Long Talk: Dr. Rossini and Ms.Weale

It’s coming to the end of another school year, and as always we have to say goodbye to some of our teachers here at ISB. As part of on ongoing series, PantherNation sits down with departing staff to get their thoughts on their time on ISB, and where they are going next. Dr. Rossini is the Director of Curriculum, and Ms. Weale is the Curriculum and Learning Specialist here at ISB. They have taken on important work of helping improve and support our learning and well-being alongside Khun Didi and Khun Joon. Dr. Rossini has been working here since 2012, and Ms. Weale has been working here since 2013.

Why are you leaving ISB, and where are you going next year?

Ms. Weale-

I’m returning back to New Zealand to live and I’m starting up a new career in the wine industry, where i’ll be hosting people at vineyards and doing wine tastings.

Dr. Rossini-

I am returning back to the United States and will be working at The Nueva School, and i’m leaving because my daughter graduates this year and our son is in the US so both of our kids are in the US at University and we wanted to be closer.

The HS students probably don’t know very much about the Curriculum Office and what you do… in what ways does your work affect HS students?

Ms. Weale-

The curriculum office is a place where teachers come, test ideas, consider different ways of approaching things in the classroom, and also looking at are we meeting the needs of all of our students.

Dr. Rossini-

Sometimes we support initiatives that are coming out of the high school that need our help, and sometimes we are initiating ideas and are asking them to participate. We do research together we analyze data to see how well students are doing through surveys and through assessments.

Ms. Weale-

Our office also takes care of all of the professional learning that happens at ISB, so things like conferences, workshops, visiting consultants. Our office supports with schedules, logistics, all of those sorts of things, and makes sure that the learning goals are aligned with what our kids need, and what our teachers need.

Dr. Rossini-

Alongside all of the academics and all of the learning, we also look at care and wellbeing, and we drive and work collaboratively with teachers across all of the divisions around both of those key areas.

What would you say has been the best change/accomplishment you’ve seen in your time at ISB?

Dr. Rossini-

For me, the new vision, the addition of the ISB attributes and ISB values, that’s work i’m really proud of. It’s taken us since 2012-13 to do the research and development around that and to finally bring it into the fold of school at ISB. It defines who we are, it defines who we want to be, and it defines how we will be acting when we are together, and it’s in line with research about whatever future students have ahead of the. This new vision, the attributes, and the values support development in that era.

Ms. Weale-

I would have to agree. Both Dr. Rossini and I were both heavily involved in that work and that would have been one of my most favorite projects while working here and i’m hoping that it inspires change and is really future-focused.

Dr. Rossini-

And I would add one more thing, this year was the first year we had a shared professional learning day with all of the faculty and staff, so all of the adults that work on campus, from a gardener, to someone working in the finance office, to a teacher or administrator across all of the divisions, we had a shared day of learning together, and i’m really proud of that work as well. It was about 560 people. So, the days that you have off and we’re working, a lot of important learning happens for all of the adults on campus.

Personally, what has been your fondest memory of your time here?

Ms. Weale-

I suppose one of my most favorite memories from ISB would be that day, it made me incredibly proud. Dr. Rossini and I work very closely with Khun Joon and Khun Didi in our office. We are an incredibly tight team and putting that together was so much fun. We had wellness in the morning as a community building event, and then moving on to a professional learning workshop, so that’s probably one of my fondest memories. Then the year we launched our vision, all of our faculty was involved in a day of service so the whole idea of enriching communities, let’s get our teachers enriching communities, and we had things from Klong cleanups to habitat builds, to visits to orphanages, to DIY projects, and that’s probably one of my favorite memories.

Dr. Rossini-

I think when we come together as a Pre-K-12 community, like when we came together for peace day, and we all are in Rajendra, those are some of my favorite memories, when we come around a shared idea and a shared calling and we’re together. We support those.

Is there anything else you would like to share with the HS students of ISB?

Dr. Rossini-

We hope that our contributions behind the scenes have encouraged meaningful and engaging learning in an environment that feels caring and that all of the well-being is considered so that those are two areas of ISB that we value and that you feel, and as high school students, I hope that comes through.

Ms. Weale-

I’ve been a teacher for all of my career and now I’m looking for a complete change and I think for high school kids to look forward to their futures with hope and optimism and feel free to try lots of different identities and lots of different careers. So, follow your passion, follow the things that you really like doing. There’s a famous quote that says that it doesn’t feel like work if you’re doing what you love.

Dr. Rossini-

One other thing, your teachers work so incredibly hard to do the best that they can in terms of the academic side of things, and they study and they work carefully to create really wonderful learning experiences. They are masters in their craft, but they work hard to make sure that they are there to care, and that they are there to support at any time anybody needs it, and i’m grateful and thankful to work with such wonderful colleagues and I hope that that comes through at the student level, I hope that you feel that about your teachers. Live your authentic self as best you can. You have grown up in a digital world where identity is often defined for you through likes, shares, streaks, and trends. Add family expectations on top of that and you can easily get lost. Decide for yourself who you are/want to be and live it as best you can.