable of

challenging the world and making their names renowned. At

first it was difficult to cope with an international curriculum

but gradually with the assistance from the hard working teachers and supportive friends, I began to feel

comfortable and excel in my studies.

The various activities offered in ISS; the annual camping expedition, Production, CAS/DOE program, Inter

House, Swimming Carnival, Fun Day, and many more, keeps the school year busy and exhilarating. These

programs build a person‟s character and skills which I feel is what makes ISS so special. Although ISS does

put an emphasis on academic achievements, it does not neglect other important factors in a student‟s school

life. ISS provides a diary to every student each year to help them manage their time wisely. With the useful

tips and motivational quotes in the diary, students are able to enjoy these various activities, excel at their

studies, and spend time with their family and friends.

All in all, my time in International School Suva has been the greatest thing that has happened to my life. I

would like to encourage all students of ISS to treasure your time here because once the time has passed, it

will never come back. Finally I would like to share a quote which helped me (still helping me) through the

toughest years of high school: “No matter how difficult the struggle is, there is always a way to get through

it.”

Kelvin Liao Year 12

My journey at ISS

Since the beginning of last year, when I entered ISS on my first day as a scholarship student, I have been on

the journey of a lifetime. I cannot truthfully say that every aspect of it has been easy or enjoyable even, but I

have no doubt that every experience has shaped me as a person. Throughout these numerous mundane expe-

riences there are a few that stand out that I would like to share. The first of these would definitely be doing

the IB Diploma. Wow! I have never done a curriculum that tests my limits quite this much! It‟s been

challenging keeping up with the standard, but I love that it keeps pushing me past my boundaries and

broadening my horizons. The second thing that‟s really stood out to me on this journey has been is the

excellent co-curricular program at the school. It‟s been great being able to learn a multitude of new skills

that I would have otherwise not acquired, from designing sets, to growing a garden, to teaching children to

swim, to my newest endeavor, acting in the school production. All things I would normally not have even

considered doing, but this school pushes you out there and gives you a multitude of experiences that you end

up remembering forever. And interspersed between the stresses of assignments and the pleasures of

extra-curricular there are the friends you make along the way. The people who become your rock of support,

the people who you can share a cry with when something goes wrong and laugh with for hours over the

silliest things. So that‟s been my journey over the last year or so, not exactly a walk through the park, but I

wouldn‟t change anything for the world.

Celeste Kado Year 12

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”

It gives me much pleasure to share with you about my journey so far at International

School Suva. I was lucky to have received a scholarship to attend this prestigious

organization. The selection committee was very helpful in the process and gave me a

sense of what ISS would be like. Coming from a public school in Navua to an

International School has been a very challenging experience but I am already feeling

very much part of the community.

On my first day at school we were given a tour of the facility and were briefed on expectations.

The curriculum at ISS provides me with flexibility for my senior academic years. The ACT

curriculum appealed to me as it provides me with the ability to work to my advantages and also

look into and experience new things and frontiers. With the supportive teachers, the academic

transition has been smooth.

ISS has a multicultural community. This allows me to interact with people from all over the

world and to build my peoples skills. The students are supportive and have allowed me into their

different social circles. There is a sense of unity at ISS that permits the student to excel in most

academic and extra-curricular programs.

Finally, ISS provides a wholesome education for young people which expect students to be;

Inquirers, Thinkers, Open-Minded, Principled, courageous and Balanced. The school will open

doors for universities both locally and abroad and I am looking forward to the coming years, here.

Rahil Prasad (Year 11)

My Journey So far... at ISS

I have to admit that the most common question I

hear from my friends and family recently is “How

do you like your new school?” and “Do you

miss ...?”

My name is Anaseini Hurstel and I am one of the

2016 Scholarship Recipients at ISS. The last

school I attended was Suva Grammar School and

it had a population of over a thousand students.

This is a huge contrast to ISS and something that

I am still trying to get used to. One of the „trump

cards‟ for drawing me to ISS is the International

Baccalaureate Program. It is such an amazing

rigorous program that gives opportunities to students to become a more holistic person and not

just be centred on their academic work. The best part is that it is such a challenging and different

experience and you would not find this in other local schools.

The first week was not at all easy for me. I was being introduced to a new subject and I got

feedback from the current students that it is one of the toughest subjects. So before even giving

myself a chance to try it out, I got so worried and went to talk to that particular subject teacher.

She told me not to worry at all and to give it a go. Surprisingly I loved it. The teacher is great and

extremely helpful and the context of whatever I was learning is interesting. Other than the

curriculum change I went through, making new friends was slightly tough. I could see that the

students already had their peer groups but despite this there is always a bunch of students who are

so warm and made us new students feel welcome.

Our Pastoral Teachers, Mrs. Liew and Mr. Murphy are very kind and super funny. Being able to

study amongst students of the most diverse cultures and unique personalities is something that I

will cherish during my two years in ISS and even after I leave. In addition the facilities are such a

privilege.

To answer peoples questions... Yes, I like my new school and I am positive in a few more weeks

to come, I will be better adapted socially, academically and more familiar with the ISS

environment. I am grateful to be given a chance to study at ISS as the scholarship will make me

work hard to achieve my goals in the future.

Have a great week

I have spent my previous school years at Yat Sen School. As a local school student, it was

indubitably an honour to have been given the opportunity to pursue my education at a school of

such high expectations and standards. In the past few weeks, I have grown to feel quite at home

in this caring and nurturing environment the school has built for young people. Needless to say, I

have also faced many challenges that had given me the chance to throw in my

optimism and readiness with smiles and determination. In spite of these many

challenges, I am anticipating more to come throughout my stay here at ISS. Thus, I

am motivated to try my sincere best to face challenges academically and socially to

gain many achievements and make my school proud.

Above all, I have been given many opportunities through the many different pro-

grams to bring the best in students. The activities I have taken part in so far include Sports Fun

Day, Model United Nations and CAS Swimming Programme. These programs are empowering,

providing openings to foster service, creativity and action.

In addition to the excellent faculty, the international curriculum has also opened a wide range of

advantages at tertiary level as well. Therefore, the scholarship has not only allowed me to

associate with many new experiences but it has also given me the entitlement to be part of the

unique combination of internationally accredited curricula that are not available at other schools

in Fiji.

Being a part of the ISS family has been a true privilege because it will shape me into a

world-class citizen. In the safe, comforting hands of my new friends and teachers, I am sure that

I will be enjoying my stay here at ISS.

Si Min Carena Zhong

Being a scholar of ISS is a great opportunity for my future career. Last year, I felt

that there should be a change in my study for my development in education and I

thought taking IB course will provide me a best curriculum in Fiji. So far, my

choice to come to ISS was right. From the first day I came to ISS, everything was

new to me. ISS offered me a different learning environment for further studies

abroad and prepares students for tertiary level. They motivate me to a step ahead

to my goal. I like how they encourage the student to be open-minded and the

freedom of expression in the class. I also love the multi-racial environment and it is perfect for

me to fit in.

Yehwan Kim- Year 11

Discovery & ECH 1

Jacqui Boulton

ECH1 Teacher

Jacqui arrived at International School Suva in 1998 with a Diploma in Early Childhood Education. She

previously taught at Suva Point Kindergarten.

Fariah Ali Teacher Assistant - ECH 1

Fariah joined ISS in 2013 with a Certificate in Early

Childhood Education and Certificate in Advance Culi-nary Skills. She is currently pursuing Diploma in Early

Childhood Education.

Josephine Augustine Teacher Assistant - ECH 1

Josephine has worked as a Teacher Assistant from

ECH2 to Year 3. She is currently pursuing her Diploma in Early Childhood Education

ECH2

Mere Faletono ECH2 Teacher

She holds a Diploma in Early Childhood Education - USP, an Advance Certificate in Early Childhood Edu-

cation with FNU and a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education. Mere has taught in the local

schools before joining International School Nadi for the past 11 years in the Early Childhood class. She was also the PYP Co-ordinator for ISN for 2 years.

Mere also taught at Good Shepherd School, Mt. Ros-kil, New Zealand for 2 years and joined ISS in late

Shoma Prasad ECH 2 Teacher

Shoma holds a degree in Early Childhood Education.

She is currently working towards her Bachelor of Education in Special Needs. Shoma has 6 years

teaching experience, of which 3 of those have been with Learning Support.

Sai Vula ECH2 Teacher Assistant

Sai Vula joined ISS in 2000 and has been working with the youngest members of ISS since. She has complet-ed her Certificate in Early Childhood and is pursuing a Diploma in the same field. She enjoys working with

the little ones.

Reception

.

Chelsea Bulmer Reception B Teacher

Chelsea moved from Australia after completing her

Bachelor of Education with a Health and PE major at the University of Ballarat in 2013. Teaching reception

at ISS is her first classroom teaching position.

Sangeeta Sundar Reception S Teacher

Sangeeta presently teaches Early Childhood. She has been teaching at ISS for 7 years. Sangeeta has a Di-

ploma in Early Childhood and a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) from the University of

the South Pacific.

Salasaini Vatumoto

Teacher Assistant - Reception

Salasaini graduated with a Certificate in Early Child-hood Education. She is currently pursuing a

BA majoring in Language. Salasaini spent six years at International School Nadi previously.

Anjalina Devi Teacher Assistant - Reception

Anjalina has a diploma in early childhood education and is currently pursuing a degree at the University of the South Pacific. Anjalina joined ISS in 2009.

Year 1

Wendy Harris Year 1 Teacher

Wendy is a year one teacher from Melbourne, Australia. She moved to ISS Fiji in 2016 from Jakarta Indonesia, where

she taught Year 2 for two years and Kindergarten for 4 years. Her teaching experience extends over 10 years and four countries. Her tertiary education includes a BA from

Monash University, a Bachelor of Applied Science (Orthoptics) from La Trobe University and a MTeach from

Charles Sturt University. She worked in the field of low vision before becoming a teacher. Her interests include

travel, languages and spending time with family.

Renee Broughton Year 1 Teacher

Renee has been a teacher since 2014 after com-

pleting a Bachelor of Primary Education and a Diplo-ma of Children's Services in Australia. She has

taught in Sydney, Australia before coming to ISS in 2015. She is currently teaching year 1.

Livini Bolalailai

Teacher Assistant - Year 1

Completed a Degree in Education - Brigham Young University in Hawaii. She has taught for 2 years at

LDS Primary, Suva and joined ISS as a substitute teacher in 2012 and became a teacher assistant in

2014.

Year 1/2

Amanda MacKellar Year 1/2 Teacher

Amanda joins the ISS team from 2016. She graduated from Griffith University, Queensland, Australia with a Bachelor of Education in 2002. She also holds a Diploma of Early Child-hood. She has taught Secondary Education in remote and rural schools in Australia and for the last 11 years she has

taught in an urban Independent Primary School. Amanda is passionate about science, and about guiding students to

become lifelong learners.

Gerard Mustapha Teacher Assistant - Year 1/2 & 3/4

Gerard Mastapha is currently the Resource Room Manager for International School Suva Primary.

He; s got a certificate in Early childhood Education and currently pursuing his Diploma in Early childhood

Education.

Year 2

Kathryn Chang Year 2 Teacher

Kathryn has been a member of the ISS staff since 2009, having

joined the school after teaching at an infant school in London. She graduated with a Bachelor of Education from Homerton College,

Cambridge and has over ten years of teaching experience. Kathryn is passionate about helping children in the lower primary

develop into caring, confident learners.

Jitoko Bogitini Year 2 Teacher

Jitoko joined ISS in 2012 after completing his

Bachelor of Education (Primary) at the University of the South Pacific. Apart from his full time

teaching, Jitoko loves coaching rugby.

.

Litia Naqica Year 2 Teacher Assistant

Litia joined ISS 8 years ago. She graduated with a Diploma in Early Childhood from USP and is cur-

rently pursuing her degree.

Year 3

Alexandra Sutch Year 3 Teacher

After graduating from ISS over 15 years ago, she studied to be-

come a chef and worked in restaurants in Australia and the Pacific. She had always wanted to become a primary school teacher so

took the plunge and graduated from The Australian Catholic Uni-versity in 2013. She has since taught in a NSW Public School and

studied L3, Language, Learning and Literature, Aboriginal cultural education. The last three weeks working at ISS have been a won-

derful experience for her and she looks forward to the future working at the school, learning and sharing her knowledge.

Dasha Singh Year 3 Teacher

Dasha has a Diploma in Primary Education and has

XO certification from Australia. He is keen to bring technology into the classroom.

.

Kasari Seru Teacher Assistant - Year 3

Complete my certificate in Child Care Program in

FNU in 2011. Now currently pursuing my Diploma In Early Childhood in USP.

Year 3/4

Veniana Baledrokadroka Year 3/4 Teacher

Veniana has a Bachelor of Education from

Birmingham University and a Graduate Diploma in Special Needs (Blind and Visual Impairment) from

Burwood State College, now Deakin University, Aus-tralia. She has worked widely with visually impaired people both in Fiji and the region. Veniana joined ISS in 2000 and teachers the multi-age class - Year 3/4

.

Gerard Mustapha Teacher Assistant - Year 1/2 & 3/4

Gerard Mastapha is currently the Resource Room

Manager for International School Suva Primary. He; s got a certificate in Early chilhood Education

and currently pursuing his Diploma in the same field.

Year 4

Buffy Jack Year 4 Teacher

Originally from the USA with a Bachelor of Science in

Education and Social Science, Buffy is a certified teacher dedicated to improving the lives of youth in

the Pacific Islands.

Shantini Saberi Year 4 Teacher

Shantini is a world citizen who is interested in

growth and development. She loves the educational process and enjoys seeing the future unfold through

young people. .

Navin Narayan Teacher Assistant - Year 4

Navin has a Diploma in Information Technology from McGrath Institute of Business Australia. He started at

ISS this year and has a keen interest in Special and Inclusive Education. He also happens to be a sports enthusiast and is responsible for soccer and hockey

activities.

Year 5

Catriona Benzie Year 5 Teacher

Catriona is a dedicated educator who believes strongly in unlocking chil-dren’s potential in the classroom and beyond. She received a Bachelor of Education at the University of British Columbia with a focus in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Catriona earned her Masters of Education in

Comparative, International, and Development Education at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. At the University of British Columbia she completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Catrio-na has taught across the world including Canada, Brazil, and England. Her experiences teaching internationally have had a significant impact on her

practices and she recognizes the importance of a holistic, balanced ap-proach to education. Catriona knows a significant part of teaching is foster-

ing the love of learning in young people and helping them to realize that we are all life-long learners.

Romeo McKellar Year 5 Teacher

Graduated from the University of the South Pa-cific with a Post Graduate Diploma in Education; Bachelors Degree in Primary Education, and also attained a Diploma in Primary Education at the

Catholic Teachers Institute- Corpus Christi Teach-ers’ College in Fiji. Have 12 years of teaching ex-perience. Apart from classroom teaching, have experience teaching PE and Sports. Love Sports and enjoy Surfing in particular. Have 20 years of

surfing experience; 15 years in surf coaching/judging, surf club development programs and

administration in sports at grassroot levels and water safety.

Vosita Williams Teacher Assistant - Year 5

A certified teacher, her last school was Yat Sen

Primary. Vosita has taught in both rural and urban schools. She joined ISS in 2010 and feels privileged

to be part of the ISS community and enjoys the challenges and believes that it contributes to her

personal growth.

Individual Teacher

Assistants

Shehanah Dean Teacher Assistance - Individual Student

Shehanah joined ISS in 2015 and is currently an Individual Teacher Assis-tant. She has obtained a Certificate in Early Childhood Education from the

University of the South Pacific and is currently continuing a Diploma in Spe-cial and Inclusive Ed. Shehanah loves working with children with special

needs.

Roshni Lata Teacher Assistant

Roshni completed Certificate in Early Childhood Education at University of the South Pacific in 2010. She joined ISS last year and is currently

completing Diploma in Early Childhood Education

Specialist Teachers

Rosi Uluiviti PYP & Middle School Curriculum Coordinator

Rosi brings 27 years of experience to ISS. She is an IB workshop leader in the Asia/Pacific region. She was

previously the Head of Primary at International School Nadi and International School Moshi

(Tanzania). Rosi is currently the Middle School and Primary School Curriculum Co-ordinator at ISS.

Petero Tuisiga Primary PE Teacher

Petero has a Primary Teachers Certificate from Corpus

Christi Teachers College and a Diploma in Education from Fiji College of Advanced Education. He has over

13½ years of teaching experience at various local primary and secondary schools. He is a dedicated and

passionate PE teacher.

Amele Koroiwasa Primary PE Teacher

Amele is a qualified Primary Teacher. She has a Diploma and is currently working towards her Degree. She is enjoying her new role as a PSPE

Teacher Assistant.

Timothy Ulacake Primary Music Teacher

Tim has been a Music teacher since the year 2000.

He began his teaching journey teaching in Holy Family Secondary School, Nadogo Secondary

School, Veiuto Primary School and has been with us since 2005.

Lindy Stice Primary Art Teacher

Lindy studied at Westmont College in California, USA, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Art in 2000. She quali-fied as a teacher in 2002, and since has taught all age

levels from Early Childhood to High School. She joined the ISS teaching staff in 2011, and enthusiasti-cally began her current role teaching Visual Arts at

ISS Primary in 2014.

Subadra Chandra Hindi Studies Teacher

Subadra commenced teaching at ISS in 2009 after 20

years of service in the local schools of Fiji. Before joining ISS, Subadra was part of Curriculum Develop-ment with Ministry of Education, Fiji. She graduated

from the University of South Pacific with a Bachelor of Education and Diploma in Educational Evaluation.

Cathy Kasatoka Fijian Studies Teacher

Having had teaching experiences in both rural and urban schools in Fiji, Cathy decided to take on the challenge of teaching at ISS. It has been a time of

personal and professional growth for her.

Specialist Teachers

Naca Sikinairai Primary ICT Teacher

Naca is a qualified teacher. He has been teaching at

ISS for over 10 years. He is currently working to-wards his Degree in Primary Education

Kate Passin Primary Counsellor (P/T)

Kate Passin has 12 years prior experience in the school counseling profession before coming to

ISS. Kate has her masters and specialist degree in school counseling from the University of Georgia in

the USA. She has also obtained her License in Profes-sional Counseling and is a Nationally Certified Coun-selor. Before she was a school counselor she was a teacher at the primary level. She has a passion for her profession and is thrilled to be a part of the ISS

community as the counselor and as a parent.

Learning Support Teachers

Inga Riedel-Narayan Learning Support Teacher - Years 1 & 1/2 (P/T)

Inga joined ISS in 2011 and has since enjoyed

teaching students with special gifts. Originally from Germany she holds a masters degree in teaching/

English as a Second language.

Lucy Otway Learning Support Teacher - Years 3& 3/4

Lucy has spent many years working in primary

education in the U.K. She obtained a MA degree from St. Andrews University in Scotland and a post-

graduate certificate in Education from Cambridge. In 2003 she completed a diploma in Specific Learning

Difficulties/Dyslexia; since then she has enjoyed help-ing children who experience a variety of difficulties in

the role of Learning Support Teacher

Amelia Cumberbatch

Learning Support Teacher - Year 2 (P/T)

Amelia has received a Bachelor of Business (Journalism) from Queensland University of

Technology and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning from the University of Southern Queens-

land. Her experience in education includes teaching class, learning support, and ESL.

Learning Support Teachers

Torika Jitoko Learning Support Teacher - Year 5

Torika has a passion for teaching and loves to teach students from the heart. She joined ISS in 2005 and has enjoyed the challenges of being a PYP teacher

which has helped her professional growth. Torika has a teaching degree.

Carol Apted Learning Support Teacher - Year 4 (P/T)

Carol has taught at ISS for many years. She commenced teaching

here after 19 years of service in Fiji’s local schools, including Marist Brothers, Suva.

Librarian & Resource Room

Wakanisi Vaciloa Librarian /Teacher

Wakanisi taught for a few years in local schools before changing her career to work in the library for more than ten years . She graduated from Fulton

College for her teaching qualification and Charles Sturt University, Australia for her librarianship. She joined ISS in 2011 and is enjoying the challenge of

being an IB/PYP teacher librarian.

Laisani Taleviti Teacher Assistant / Resource Room & Library

Laisani has a certificate in early childhood and has been at ISS since 2010. Before moving to the resource room as an assistant, she was

an early childhood assistant in the Green Cottage.

Middle

School

Teachers

Carmen Fox English & Social Science Teacher - Year 6

Carmen has a Bachelor of Social Science from Sydney Uni-

versity, Post Graduate Diploma in Special Education (Behaviour Problems) from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) from Charles Stuart

University. Carmen has lived on Ambrym Island, Vanuatu and her love of the Pacific has brought her to Fiji in 2015

to complete her teaching practicum placement at ISS. After almost a decade working in the Community Develop-ment sector she has re-trained and with great excitement

joins the Year 6 Pastoral Care Team as an English and Social Science Teacher.

Ryan Ludher

Mathematics /Science Teacher - Year 6

Ryan has a Bachelor of Education from Queensland University of Technology in Australia. He has been

teaching Primary and Middle School since 2002. Currently, he is pastoral teacher for year 6

students.

Regina Mastapha Learning Support Teacher - Year 6

Regina has a Teachers Certificate from Corpus Christi Teachers College and a Diploma in TESL from Victoria University, Wellington. She has over 30 years teaching experience at various

local schools including nine years teaching on the island of Nauru. Regina commenced work at ISS

in a one-on-one learning support role in 2006 and is now part of the learning support team in Middle School. Regina also heads the school’s

OHS Committee.

Michelle Forbes English & Social Science Teacher - Year 7

Miss Shelly Forbes is a certified primary teacher who

has over 20 years experience in the classroom and over 8 years experience in curriculum development and

administration. She aspires to be the best educator she can and lives to see her students succeed at everything they do while still having fun. Miss Shelly enjoys read-ing, watching movies, going to the beach, chatting to

her mum and dad via Skype and catching up with friends and family.

JojinaTulele Science & Mathematics Teacher - Year 7

Jojina graduated from the University of the South Pacific

with a Secondary Teacher Training Certificate and a Bache-lors in Science majoring in Chemistry and Physics. She

taught in local schools for 13 years before joining ISS in 2004 teaching Year 9 and Year 10 Chemistry. She has

taught year 9 to year 12 Physics including both the ACT and IB curriculum. She was a Year 12 Pastoral teacher at ISS in 2005 and 2006. Jojina left ISS in 2007 and re-joined in 2016. She currently teaches Year 7 Science and Maths with the focus on Inter-displinary and trans-disciplinary

teaching approach.

.

Shivana Gowin Learning Support Teacher - Year 7

Shivana has a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in History/Politics and English Language Literature. In addition, she holds a Diploma in Community Ser-vices Work and a Certificate IV in Training and As-

sessment. She has taught Diploma Community Ser-vices Work and Certificate IV Youth Work at the

Australia Pacific Technical College and has several years’ experience working with young people. She has also taught English at secondary school level in the past. She joins ISS in 2016 as the Learning Sup-

port Teacher for Year 7.

Carlos Legaz-Clua Science & Mathematics Teacher - Year 8

Carlos has a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation from the Southern Institute of Technology, a

Postgraduate Diploma in Rehabilitation from the University of Otago and a Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) from Massey University. He has four years teaching experience in New Zea-

land and has a good grasp of inquiry based learn-ing curriculum and collaborative learning tech-niques which International School Suva practic-es. In addition to his Science and Mathematics position with our Year 8s, Juan Carlos is also a

keen sportsman.

Tessa Eastgate English & Social Science Teacher - Year 8

Tessa earned my Bachelor of Philosophy, Major in Philos-ophy, in 2000. She has teaching experience in a number of areas for both Primary and Secondary education in the Philippines and in Fiji. She joined ISS in 2014 after having taught at Fiji National University and International School Nadi. She is currently one of the Year 8 pastoral teachers.

Tanya Vatubua

Year 8 Learning Support Teacher

Tanya was awarded a Bachelor of Education, major-ing in Literature and Language from the University of the South Pacific, Suva in 2002. She was formerly teaching at the Fiji National University. In addition to her teaching of English and Intensive English, she is also the High School Netball coach and an Oceania

Regional Zone Netball Umpire.

Brett Barons Physical Education Teacher

Brett has a Bachelor of Education majoring in Personal Development, Health and Physical

Education from Avondale College, Australia. He has eight years teaching experience in Australia

and Papua New Guinea and has the qualities and experience which line up with the school’s

inquiry based approach to learning. Brett teach-es up to Stage 6 in Personal Development,

Health and Physical Education, Stage 5 in Physi-cal Activity and Sports Studies and Stage 6 in Sport Lifestyle and Recreation. He also has

experience in Outdoor Education and the Duke of Edinburgh Program both of which we teach

at our school.

Tanya Legaz-Clua Teacher of the Arts—Middle School

Tanya has a Bachelor of Visual Art from Otago Poly-

technic Art School, Dunedin and a Graduate Diploma of Teaching Primary from the University of Canter-bury, Christchurch. While Tanya is a new graduate

with fourteen weeks doing her teaching practicum at Aurora College and St Joseph’s Primary School in Invercargill plus one year doing relief teaching at Tauraroa Area School, Whangarei Primary School

and Tauraroa Area School. Tanya has taken on the role of Visual Arts and Drama teacher in Middle

School. In addition to teaching, Tanya also designs and manufactures jewellery.

Rebekah Nabouta Teacher of the Arts—Middle School

Ms Rebekah Nabouta - has a Bachelor of Music and has had over twelve years of teaching and performing music. Her teaching experience extends across the Pacific and delivered at all levels including the Bachelor of Music

Programme at the University of Auckland and the Diplo-ma of Contemporary Music for the more adult learn-

ers. Rebekah is very passionate about music and devel-oping this talent within our young generation. She has

taken on the position of Music teacher in Middle School.

Carol Yao

Music Teacher

Carol holds a Bachelor of music in Piano from China Conservatory of Music. She taught Chinese for two years in International Primary school before join-

ing the Secondary school as a music teacher in 2010 and has been teaching ACT and IB Diploma music

since. She is also the current year 12 pastoral teach-er.

Amandine Neirinck

French Teacher

Amandine Neirinck has a BA in Human and So-cial Sciences from Toulouse-le-Mirail University

and a MEd in French teaching from the Universi-ty of New Caledonia. She joined ISS in January

2014

Dan Shao

Chinese Teacher

Dan qualified as a teacher in 2009 and has taught in

China for 15 years. During this time she was teaching Chinese and mathematics. Dan was awarded a Bach-elor of Law from the Liaoning University of China in 2010. She taught at Yat Sen School in Suva before

coming to ISS.

Maria Dunbar Head of Learning Support & ESOL

Maria Dunbar has a Masters of Education from

Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. She has spent the last 4 years teaching in Beijing, China, and has recently joined ISS as HOD ESOL and Learning

Support .

Meeta Khatri ICT Teacher/Admin

Meeta has Bachelor’s degree in Computing Science and Information Technology. She joined ISS in 2009 as an ICT teacher and ICT administrator. She is also the Accredited Test Centre Manager for ICDL and

coordinates the program locally through ICDL Asia.

Rosi Uluiviti PYP & Middle School Curriculum Coordinator

Rosi brings 27 years of experience to ISS. She is an IB workshop leader in the Asia/Pacific region. She

was previously the Head of Primary at Interna-tional School Nadi and International School Moshi

(Tanzania). Rosi is currently the Middle School and Primary School Curriculum Co-ordinator at

ISS.

Fenella David PSE Teacher/ Counselor

Fenella David joined the school in October of 2011.

She graduated from Corpus Christi Teachers’ College in 1981 and has taught and offered counselling

services in a number of local schools before joining ISS. She obtained her BA in Applied Psychology from

the University of the South Pacific in 2011 and is currently the school counsellor.

High

School

Teachers

Neelam Raj English Teacher

Neelam has a Bachelors Degree in Education (Secondary) majoring in Literature and Language and a Certificate in

Teaching English as a Second Language. She taught English and Business Communication at DAV College, The Fiji Na-tional University, The University of the South Pacific and the Central Queensland University (Fiji Campus) before

joining ISS in 2011.

Michael Masonis Social Science/English Teacher

Mr. Masonis is a California native who has taught at the Middle and Secondary levels for the past four-

teen years in many different subject matters such as English, Science, Social Science, Art, Performing Arts, Yearbook, and Global Perspectives. He joined the ISS

team at the beginning of last year in 2013.

David Bennet English Teacher (P/T)

David has degrees in English Literature and English

Education. He has previously taught in the UK, Japan, Pakistan and Jamaica

Silina Bale

Head of Languages /French Teacher

Silina taught at the Alliance Française de Suva for seven years before joining the ISS team in 2008. Apart from teaching French, she has

had coordinator roles as Interpreting and Translation coordinator at the Alliance

Française de Suva, Year Level Coordinator, IGCSE coordinator and IB coordinator. Silina

holds a Post Graduate Diploma in French. This has enabled Silina to become a DELF

examiner in 2007 and more recently an exam-iner with the South Pacific Board of

Education.

Cynthia Chen Chinese Teacher

Cynthia was awarded a Bachelor Degree, majoring in Litera-ture and Language in 2003, she also obtained her teaching qualification for Intermediate and Senior Levels. She joined

in ISS in 2008 and has taught Chinese IGCSE, Chinese A literature and Chinese B language course. She is also the

Accredited Centre examiner for IGCSE Chinese exam. Cynthia is also the year 12 pastoral teacher.

Amandine Neirinck French Teacher

Amandine Neirinck has a BA in Human and Social Sciences from Toulouse-le-Mirail University and a

MEd in French teaching from the University of New Caledonia. She joined ISS in January 2014.

Milika Waqainabete Head of Humanities /Technology

Milika Waqainabete has a Bachelor of Arts and

Graduate Certificate in Education, Post-graduate certificate in History / Politics and a Masters of Arts

in Politics and International Affairs. She has taught in Brisbane and locally at Lelean Memorial School

before joining ISS in 1991. In addition to her role as HOD Milika has coordinated Model UN, and held

positions as Year Coordinator and has also served on the Staff Association

Brenton Harris Business Management/Accounting Teacher

Brenton has been teaching since 1999. Previous to

teaching he worked as an accountant for several years in various fields of commerce. Brenton has taught in International Schools in Japan, Brunei and most re-

cently, six years at the Australian International School in Jakarta, Indonesia. In ISS, Brenton will be teaching Business and Management to the Year 11 and 12's

and Accounting to the Year 9 and 11's. He has a Bach-elor of Commerce, a Bachelor of Education and Mas-

ters of Education. He is joined by his wife Wendy (Year 1 teacher) and their two sons. Brenton is looking forward to a rewarding and enjoyable stay at ISS.

Henry Murphy Business Management Teacher

Henry has a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in

Economics/Management and Public Administration. He teaches IGCSE Business Studies and IB Diploma Programme Economics/ Business Management SL/

HL. Henry joined ISS in 2013.

Elizabeth Sims

Events and Tourism Teacher

Liz has been a teacher since 2014, after completing a Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts through the

Australian Catholic University in Brisbane. She taught in Brisbane before moving to Fiji last year with her family, and is excited about coming to ISS in 2016.

Prior to Teaching, Liz worked in the travel industry for close to 10 years, and also holds a Bachelor of Leisure

Management (Tourism) from Griffith University in Brisbane. Teaching tourism at ISS is a wonderful combi-

nation of her two great loves, teaching and travel.

Meeta Khatri ICT Teacher/Admin

Meeta has Bachelor’s degree in Computing

Science and Information Technology. She joined ISS in 2009 as an ICT teacher and ICT administrator. She is also the Accredited Test Centre Manager for ICDL and coordinates the program locally through

ICDL Asia.

Kris Stice Head of Science/Biology Teacher

After graduating from ISS as Head Student almost 22 years ago, Mr. Stice went on to complete his tertiary studies at UC Santa Barbara in California. There he

took his first teaching job at a Native American public school before moving into a private school

setting. Mr. Stice rejoined the ISS family in 2010 and currently teaches senior sciences, serves as Head of

Science and sits on the School Council.

Apisalome Damuyawa

Chemistry Teacher / IGCSE Coordinator

Api taught at Lelean Memorial School before joining ISS. He has thirteen years of teaching

experience and qualified as a teacher from the University of the South Pacific.

Ashniel Bijay Physics Teacher

Ashniel has a degree in Physics, Mathematics and

Education from the University of the South Pacific. He has 8 years of teaching experience and was also tutor-ing part-time at the College of Foundation Studies at

the University of the South Pacific.

Selaima Veisamasama Biology Teacher (P/T)

Selaima qualified as a teacher in1977 and has

had 37years of experience as a Biology, Chemistry and Science teacher in various local schools. She

joined ISS in 2013 teaching science from years 6 to year 10 and Mathematics in Middle School. She was awarded a Diploma in Education from the

University of the South Pacific in 1977,and then a Bachelor of Science in 1996.

Sara Volkmar Psychology/French/ TOK Teacher

has previous experience as a secondary teacher in

French and Theory of Knowledge (TOK). She grew up in France and moved to London (UK), where she grad-

uated in Law. She holds a Master’s degree in Law, Anthropology and Society. She is currently teaching

French and TOK in the High School. She is also happy to deliver the Psychology course, a subject just recent-ly introduced at ISS in Year 11 & 12 as part of the ACT

and IB programmes."

Zeba Kaushar Teacher Assistant - Laboratory

Zeba joined ISS in 2005 as an intern and has since

been awarded a Diploma in Lab Technician from the Fiji National University . She became a full time

employee in 2006. Zeba manages the secondary science lab and is an ardent member of the ISS OHS

committee.

Jeshneel Chandra Mathematics Teacher / ACT Coordinator

Postgraduate Diploma in Mathematics from USP.

10 years of teaching Mathematics and Physics. Jesh-neel is currently the Year 12 Coordinator and the IB

Examiner.

Nemani Dianimoto Mathematics Teacher

I have been teaching for 15 years. I have a BSc

(Mathematics and Physics) and Post Graduate Di-ploma in General Manager, a Post

Gradate Certificate in Human Resource Manage-ment and an MBA. For the past two years I have been involved in writing Matematics and Physics

curriculum for Fiji schools in the Curriculum Devel-opment unit of the Fiji Ministry of Education

Kelly Maxwell Mathematics Teacher

Alongside her first degree and high school mathe-

matics teaching qualifications, Kelly has a post gradu-ate degree in the Psychoanalytical Observational Stud-

ies of Children from the world renowned Tavistock Clinic in London. After teaching and qualifying in the UK she is now part of both the mathematics depart-

ment and pastoral team for year 9.

Sheryl Lowther Mathematics Teacher

has a Bachelor of Technology (Hon), Massey Univer-

sity, Diploma in Teaching, Auckland Secondary Teachers College and Master of Science, University

of Auckland and has had over 15 years teaching experience at Rosehill College and the Manukau Institute of Technology. She has taught Mathe-

matics and Science at both institutions and was also Head of Department. Sheryl currently resides with

her husband who works in Fiji.

Alex Karountzos Head of Arts / Learning Support/ IB Coordinator

Alexandra Karountzos has been a teacher since 1989, after completing a Bachelor of Arts and Post Gradu-

ate Diploma in English Education. She taught in Mel-bourne Australia until 2005 and came to teach at ISS in 2006. During her time in Fiji she has held positions of

Year level coordinator, Head of Arts and Head of Learn-ing Support.

Kate Reimann Visual Arts Teacher

Bachelors Degree in Visual Arts from the University

of Southern Queensland. Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education, Charles Darwin University.

She has 12 years of teaching experience in Australia, the United Kingdom and Fiji.

Carol Yao

Music Teacher

Carol holds a Bachelor of music in Piano from China Conservatory of Music. She taught Chinese for two years in International Primary school before joining

the Secondary school as a music teacher in 2010 and has been teaching ACT and IB Diploma music since.

Jennifer Liew

Head of Physical Education & Sports Studies

Jenny Liew has been awarded numerous Certifi-

cates in coaching Track & Field, Volleyball, Swim-ming and Netball. She received her Diploma in Edu-cation from New Zealand along with her Teaching Certificate. She joined ISS in 1994 and since then

has been instrumental in the development of swim-ming in Fiji and has represented the country numer-ous times as swimming coach to the Oceania games

and the Paralympics. A dedicated and passionate teacher whose main concern is always the students

under her care.

Brett Barons Physical Education Teacher

Brett has a Bachelor of Education majoring in Personal

Development, Health and Physical Education from Avon-dale College, Australia. He has eight years teaching expe-

rience in Australia and Papua New Guinea and has the qualities and experience which line up with the school’s inquiry based approach to learning. Brett teaches up to Stage 6 in Personal Development, Health and Physical

Education, Stage 5 in Physical Activity and Sports Studies and Stage 6 in Sport Lifestyle and Recreation. He also has

experience in Outdoor Education and the Duke of Edin-

Dona Baledravu Teacher Assistant - PE

Dona was awarded Level 1 Certificates in Hockey

and Rugby League. He Has played Hockey and Soc-cer for 22 years and represented Fiji in 1994 and

1995 to Hockey Tournaments abroad. Prior to ISS, he was coaching the Ba soccer team and Jasper

Williams High School Hockey Team. He joined ISS in 2014and is coaching Hockey and Soccer for the

Primary Schools competitions. In 2015, the Soccer under 12 team and the Hockey under 12 team won

the Suva primary schools competition.

Fenella David Accounting Teacher/ Counselor

Fenella David joined the school in October of 2011.

She graduated from Corpus Christi Teachers’ College in 1981 and has taught and offered counselling

services in a number of local schools before joining ISS. She obtained her BA in Applied Psychology from

the University of the South Pacific in 2011 and is currently the school Counsellor.

Maria Dunbar

Head of Learning Support & ESOL

Maria Dunbar has a Masters of Education from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. She has

spent the last 4 years teaching in Beijing, China, and has recently joined ISS as HOD ESOL and Learning

Support .

Matthew Dadley Learning Support Teacher - ESOL

Matt graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons)

from the University of Otago. He then obtained a Gradu-ate Diploma in Arts (English Literature) in 2012 from Victo-

ria University in Wellington. In 2012 Matthew also enrolled in the first iteration of Teach First New Zealand. After two years teaching English at Mangere College in

Auckland, he obtained his Postgraduate Diploma in Sec-ondary Teaching from the University of Auckland. He

joined the ESL and Learning Support team at ISS in 2015

Anna Marsden Principal

Anna Marsden worked in school administration in Zimbabwe and Swaziland before moving to Fiji

in November 2010. She has undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Science and post-graduate qualifications in Chemistry and Educa-tion. She is a member of the Board of the East

Asia Regional Council of Schools, an IB workshop leader and a visiting team member for both the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the International Baccalaureate.

Megan Navunisaravi Head of High School

After a wide range of work experiences Megan

became a secondary teacher in 1996 and has not looked back! She has taught at ISS since 2006 and

held a variety of positions which include the Head of Science, IB Diploma Coordinator and Year Coordina-tor, her teaching focus being in Biology. Her passion is to ensure that the students’ learning experiences help them reach their potential, enabling them to

be confident, effective individuals capable of effecting change. She is very interested in ongoing

school improvement and has coordinated the WASC whole school accreditation process in 2008 and the

IB Diploma Review in 2010.

Mere Fong Head of Middle School

Mere qualified as a Middle School teacher in 1980 and has taught at ISS for 22 years. During this time she has taught a variety of subjects, mainly English

and Social Science. Mere has held a variety of positions including Year Level Coordinator, Head of

Department, MYP Coordinator, Supervisor for Educa-tional Testing Services and Head of Middle School.

She is also an accredited Tutor for the teacher devel-opment course, Teaching ESL students in Mainstream

Classrooms, from the Dept of Education, South Australia. Mere currently leads a dynamic team of Middle School teachers, who have embraced the

organizational re-structure of the Middle School. She also has overall responsibility for the school

newsletter, Talanoa.

Karen Whittaker Head of Primary

Before moving to Fiji, Karen was rewarded and

recognized for her 25 years of service to Education Queensland, Australia. Karen has spent

almost half of her 28 years in education in leadership positions, including deputy principal and principal of

primary schools with enrolments of up to 800 students. She has a bachelor's degree in education. Karen is also looking forward to the next 3 years as Head of Primary here at ISS. She is a passionate and

experienced educator who always has the children as her upmost priority when making decisions.

School Leadership Team

Upcoming Events (Term 1) T1: WEEK 5

Monday, February 15 8:00am Reception and Year 1 Swimming

Tuesday, February 16 Secondary inter-house competition

8:00am Reception and Year 1 Swimming

Wednesday, February 17 8:00am Reception and Year 1 Swimming

Thursday, February 18

8:00am Reception and Year 1 Swimming

Friday, February 19 Head Students Induction assembly

T1: WEEK 6

Monday, February 22 1:30am Secondary class captain induction assembly

8:00am Reception and Year 1 Swimming

Tuesday, February 23 8:00am Reception and Year 1 Swimming

Wednesday, February 24

Year 7 camp 2:30pm Primary Interviews

8:00am Reception and Year 1 Swimming 2:40pm PTFA Monthly Meeting

Thursday, February 25

Year 7 camp » 4:00pm Primary Interviews

8:00am Reception and Year 1 Swimming

Friday, February 26 Year 7 camp

PRIMARY PRESS 8:00am Primary Badging Ceremony

5:30pm Year level update

T1: WEEK 7

Monday, February 29 8:00am Year 4 & 5 Swimming

Tuesday, March 1

8:00am Year 4 & 5 Swimming

Wednesday, March 2 8:00am Year 4 & 5 Swimming

Thursday, March 3

8:00am Year 4 & 5 Swimming

T1: WEEK 8 Monday, March 7

8:00am Year 4 & 5 Swimming

Tuesday, March 8 8:00am Year 4 & 5 Swimming

Wednesday, March 9

8:00am Year 4 & 5 Swimming

Thursday, March 10 8:00am Year 4 & 5 Swimming

STOP PRESS

Our next PTFA meeting will take place at 2.40pm

on Wednesday 24th of February 2016 in the

staffroom at school.

All parents are welcome.

Please come along.