SkyGems Academy

SkyGems Academy Podcast 16th speaker is Sherri Adler.

Sherri Adler, began teaching Singapore Math® in 2001, and has enjoyed teaching in the public, private and charter school systems. Sherri holds a Master's Degree in Elementary Education and since 2007, she has trained numerous schools in the United States, Europe, Asia, Central America, and South America in their adoptions of Singapore Math® curriculum. Her personal goal is to work on all continents, well almost all!  She has worked with thousands of teachers to help them find the same love for mathematics that she possesses since she began providing professional development.

Sherri has co-authored several books on the Singapore approach. Her publications include two Singapore Math® intervention programs and the official training manual for the State of California for Primary Mathematics Standards Edition. Sherri was one of the writers that developed the Pre-K and Kindergarten lessons for EngageNY (Eureka/Great Minds) a Common Core aligned curriculum.

“Distance learning - is not fair and equitable for all students. I think it creates a gap between those who have and those who don’t have. I think not everybody has equal access to technology. Not every student has that home life that is supportive. Not every student learn the same way," said Sherri Adler.

Now, we are pleased to introduce to you and present to you … Sherri Adler.

SkyGems Academy Podcast speaker number 16 is Sherri Adler.

Sherri is the founder of SingaporeMathSupport.com and has been teaching Singapore Math since 2001.

Sherri travels a lot for work and the fact that she said that she is from Arizona, that’s a big change for her because she absolutely loves to travel and she loves to work with teachers in person.

"Living in a very large city with almost 5 million people, my new normal would be 'tomorrow'. Keep an open mind and realise that the new normal, may not be normal, 'tomorrow',"  said Sherri Adler.

Now, we are pleased to present to you … Sherri Adler.

SkyGems Academy Podcast 15th speaker is Duriya Aziz.

In her current role as Senior Vice President and Publisher, International Education at Scholastic Inc, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, she is responsible for overall international education business strategy and goals as well as international product development (digital and print K-12) and education roadmap. She has oversight of product strategy, product management, product marketing, content, instructional design, UX and design, project management as well as implementation teams.

Duriya is proudest of having played a role in bringing the Singapore brand of education to more than 50 countries around the world, including the US. In Singapore, she has worked on Ministry-led and developed projects for practically all subjects in the curriculum since the 1990’s.

"I think the education industry will see significant changes. It’s like a rubber band. It stretches, and then you release it and compresses it again but it never get back to the original size, right? So to say that things will go back to how they were before would mean that none of us had learnt anything from this episode. So all the stakeholders in education, have been impacted significantly," said Duriya.

Now, we are pleased to introduce to you and present to you … Duriya Aziz.

SkyGems Academy Podcast speaker number 15 is Duriya Aziz.

Duriya is a passionate educator, K to 12 publisher and business leader with a solid track record of working in the Education and EdTech industries.

Duriya is now the Senior Vice President and Publisher, International Education at Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books.

“Always remember that people count, character counts, kindness counts. Particularly in times when we are challenged, this is where our true self exhibits. The decisions we make defines us," said Duriya.

Now, we are pleased to present to you … Duriya Aziz.

SkyGems Academy Podcast 14th speaker is Halina Weschiwski.

Halina is a very experienced educator having worked in schools for over 40 years. She started in Australia, but is currently working in Shanghai at Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School as Principal of PYP Department and PYP Coordinator.

She has held many roles including Key teacher, Coordinator, Deputy Principal and Principal and has worked in many schools, being in Shanghai, China for 13 years. She has guided the school towards IB Authorisation and subsequent Evaluation visits successfully.

Halina is passionate about student learning and engagement.  As PYP coordinator she had facilitated staff learning regularly and supported staff in transition towards inquiry and concept-based learning.

“For my teachers – teachers are professionals, they are trained, please respect them, and please support them," said Halina.

Now, we are pleased to introduce to you and present to you … Halina Werchiwski.

SkyGems Academy Podcast number 14 speaker is Halina Werschiwski. Halina is the Principal of PYP Department and PYP Coordinator at Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School.

Halina is based in Shanghai. However due to COVID-19 and restrictions on travel, Halina is currently stranded in Adelaide, South Australia.

"I think Covid-19 has taught us that we have to adapt. We have to adapt and change, and change sometimes is inevitable."  said Halina.

Now we are pleased to present to you … Halina.

SkyGems Academy Podcast 13th speaker is Kim Green now based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Kim is currently the Head of School at International School Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Prior to this role, Kim was the Director at Qatar Academy Sidra in Doha, Qatar.

Kim is passionate about building authentic frameworks for professional learning, leadership development, and removing linear roles and responsibilities in education.  She believes that leadership networks that synergistically deploy agile methodologies and courageously take risks to positively impact wellbeing and learning outcomes ultimately unlock human potential, collective intelligence, collective efficacy enabling innovation to embed into the fabric of the school community.

“I think a lot of people who have tried out online classes; for some of them they had gone to find that - that’s the way of doing things going forward and they want to carry on to a greater extend," said Kim.

Now we are pleased to introduce to you and present to you … Kim Green.

SkyGems Academy Podcast number 13 speaker is Kim Green. Kim is the Head of School of International School Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Kim was in Doha, Qatar when the pandemic started to spread rapidly across the globe in early 2020. After the school term ended, Kim was at home in New Zealand and now she is based in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam.

“I believe that everything that can be made digital, will be made digital. I don’t think that’s going to go away; now that we have a whole new way of working. I think that it’s going to be an increased need for digital skills and digital leadership. And I think as leaders of schools we are going to need to deploy digital leadership in different ways to reach our community," said Kim.

Now I am pleased to present to you … Kim Green.

SkyGems Academy Podcast 12th speaker is Giles Wardle from Wuhan, China.

Giles Wardle is currently the Academic Principal at Wuhan Britain-China School.

Giles has more than 30 years of experience in the education industry, leading and teaching in Thailand, Japan and has been in China for almost 20 years and in Wuhan since 2006.

Giles is a teacher of Economics, Business and EAP with considerable experience in educational management.

We quote and unquote Giles Wardle:

“I think a lot of people who have tried out online classes; for some of them they had gone to find that - that’s a way of doing things going forward that they want to carry on to a much greater extend."

Now, we are pleased to introduce to you and present to you … Giles Wardle.

SkyGems Academy Podcast Number 12 speaker is Giles Wardle from Wuhan, China.

Giles has been living in China for the last 14 years and was in Wuhan when the pandemic started in January 2020. Giles was one of the first to witness the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan and will be sharing more with us in his Podcast Episode.

" I think it’s very important whenever we meet this kind of situation, we all try to work together, try to pull our skills and abilities to come to sensible solutions" said Giles.

Now I am pleased to present to you … Giles Wardle.