Sarah Wood – Year 1 Teacher

Sarah Wood, a Year 1 teacher, comes from Warwickshire in the UK, she has been living in the Middle East for many years with her husband, who is also now a teacher here at Bangkok Patana.

“I knew how wonderful the school was from photos but to be here, I have to say, it’s an amazing school, the whole campus is incredible. Having coped with less well-equipped classrooms in the past, and to come into this class with all the resources available for the Year group, is really wonderful. Everything is here – and available to children for their learning, it is great to see how many resources there are here for the children. Also, everyone is so friendly and welcoming. I feel very supported by the other teachers and the staff. They support lifelong learning – and the school is a great proponent of continuous professional learning.

“It was very important to us to work at a non-profit school. You really feel you are at a school, not a business. My job is to make sure the children achieve their potential and not worry about making money for the school. I think it’s great that the money comes back to the school. I just wanted to get back into an outstanding school.”

“I have taught every Year group except Nursery – but I am looking forward to doing that sometime! I think all the different schools and all the different Year groups have brought me where I am as a teacher and given me great experience, but my heart is really with the younger children. My main aim for being a teacher is that when they grow into adulthood, I want to be the teacher who was most memorable as a positive influence on their lives.”

“I feel like the children in Year 1 might have missed out on some of the usual learning they might have had were they on campus last year, because around the world children have spent a lot of time learning online. In the Middle East we found many children weren’t getting out and about so their core motor skills needed to be worked on. So, we used plasticene dough to help increase their hand strength – it’s called Dough Disco. Students use dough and do moves with it, squeezing and using it in time to the music. I have found this really helps them increase their gross hand motor skills. Although it isn’t a normal thing to do in Year 1, I feel that because they have been inside a lot it helps them a lot with their gross and fine motor skills. I also like to use Read Write Ink – this is associating actual movements with the sound of the letters. I hope to put that in a bit.”

“I enjoy living somewhere that is not my home country, learning about the place as a resident and really getting to know it. I love doing crafts such as jewellry making, working with polymer clay; I get a lot of enjoyment making things. I look forward to visiting all the fabric stores and craft shops here. I also enjoy History and historical things so Thailand will be a lot of fun to travel. I really enjoy visiting local markets and am looking forward to them opening up again.

“I have always been surrounded by dogs, cats and other pets. This is the first year that we don’t have pets with us. My pets are being fostered by friends and my daughter. I can’t wait to be reunited with my pets! I fostered a parrot that belonged to my daughter, she left her parrot with us when she went to uni. Mimi lived with us for quite a few years with my daughter, so I got to know her quite well. She speaks quite a few sentences such as, “I am a good girl, I am a good parrot”. But she liked to join in my online lessons and sing along. Unfortunately, she is out of tune and very loud! Once she flew into my live lessons online, the children loved it! I dressed up as a pirate and had Mimi on my shoulder so she was happy to be included in the lesson. Mimi is back in the UK with my daughter now. I am quite proud to say that my daughter has released an EP, a mini-album on Spotify. Let me know if you would like to listen!