Introductions

Dear all on this page we would like you to introduce yourselves

Tania Lattanzio: I live in Singapore and worked as a PYP coordinator in Indonesia and Vietnam before jointing the IB in 2005 as one of the PYP regional managers. IN my time at the IB I worked in the PYP team and in the professional development team. In 2011 I set up an educational consultancy with a colleague called Innovative Global Education and now work with schools throughout the world on many aspects of education some of them including inquiry, leadership, curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, planning, mentoring and coaching. And yes I am very busy; however what a wonderful thing to be able to work with schools for school improvement.

Megan Howard: Hi everyone. I have lived in Singapore for the past 5 years, beginning as a year 4 class teacher, moving on to a Year Coordinator role of Prep and now into my current role this year as PYP Coordinator of the Junior School and Pre School. Prior to that, i have taught in Hong Kong, Tasmania and in and around London. I am enjoying this job immensly and the challenges that it presents. I am hoping to gain some further insight into how to effectively build a effective collaborative teams and in particular with such a large number of staff and new staff and what collaborative planning models other schools are using. Also, hoping to take a reflective look back and go ahhh, it all makes sense now!!! :) Looking forward to meeting you all soon!

Lianne Kalapaca Hi! I am currently living in Cebu, which is an island in the Philippines. In Cebu, started as a Grade 4 teacher and moved to Teaching and Learning Support and finally PYP Coordinator. I started my PYP journey in Mongolia, then went to Syria for 4 years, off to Beijing for 3 years where in 2006 I became a PYP Trainer, spent 2 years in Madagascar and I'm starting my 3rd year in the Philippines. As a PYP Trainer who has been involved in a couple school visits, I understand where the school needs to be but often working backwards and breaking the tasks down and training the staff, I find it hard to prioritize and get a starting point. I suppose that I don't want to reinvent the wheel and would like some sharing of documentation so I have a starting point which I can adapt to fit our schools situation. I hoping for lots of sharing and professional discussion with others that have a PYP background as all of my staff are beginners. Cheers!

Mignon Weckert I have been living in Singapore for the past 6 years in the role as regional manager of the PYP. Prior to that I have taught for many years as a junior primary and primary teacher, PYP coordinator, deputy principal, curriculum writer, numeracy advisor, professional development provider and in the past few years have spent most of my time in PYP schools throughout Asia Pacific. It will be great to work with Tania again and to support the group with the pivotal role of coordination of the PYP. See you soon!!!

Simon van Dinter Ihave been teaching in various schools in Singapore for the last 13 years. This is my 8th year at the German European School Singapore and I have just started in the role of PYP Coordinator, which will be in conjunction with my role as Deputy Head of the Primary School. I am looking forward to continuing the great work that has already taken place with the PYP at our school, as well as to reenergise the program in readiness for the program evaluation that will take place during the next academic year.

Natalie Willsmore Hi everyone. I currently work at Tokyo International School and am about to begin my 4th year at the school. I have taught G3 and G5 and this year will begin my new role as PYP Coordinator. I have also taught in Adelaide, Melbourne and various schools throughout London. I'm looking forward to meeting other coordinators and learning about what exactly I have to do in this new role-especially as I have very big shoes to fill and the new staff arrive the day after I return from Singapore! Thanks.

Mala Manurung Hi! I come from Indonesia and this is my 9th year in Sekolah Bogor Raya which located in a beautiful city called Bogor. I am currently teaching in grade 4 and this year I started my new role as PYP Associate Coordinator for Primary level with my partner who handling Play group and Kindergarten. I’m ready to learn a lot of things during workshop and (hopefully) enjoy everything :) Looking forward to meeting you all!

Nigel Jones Hi! I come from the UK but have lived in China for the last 12 years in a wonderful city called Chengdu, over in the West of China near Tibet and the home of pandas. I have been teaching early years and some primary for about 17 years and am currently the PYP coordinator at a preschool here in Chengdu which we started with no experience of the PYP at all. We have a lot of challenges which I am sorry did not have time (looking after two kids alone for the last month) to load on the challenges page in advance. I am really looking forward to all the new ideas that will come along in the workshop, the sharing and the brainstorming. Hope to have fun with you all and see you soon.

Henny Anggraeni Hi, all.. I come from Bogor, Indonesia. I work together with Mala Manurung in Sekolah Bogor Raya Associate Coordinator for Playgroup and Kindergarten Level. This is my first year to be the PYP Co, and there are so many things I have to learn:) I was teaching the lower primary (Primary 1 and 2) for 8 years and now I teach Kindergarten. I'll see you all there :)

Michelle Eddy Hi everyone! I am orginally from Cornwall in England. I am the PYP Coordinator at ACG International School in Jakarta. This is my third year as PYP coordinator and a big year for my school as this is our Evaluation Year. For the past few years I have also taught Year 4 and this year I am teaching ELS. I am looking forward to finding out more about the Evaluation process, sharing ideas, challenges and of course, getting to know you all!

Melissa Preisig Hello! I am from Australia but have been living in Hong Kong for 4 years. I am a Grade 3 teacher at Kingston International School and have recently been made Assistant PYP Coordinator. I started my PYP journey 4 years ago at an International Kindergarten where I was appointed Acting PYP coordinator. Our school has recently undergone it's evaluation and we're currently developing our new Action Plan. As I am very new to this position, I am ready to learn a lot from you all and share our experiences.

Chitra Venkatesh Hello! I am originally from Bangalore, India. I have been in Singapore for 15 years now. I have experiences in engineering, publishing, printing, corporate law and restraunt management prior to choosing to teach preschool. I have been in Early Education for more than 8 years and have taken on various roles - classroom teacher, centre and staff management, curriculum development, teacher training and mentoring. Currently I am part of the team that is responsible for programme management at Odyssey The Global Preschool. We cater to children from 18 months to just under 7 years of age and their families. I am looking forward to learning from everyone at the workshop who seem to have the wealth of experience!!