GESScast

In this episode, we're joined by Rasha Al Najjar, Middle and High School Assistant Principal at Al Hekmah International School in Bahrain. Starting off as a Science teacher and coordinator and moving up quickly to become a member of the SLT at her school, Rasha recalls the challenges that she and her colleagues faced in the last academic year and shares the measures that they've taken this year to ensure a smooth restart to in-person learning with wellbeing of staff and students in the forefront of their priorities. We hear her views on the future of online learning and whether it's here to stay even in the absence of a crisis, her love for the environment and passion to ensure SDGs are worked towards to ensure a better future for our young learners. 

The latest episode of GESScast welcomes Niall Statham, Senior Leadership Team member and Head of PE at Hartland International School Dubai. Find out what led Niall to an overnight stay in hospital recently as well as his journey into teaching and why Dubai is such a special place to work in education. Ahead of the return to classroom teaching in Dubai, we found out how Niall and his colleagues are preparing and what this will look like for educators and students. Niall also reflects on how EdTech has been utilised successfully and not so successfully at Hartland in the context of the last 18 months and how those experiences have shaped EdTech utilization in the future. 

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Dr. Rana Tamim, Advisor to The Provost and Former Dean of the College of Education at Zayed University. With a wealth of experience including graduate and undergraduate university instruction and supervision; adult in-service training, and K-12 teaching and coordination in different countries including Canada, Lebanon, UAE, and KSA, Dr. Rana talks about the challenges that both researchers and academics are facing at the moment, ways that higher education institutions can support in overcoming these challenges and most importantly, the need to bridge the gap between both parties to navigate through difficult times and beyond. We get fantastic insight on a project she's currently working on; a systematic review of research published in the last two years about Covid and its impact on the educational sector so that we can understand the lessons learnt and avoid repeating them going forward. 

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Rachael Pryce, Educator and Founder of EducationYalla. With over 20 years of experience working in education taking on various roles as a teacher, head of department, pastoral care leader and STEM coordinator to name a few, Rachael talks about her career highs and lows, passion for developing STEM education, the biggest challenges facing educators at the moment and what made her start her own company to help students develop skills required for a ‘future-proof’ workforce and career. We hear inspiring stories about overcoming health obstacles, maintaining connections with former students who now hold successful positions, scuba diving and sailing around different parts of the world!

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Charlotte Dawson, Eco Schools Leader at GEMS Metropole School. With 10 years of experience teaching in the UAE and a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from Tampere University of Applied Sciences in Finland, Charlotte talks about her career highs and lows, passion for developing environmental education and the biggest challenges facing educators at the moment. We chat about the importance of connecting students to nature and her hopes for education going forward. 

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Eman Hamshari, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lead at Taaleem. With over 13 years of experience, Eman has covered the full education spectrum from teaching, curriculum advising and building, to adopting innovation in schools dealing with challenging cases using design thinking approaches. We chat about how the last year has been for her and what she feels are the biggest challenges facing teachers and school leaders at the moment. Eman tells us about some of the latest sustainable initiatives that she's been working on including a sustainable fashion show which she led at her school. We also find out about her passion for Art, views for the next academic year and what she hopes for the future of education.

In this episode of GESScast we're joined by Brett Girven, Principal at The Arbor School in Dubai. Having moved to the UAE from his native New Zealand, Brett has more than ten years of experience leading schools in the Middle East. We chat about how the last year has been for him and what he feels are the biggest challenges facing leaders at the moment. Brett tells us about his career and what has been his career highlight so far. We also find out his thoughts on what the future academic year might hold and his hopes for the future. 

In this episode of GESScast Sarah speaks to Bathsheba Smithen an international motivational speaker, radio personality, performing artist, author, educational consultant, English teacher, and the CEO and Founder of Cage Free Voices, LLC, an international multi-service educational entertainment company, that educates youth and young adults who struggle with self-image and identity by constructing powerful learning experiences. We hear about her many roles and projects, her Edtech experiences and her work training teachers and empowering young women to, “See themselves, even if the world is blind.” 

In this episode of GESScast, Danny speaks to Linda Parsons, Digital Lead at Deira International School. We hear very interesting and inspiring stories about her career journey and work as both a Biology teacher and Digital Lead across different schools in the region. Hear touching stories about challenges that she faced and how she overcame them through the help of peers and the education community. Linda also talks about some of the new projects that she's leading which centre around development and growth of whole school wellbeing, student agency and whole school digital literacy and citizenship. 

In this episode of GESScast Sarah speaks to Massrat Shaikh, Educational Psychologist and Advocate for Social Emotional Learning. We hear about her work with SEN students and identifying what educational needs they have, as well as her work as a career guidance counsellor and mindfulness educator. As you can imagine in the last year she has been incredibly busy! Along with her day to day job she's found the time to raise awareness on mental health, support community mental health with free mindfulness courses and give education programmes through webinars - an inspiration to us all.