EduDrama Department

• Director of School Support Services / Senior Teacher • BA (Hons), University of London in 1999 • Certificate Speaking Skills, Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2000 • Advanced Award Oral Communication, Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993

I have been a member of the academic staff at Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning since 1999. I have also worked for the Quantum Learning Network in the United States. I’m a trained Quantum Learning instructor, and have worked at Quantum Learning programmes in Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and the USA as a Team Leader, Facilitator and Lead Facilitator.

Debating: I’m currently the Secretary of the World Schools Debating Council Executive Committee, and a member of Debate Association Singapore’s Executive Committee. I’ve been the Tournament Director of the Singapore Secondary Schools Debating Championships (which Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning organises and sponsors) since 2000, and was the Tournament Director of the World Schools Debating Championships when it was held in Singapore in 2002. I’m a former debater for the University of London, where I was a World Universities Debating Championship octo–finalist, a European Debating Championship Grand Finalist, and a London Debating League champion.

I have been a speech and drama student since I was five years old. Working with others to help them develop confidence and communication skills is a passion of mine. I love working with students of all ages.

• Head of EduDrama Department and Readers and Writers • Speech Communication Arts Primary Teaching Certificate, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London • Julia Gabriel Teaching Certificate (Speech and Drama) • Advanced Teacher Education Certificate from New York State University • BA (Hons), University of Yangon.

After teaching for eight years at the International School Yangon, I relocated to Singapore in 2004 as a Senior Teacher for the Readers and Writers programme at Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning. I have taught various age groups ranging from primary to secondary level and students from many different cultures, specialising in teaching English as a second language while exploring new teaching methodologies related to reading and writing skills.

I enjoy reading a variety of texts, keeping up to date with the current issues around the world and traveling to different places. I also love cooking and enjoy the company of family and friends. Meeting new people from multi-cultural backgrounds is always an exciting experience for me.

• Senior teacher, EduDrama • BA (English Language and Literature) 2003 • Diploma of Licentiate, Associate of Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, UK 1995.

I have taught students from as young as 2 years right through to teenagers and adult learners. Over the years I have enjoyed guiding young people from PlayClub, through our pre-school Chiltern House to secondary schools, using drama as a medium for learning.

I enjoy photography, time with my family and my two sons and a wide range of games.

• Senior teacher, School of Education • BB (Hons) Nanyang Technological University, Licentiate Teachers’ Diploma (Hons) and Associate Recital Diploma , London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

I’ve been a speech and drama teacher since 1999. I started off as a speech and drama student myself at the age of 9 and I remember the two Irish nuns who taught me with great fondness; it was with their encouragement and love that I gained the confidence and communication skills I possess today. I hope to inspire and challenge the children I teach in the same way.

I am a mother to a beautiful 2-year-old, Rebekah, and had my second child, also a girl, in May 2005. They are my passion, after my husband, of course! One thing I really enjoy is going on holidays, although long trips are rare nowadays with young children in tow. I love taking long drives along scenic country and mountain roads and hope to take a road trip in the US before I am 35.

• Senior teacher, Readers and Writers • Certificate in Teaching • Advanced Certificate in Early Childhood • Julia Gabriel Teaching Certificate (Speech and Drama)

My early years of teaching were spent in primary levels at international schools in Indonesia and Brunei. After returning to Singapore I was a principal and supervisor of kindergartens for 12 years. I have been teaching EduDrama and Readers and Writers at Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning since 1995.

One of my major interests is travel as my two children were educated abroad and are now living abroad. I enjoy reading autobiographies and am encouraged by their authors' personal struggles and successes in their lives. I also enjoy gardening and walking.

• Senior teacher, EduDrama • BEd from Australian Catholic University • Diploma of Teaching (Primary) from Brisbane College of Advanced Education

I have been teaching now for over 20 years. For the past five years I have been teaching here in Singapore covering all levels from Kindergarten to Secondary 5. Previous to this, I taught in Australian schools from Primary 3 to Primary 7. At several of these schools I was the Aboriginal Studies Coordinator and Assistant Sports Master. I have guest-lectured at the Australian Catholic University and have both graded and mentored student teachers during their practicum. I have continued to study ever since I left high school in 1962 and am continuing to do so even today.
I have always enjoyed reading from when I was a young child and also loved to write. I spent 14 years in Papua New Guinea and this has instilled in me a love of travel to discover other cultures. This is probably the reason I became involved in Indigenous Studies in Australia. I love crossword puzzles and good movies as a form of relaxation, and attend as many live shows as I can get to here in Singapore.

I took up teaching as a second career after 20 years in accountancy. However, during that time I was already involved with school children in a sports coaching capacity. With my wife and two of my sisters and brother all teachers, it seemed a natural progression for me to take up the calling. With my father heavily involved in theatre and stage production it seems I have come full circle in teaching speech and drama at the Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning.

• Senior teacher, EduDrama • B Ed, Australian Catholic University • Diploma in Infants Teaching, Catholic Teachers' University, Sydney.

I have been teaching since 1970 in Australia, Papua New Guinea and for the past 4½ years in Singapore. I have taught all levels from Nursery to fourth year in secondary schools. I have held Subject Master positions in English and Social Sciences. During my last 15 years teaching in Australia, I was involved extensively in the professional development of teachers as a tutor, supervisor and lecturer. Study has been an integral part of my life and I have been fortunate to be able to continue this during my time with Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning.

I am a wife, mother and grandmother and this has been the major influence in my life during the past 30 years. I have enjoyed all outdoor sports and activities with my family as they grew up and always managed to include my own love of bushwalking and travel during our family time. I enjoy reading, theatre and mixing with people from different walks of life. I realise the need to remain active and open to new ideas especially during the later years of working life. It is important that my own enjoyment of life and learning should be transparent in my interaction with colleagues and students.

Teaching for me is an enduring passion. Even in my teenage years I was involved in sports coaching, spending many hours working with young children. I enjoy sharing my love of learning, experimenting with new ideas, developing curricula so that students are given creative and expressive ways to develop socially, morally, emotionally, intellectually and physically.

• Senior teacher, EduDrama • MA (Literature), NUS • Post Graduate Diploma in Education, NIE • Grade 8 Speech and Drama from Guildhall School of Music and Drama • Julia Gabriel Teaching Certificate (Speech and Drama).

I was a Literature and Language teacher in Nanyang Girls' High School from 1997 to 2002. During this time I also coached the school’s debating team and was involved in the Theatre Club producing and directing short plays.

I became a student of Speech and Drama in 1998 and joined Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning in 2002.

I am the mother of two little girls (the second was born in June 2006) who have made me realise that being a mother is truly a wonderful experience! Another great passion in my life is literature because reading lifts my spirits, fuels my imagination and stimulates critical thought.