Lucerne Zug School, Switzerland

Critical Friends Retreat at Wengen Outdoor Education Center
 Lucerne Zug School, Switzerland

A group of now firm "critical friends" originally met at the ECIS Conference in Hamburg the previous year. They were part of a group who had registered for a two day pre conference on Professional Learning Communities. By the end of the two days they had become "critical friends" and decided to meet in the future for further learning.

In the photo: Meryl Siggs (Principal and host, Lucerne Zug School); Margaret MacLean; Jeanette Al-Sabah (Asst. Elementary Principal, Universal American School Kuwait City); Lori Lauscher (English Teacher/IB Coordinator, American School of Barcelona); Betty Mason (Kindergarten teacher Frankfurt International School); Keelin Swalve (ELL Benjamin Franklin International School Barcelona); missing Greg Williams Science teacher Frankfurt International School who had yet to arrive by train when the picture was taken.

In March 2010 Betty Mason and Greg Williams hosted a weekend event at the Frankfurt International School which added two further days to learn and work together. In October the group had the pleasure of a third meeting in Switzerland.

What a wonderful weekend we all had! We stayed in a lovely chalet high in the Alps which is an outdoor education center for the Lucerne Zug School. The wonderful Louise Bruce acted as our personal chef for the weekend! We feasted on apple strudel amongst other treats. 

We managed a full day work session which extended our work and leaning together. We problem solved school dilemmas and supported each other in our various roles. Additionally we watched NFL football on the smart board, walked in the mountains and took a train trip part way up to the top of Europe. Meryl Siggs Principal of the Lucerne Zug School was our amazing host who made it all possible.

copyright 2000-2011
All rights reserved by Teacher Collaboration International Consulting.
PO Box 213 l Peacham, Vermont l 05862 l USA l 802-592-3065 l info@teachercollaboration.org

AISA Kenya

The AISA Conference in October was the venue for a return to Africa, this time a 1^st visit to Kenya.

ASIA, specifically Peter Bateman and his staff did an awesome job of organizing and making this conference a great success.

I had the opportunity of working for 3 days with 3 different groups of teachers and school leaders. Each group was different but in each we were able to glimpse some of the promise and potential for Professional learning Communities in their schools. At the end of each day I felt really connected with many of these participants and it is my hope to work with some of them in the future.

Besides work I had the opportunity to visit in person the orphan elephant I have fostered Sities at the Sheldrick wildlife trust, this was such a pleasure, go on an amazing safari to Tichwa Tembo in the Masai Mara and finally relax at the beautiful Dani beach on the Indian Ocean

Istanbul—FMV Ayazaga Isik Lisesi

I had the good fortune to return to for a second visit to FMV Ayazaga Isik Lisesi, a Turkish school, which provides instruction on many subjects in English, for twenty plus hours each week. 

Working with this group is challenging and exciting for me as many participants are not native English speakers and for some their English skills do not extend to the kind of language used in the kind of classes I teach or the level of reading that is required. This forces me to be creative! I need to think carefully about the language I use and to be really clear and succinct with my words. It is exciting to see my words instantly translated and to hear conversations taking place in another language based in directions I have given.

This school has embraced the concept of Professional Learning Communities with enthusiasm and fun. They have developed a school blog were groups record their meetings and share outcomes and after just 2 visits the work is both going strong and headed in the right direction. Currently they have 6 cross-curricular CFGs and 5 CFGs for: specific language teachers happening on a regular basis.

A big thank you to Betti Delevi and Heather Erguvanli for championing this work.

copyright 2000-2011, All rights reserved by Teacher Collaboration International Consulting.
PO Box 213 l Peacham, Vermont l 05862 l USA l 802-592-3065 l info@teachercollaboration.org

Frankfurt International School

A short trip to Frankfurt International School in March made possible by the very special Betty Mason was a great way to reunite with 6 participants from the ECIS conference in Hamburg. We spent 2 further days together taking their fall work to the next level and enjoyed great food and wine in the process! 

We also planned our 3^rd meeting as an International CFG group for October in Switzerland.

New Delhi for Republic Day, and Professional Learning

I arrived in India on the evening of Republic Day, it was foggy and mysterious as I drove to my hotel. I had missed the big celebrations of the day but I did have the good fortune to see emerge from the mist a Rajastani Camel Brigade. It was so exciting to see about fifty camels and their riders emerge from the fog at such a fast pace, it gave me goose bumps.

While in Delhi I had the opportunity to work with a small but powerful group of 8 teachers and school leaders for 2 days. The mix of roles and schools represented added richness to our conversations and built on a variety of ideas.

Since this event I have continued to email and keep in touch with 4 participants from the Karachi Grammar School in Pakistan.  

One participant took a full 5-day seminar in summer 2010 as a result of attending. I also had the good fortune to meet another participant in Nairobi in fall 2010 as they had moved to a school in West Africa.

Thanks to everyone at NESA particularly David, Anne Marie and Jill for making this trip possible.