Could you introduce yourself to our community?
My wife and I are from Tasmania and have known each other since primary school. I grew up on a farm outside of Launceston and would spend my time bushwalking, camping, rock climbing, spear fishing and rafting with friends. After university, my wife and I decided to travel and see the world. Originally, we planned to spend only a few years living and working in Singapore but after starting a family and developing close friendships we decided to stay. We have now lived in Singapore for 16 years and have three children, Flynn, Daniel and Asher. We enjoy travelling and seeing new places. When the opportunity arises we enjoy bushwalking in national parks atop mountains or along coastlines.
Over the years I have pursued a number of hobbies and currently I enjoy getting out on my mountain bike along the trails around Chestnut and Bukit Timah. Otherwise, on sunny days I will often go paddle boarding around Sentosa. I love playing board games with friends and family and our current favourites include Catan, Empires of the North, Civilisation: A New Dawn and Monopoly Deal.
Since when have you been with GESS and what made you choose GESS?
I have worked at GESS for 12 years. During this time, I have taught Grade 2 and Grade 5, been the Primary Years Programme Coordinator and Deputy Head of Primary. Currently I am the Director of Teaching and Learning. The main purpose for this role is to build, monitor, improve and ensure compliance of the educational structures and systems for the European Section. This includes curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, timetabling, academic facilities usage and policies. Basically I work to make certain systems and structures are in place to ensure things runs effectively and efficiently.
I joined GESS because it is a not-for-profit school. Everyone at GESS is part of a community focused on providing quality education for our students. Since joining GESS, I have seen the school grow and develop, and my goal is to see GESS be considered one of the best schools in Singapore, where every student reaches their full potential.
You have recently taken on some new responsibilities that put you in touch with various parts of our community. What do you like about these new tasks and how has it maybe changed some of your approaches?
I enjoy working and developing relationships with people. Whenever possible I prefer to talk with someone rather than send them an email. Over the years, I have gotten to know and respect a large number of people across the school. We have an amazing group of teachers at GESS. They are caring dedicated individuals who go above and beyond for their students. I hold our Grade Level Coordinators and Heads of Subject with the greatest respect due to their work ethic and dedication to their teams. I have also had the privilege of working closely with people in the IT, HR, finance and facilities departments. These people who I have been fortunate to work with are professional, hardworking and dedicated.
I guess this has developed my approach to being solution-orientated and giving the benefit of the doubt. I believe leadership is about service in helping teachers and staff to do their jobs effectively. It can be as simple as asking how can I help and taking the time to listen to people.
What are some new initiatives and projects that you are currently working on?
Lately, I have been focused on the IB evaluation, CIS re-accreditation and logistics such as timetables, reports, staffing and budgets. Once we get though these tasks I am looking forward to refocusing on developing pedagogical practices across the school and building a culture of professional learning. One such project is for GESS to become a data driven school. This involves active analysis of student assessment data to inform future teaching opportunities.
