Staff at Embassy

Walkers running

Peter Madams, Social Activities Organiser at Embassy Oxford, writes:

Two Oxford teachers, Ian and Jo Walker, ran a half marathon on 12 October in the Royal Parks in London to raise funds for 'Building Futures'  [Study Group's charity, which provides schools in developing countries].

Their efforts, along with those from other schools, raised a total of £9,000, which will be matched by Study Group to amount to £18,000. These monies will be an excellent launch pad for our forthcoming Building Futures project, which is to rebuild a school in the zone of China recently devastated by the earthquake.

Having stood on the sidelines, we can certainly testify to the efforts put in by all runners on what was a very hot day!

Very well done to Ian and Jo and all the others who ran on that day.

Teacher's Day

Terrance R. Mayes, Center Director at Embassy CES San Diego writes:

Teacher's Day is May 15th in South Korea. On this day most of schools in the country have a Teacher's Day ceremony. Some of our Korean students sang their traditional "Teacher's Grace" to our teachers and wrote letters and cards to our teachers. Students also gave the traditional carnation flower to teachers. Last night, some Korean students invited two of our teachers, Tim and Marcia and made them a Korean dinner using ingredients that they said are only for "Kings and Queens" in Korea.

Attached is a note that a student wrote our teacher Marcia that translates the words to the traditional "Teacher's Day" song.

Teachers' conference in the UK

Every year, teachers from Embassy CES UK and our sister school, Bellerbys college, come together for a conference to discuss new innovations and best practice in teaching.

This year it was Cambridge's turn to host. A very productive couple of days were held at New Hall College, one of Cambridge's modern university campuses. The theme of the conference was e-learning and technology in the classroom: seminars, discussions and lectures covered topics such as blogging, podcasts, interactive whiteboards, online training, and much more.

Here is a photograph of the attendees - click to see it bigger.

Embassy CES is on Facebook

We know many of our students - and staff! - already love Facebook and now we're pleased to announce that you can find Embassy CES on there too.

Visit our pages for the USA, for Australia and New Zealand, and for the UK now. You'll be able to:

• see photos - and leave comments
• add photos of your own
• meet other Embassy CES students, future, past and present
• sign up as a 'fan' of Embassy CES and make sure you are the first to hear about news and special offers.

Not a member of Facebook? It's free to join!

Embassy CES in the USA honours its best staff

Each year, the USA Embassy CES schools honour one of the schools' Directors of Studies, and a member of their teaching staff, with an award.

David Tipmore, Director of Embassy CES Fort Lauderdale, writes:

It's my pleasure to announce the 2007 selections for Teacher of the Year and DOS of the Year. The races for both awards were highly competitive and the results came down to the wire.

DOS of the Year 2007

It's a tie!  Leslie Lott, Director of Studies in Fort Lauderdale, and Greg Bartels, Director of Studies in New York, were the dead-heat winners.  Leslie and Greg received special mention from their peers for their improvements to the academic delivery in the US and their support of colleagues.  Congratulations, Leslie and Greg.  You are the winners of a trip to the TESOL 2008 convention.

 

Click to see the pictures bigger. Left, Leslie Lott with a student. Right, Greg Bartels.

Embassy CES in the USA Teacher of the Year 2007

Having achieved favorable comments for his past work in the Embassy CES New York school and his present performance in Embassy CES San Francisco, Chris Barrett is the clear winner in this category.  Besides the range of his teaching  expertise in Taipei and in the US, his work developing TOEFL test materials with ETS and Princeton Review, and his magazine and travel writing, Chris has shown himself to be a team player both in and out of the classroom, helping with activities, assisting with curriculum development, and providing excellent support for John LoGrasso, his Director of Studies.  Congratulations, Chris! You are the winner of a trip to the TESOL 2008 convention.  Honorable mention in this category:  James Kyrouz of Embassy CES Boston.

My personal thanks to Leslie, Greg, and Chris, for their contributions to the academic excellence of Embassy CES USA.