Message From The Head Of School
Dear Parents, Students, and SISC Community,
Welcome to the new Southbridge International Schools monthly “Newsletter”. Each month we will be sending our parents and community newsletters to keep you updated with the academic and logistical events in school. Our goal is to provide as much information as possible to keep you updated and informed about your child’s education.
Over the past several months, the world has faced exceedingly difficult times due to COVID-19. However, we are very impressed with our students, teachers, and staff. Our students and staff adapted to the online learning platforms and did an outstanding job. While nothing takes the place of in-class face-to-face interaction, we are very proud of everyone.
I would like to thank all parents for your continued support and dedication, we greatly appreciate you. While students are home, it is also a great time for us as parents to assist our children in their learning process. As a parent myself, I advise you to take the time to keep your child active in their learning by having them read books. Reflecting back when my children were young, some of my best memories are the time I sat and read storybooks to them, then the conversations that followed. Those moments will last a lifetime as well as provide the parental support all children need.
In closing, thank you again, for your understanding during this very difficult time. We are overly optimistic that we will be able to resume classes in August. Please contact your child’s Principal and teachers for answering concerns or questions. We are here to assist all students and parents during these incredibly challenging times.
Truly,
Mr. Dwayne Lehman
Head of School
Academic Development & Accreditations Director
It is with great pleasure to be writing my first article for the school newsletter at such an exciting time in the school’s journey. As of June, I will be joining the team at Southbridge International School Cambodia as Academic Development & Accreditations Director. My role will be working with you and your amazing teachers to ensure that our school continuously provides quality education by meeting specific academic and social standards.
I have a proven record of helping leaders, teachers, and students make the necessary progress by providing positive learning experiences as well as building and maintaining effective curriculum development. Born and trained in the United Kingdom I have a career spanning over a decade. I have been involved in teaching & learning in a variety of different ways; Press Officer for ‘The Prince's Trust, Youth Worker, Teaching Assistant, Class Teacher, Local Authority Moderator, Senior Leader, Vice-Principal, and Academic Director.
On reflection, I believe that I had a passion for teaching and learning very early on in my life and soon came to believe that the ‘mastery of teaching’ is vital if we want our students to be life-long learners and this can happen at any age. I believe that high expectations are crucial - mastery is built on the belief that all individuals can achieve if they are given the opportunity. This is why I gained my Master's in Education whilst working full time and engaged in research school improvement processes by supporting schools in achieving accreditation in various fields of education.
As I draw this short introduction to a close, I want to share the importance of setting values - I made a conscious effort a couple of years ago to identify my core values in life and one of the primary reasons why I decided to be part of the Southbridge journey was because every member of the team aims to inspire you by setting high expectations through an invigorating curriculum that captivates and motivates teaching & learning and this kind of teaching needs to be celebrated; which is exactly what we will continue to do so let me introduce you to one of my favourite proverbs; “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
I wish you a wonderful final month of this academic year and I am looking forward to meeting you all.
Best,
Ms. Faria Arshad,
Academic Development
& Accreditations Director
Early Years Principal's Message
Dear parents and Southbridge community,
It is with great joy that I become part of the Southbridge International School Cambodia team for the next school year.
I am from South Africa and my experience range from teacher to manager for 18 years. I have held positions in both private and public institutions and have sound knowledge of administration and management. My passion for teaching have been a lifelong journey and as a mother and grandmother, I understand the difficulties parents experience during school-going years. Moreover, the difficulties families face during their time with online learning.
I strongly believe in creating a strong team between teachers, parents, and students to ensure that we work as a collaborative team towards better education.
Southbridge International School Cambodia is committed to excellent education and growth of its students and I am privileged to join a team that are totally committed to creating an interesting, colorful, and fun environment for your child.
I look forward to starting a new chapter in my journey and would like to encourage all parents to join me in Coffee mornings held at school. The schedule for coffee mornings will be shared with you at the start of the new school year.
Our journey as a TEAM starts soon!
Mrs. Annebell Van Der Westhuizen
Early Years Principal
The Online Experience In Early Years and Primary Program
Online learning is not new. What is new is doing it during a COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, like many other aspects of everyday life, COVID-19 has had a severe impact on students, instructors, and educational organizations worldwide (Mailizar, Almanthari, Maulina, & Bruce, 2020). The pandemic caused schools, colleges, and universities across the globe to shut down their campuses so that students could follow social distancing measures (Toquero, 2020). This was not the first time conventional education activities were suspended. SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) also negatively impacted conventional education activities of many countries worldwide and not just SARS- CoV but H1N1 Flu outbreak also negatively impacted education activities in 2009 (Cauchemez et al., 2014).
Given these hurdles, we toiled with our teachers, students, and parents to ensure the progression of instructional programs. Substantial emphasis concentrated on addressing educational and instructional challenges. We explored opportunities by engaging ambassadors and grade level teachers on a conceptual model and practices of leaning forward in the face of adversity to understand our strengths, embrace our areas for growth and celebrate our victories no matter how small. For example, during terms one and two, with the assistance of our learning support coordinator, we collaborated with the teacher in the early years and primary to diagnose students who were struggling to cultivate differentiated support strategies to further their learning and inclusion in the inclusive setting. These pull-out strategies allowed students to interact with the teacher in a controlled setting outside the regular class in addressing their individual needs.
Given these challenges, we toiled with our community to ensure the progression of instructional programs. Substantial emphasis fixed on addressing technological and connectivity challenges. We leaned forward, engaged educators on innovative conceptual models and practices of teaching and learning to understand our strengths and growth areas. This included diagnosing struggling pupils and cultivating differentiated support strategies to facilitate learning and inclusive practices. Pull-out/Push-in strategies promoted unobtrusive synergy in addressing students' unique academic and social-emotional needs.
Dr. Emmanuel Vincent,
Early Years & Primary Principal
Secondary Principal's Message
Dear Southbridge Community,
I am honoured to introduce myself through the first SISC Newsletter. I arrived in Phnom Penh in August 2020 to join the Southbridge community as the Director of the Global Direction Program. I have recently been appointed as the new Secondary Principal.
I am Korean-Australian and have lived and worked in many different countries including Japan, China, the Philippines, Singapore, Germany, and Australia as a business person, professional linguist, teacher, and educational leader for more than 25 years.
My strengths are in curriculum development and pastoral care. My areas of specialisation are Cambridge International Curriculum, International Baccalaureate, and Australian Curriculum. I have held numerous leadership positions in Australia as well as international schools.
I am multilingual and speak English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and German; my next challenge is to learn the Khmer language. I have 7 degrees including two master’s degrees (Economics and Education) from 4 different countries in 4 different languages. I am currently undertaking a Ph.D. in Education at James Cook University, researching "Social and Emotional Development of Middle School Students at International Schools''.
Education is more than just the subject matter; it is the means by which a student gains the tools and life skills for a successful future. I look forward to contributing my skills and experiences to be part of their bright future at Southbridge International School Cambodia.
Ms. Kim Peters,
Secondary Principal
Faculty Head of English & Humanities
I am now finishing my second year as a social studies teacher here in Cambodia, but my adventures in learning and teaching began in the United States where I was born. I moved around between farm and city life as a child and eventually settled in Athens, Georgia to complete my formal education. There I received both a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Georgia.
In love with the scholastic environment, I decided to become a teacher. Following this calling around the world ever since, I have lived and worked in four countries and have visited over thirty-five. My experience has allowed me to provide meaningful and purposeful instruction, hold my students to high expectations, and collaborate with both students and staff to ensure there is a vibrant classroom learning community.
I strive to be, as Robert Frost prescribed, not simply a teacher but an awakener. I am committed to student success. In all my endeavours, I have been known as a professional, friendly, team player who is able to build positive relationships with students. I am confident in my ability to establish a foundation for meaningful lifelong learning among the students at Southbridge.
Mr. Daniel McIntyre,
Faculty Head of English & Humanities
Seventh graders were asked to develop a heroic adventure story based on Joseph Campbell’s famous monomyth cycle. After completing the assignment, students were asked to further reflect on what they had written and develop book covers to attract an audience for their ideas.
Sixth graders created a poster that summarized their exploration of Chinese culture and tradition. It highlights their study of different Chinese philosophical perspectives like Confucianism and Daoism.
Faculty Head of Math & Sciences
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the newly appointed Head of Mathematics and Science. I am very excited to be given the opportunity to lead these two departments.
To give you some brief information about myself, I have been a secondary math teacher for 25 years and have worked in Cambodia for nearly 15 years. In previous schools, I held positions such as Head of Mathematics, Secondary Coordinator, and Cambridge Coordinator.
I am committed to building on our students' achievements and will work hard to maintain the positive relationships, rigorous learning, and incredible SISC environment that encourages our students to celebrate their unique strengths.
Ms. Juliet Ramos,
Faculty Head of Math & Sciences
Future Problem Solving is a subject offered to Grade 8 and 9 students at Southbridge International School Cambodia. In this subject, the students are prepared for the future, by teaching young people essential problem-solving skills, through providing challenging and complex situations which are designed to help students learn how to think, not what to think.
Throughout Semester 2, students have been researching current world issues that are important to them and how those issues might look in their futures. They have been asked to design and create posters carrying a message to change and solve those issues. Then students decided to explore the issues of blogging and online communication. Each student chose a topic and created their personal online blog site.
This was an amazing experience, first choosing a topic and then for the first time designing a blog site, and then every week growing the blog site and interacting with other student's blogs. One of the interesting unexpected side issues to come out of this for the students was the realization that creating, maintaining, and earning money from blog sites was not as easy, or as lucrative as it is portrayed in social media.
Khmer Coordinator's Message
Dear Parents, Students, and SISC Community,
It's a great honor and privilege to introduce myself in our very first edition of the SISC newsletter. I have been with SISC as the Khmer Program Coordinator since July 2020. I have superintended over transitioning from traditional to online teaching and learning. I have two master’s degrees; one in education management and the other in public administration.
Education is an ongoing journey of continuous improvement and a tool for achieving peaceful and sustainable development. All stakeholders ought to put their hands on the deck for us to achieve the organizational goals.
Mr. Sovannarith TUY,
Khmer Coordinator
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced Southbridge to turn to online learning and teaching. To respond to this, Khmer Reading remains the main subject in our Khmer Program. Based on Cambodia Curriculum Framework, competency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in both Khmer and a foreign language is needed for usage in study, research, and communication in students' daily lives.
In semester 2, Southbridge national program remains committed to working closely with all parents from early childhood through to primary to improve students' reading campaigns. We are using distance learning assets that include e-reading lessons, videos, and zoom in teaching and learning.
Southbridge International School Cambodia
Vision
- To be Cambodia’s leading school that offers both International and Khmer education.
- To be the center of a caring community that values diverse cultures and success.
Mission
- We inspire students to develop their own high standards of academic excellence and personal growth through engaging and exciting teaching and learning.
- We bring together all members of our community to celebrate our students’ journeys and their contributions to the world around them.
Email: admissionsofficer@sisc.edu.kh
Website: https://www.sisc.edu.kh/en/
Location: Building No. 367, Polaris Street, Sangkat Nirouth, Khan Chbar Ampov, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Phone: 023 231 122 017 222 090 017 444 377
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.sisc.edu.kh