talanoa volume 1
DESCRIPTION
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 EventsTRANSCRIPT
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
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.