6th Form – Tutor introductions

Welcome to the Year 12/13 tutor group of Mrs Murphy!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as your child’s form tutor and to welcome you back after what I am sure has been a very different summer to what you are used to! I have been at teaching at DBIS for 4 years as the Head of the Humanities department specialising in Geography. I am originally from Birmingham in the UK where I had the pleasure of working with Miss Cerrone for 6 years; luckily, I was able to persuade her to follow me to Hong Kong!

I completed a dual Honours Degree in History and Geography at Keele University with a semester abroad at Brock University in Canada. Since then travelling has been a passion of mine which has taken to me to more than 40 countries and ultimately led me here.

During my time at DBIS I have worked with a variety of fantastic students, some of which I am lucky enough to have join my tutor group! My aim for this year is to help students develop their independent learning skills which they will need for their future careers.

I will endeavour to support your child during their remaining time at DBIS and help guide them to achieve their goals.

As your child’s tutor I will be your first point of contact should you need to get in touch with the school.

I appreciate that this is a challenging time and we want to reassure students and parents/carers that we will do our best to provide as much support as possible.

I look forward to working alongside you to make your child’s Post 16 experience a smooth, happy, and memorable one.

Yours Sincerely,

Rachel Murphy

(Head of Humanities)

 

Welcome to the Year 12/13 tutor group of Mr Koenig!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as your child’s form tutor and to welcome you back after what I am sure has been a very different summer to what you are used to! I have been teaching at DBIS for 1 year as a Spanish teacher. I am originally from North London in the UK, and my family now live out in the sticks in Shropshire, close to the mighty Welsh.

I completed a dual Honours Degree in French and Spanish at Lancaster University with two years abroad in Mexico, France and Switzerland. I lived in Mexico and Guatemala as a charity worker for a number of years after graduating and also have taught back in London and in Dubai. During my time at DBIS I have worked with a variety of fantastic students, some of which I am lucky enough to have join my tutor group! My aim for this year is to help students develop their independent learning skills which they will need for their future careers.  I will endeavour to support your child during their remaining time at DBIS and help guide them to achieve their goals.

As your child’s tutor I will be your first point of contact should you need to get in touch with the school. I look forward to working alongside you to make your child’s Post 16 experience a smooth, happy, and memorable one.

Yours Sincerely,
Richard Koenig
(Teacher of MFL and University Counsellor)

 

Welcome to the Year 12/13 tutor group of Ms Best & Mrs King!

Dear Parents/Carers,

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as the tutors for Year 12/13 SBS/DKI. We are looking forward to getting to know the group and helping your child over the course of the year. This year there will be two tutors for the group, and this is to help accommodate Ms Best’s change in working hours. 

Some information about Ms Best:

To give you some brief information about myself, I worked in the UK for five years before moving abroad to teach eight years ago. My first overseas position took me to Spain where I taught A-Level Psychology and Sociology, as well as holding the Head of Sixth Form role. I then moved to Vietnam to lead a Social Sciences and Humanities department. In 2017, I moved to Discovery Bay International School where I am currently the lead teacher for A-Level Psychology, and I am also pursuing a postgraduate degree in psychology. 

Some information about Mrs King:

In a previous life I was an Officer in the Royal Air Force, serving in Germany and Wales, before leaving and moving abroad to Saudi Arabia to work and to have our family. I have since had the privilege of teaching English and History in a variety of settings and age range, in both France and the UK for nearly twenty years. Since arriving at Discovery Bay International School, five years ago, I have worked in Inclusion, specialising in supporting students with dyslexia; I am currently studying for a postgraduate qualification with the British Dyslexia Association, in order to diagnose dyslexia and support students with exam access arrangements. 

We appreciate that this is a challenging time and we want to reassure students and parents/carers that we will do our best to provide as much support as possible.

We look forward to meeting you very soon.

Kind regards,

Miss Sarah Best & Mrs Dawn King

 

There are some important pieces of information that we would like to share with you and we kindly ask that you and your child read through these:

Student Diary

School can provide students with a diary and it is recommended that they bring this to all lessons and tutor sessions (including one-to-one meetings) when in school. Students should record their homework and other important messages in this. While lessons are delivered online, teachers may also use Google Classroom to post assignments, however we would also advise that students write down their homework for each subject separately to ensure that they have a clear record of it. 

Homework/Study Time

Students in Year 12 and 13 will receive nine hours of teaching per subject over the two week timetable. In addition to this, they are expected to complete a further nine hours using their study time (when not in lessons) and also for homework. Homework may vary depending on the subject if coursework is included in the course and on the needs of the course at the time (for example, end of unit tests and mock exams). 

Equipment

It is important that our students are ready to learn and make the most of every lesson. With this in mind, when in-school lessons resume we would ask each student to have the following essential equipment for each lesson:

  • Pencil case
  • Black/blue writing pens
  • Pencil 
  • Rubber
  • Pencil sharpener
  • Ruler
  • Calculator
  • Colouring pencils
  • Highlighters
  • Glue stick

Students will be given more information from their subject teachers within the first two weeks of term in regards to any subject-specific equipment needed. 

Tutor Time and 121 Meetings

All students are expected to attend tutor time that will take place each day at 8:25-8:45am. Students will also receive additional support from us through 121 meetings and these will begin on August 24th. A timetable will be distributed to students in due course. 

Other Information (Online Learning)

It is expected that students attend all of the online lessons and have their cameras on at the beginning and sometimes for the duration of these. Therefore, we ask that students are dressed appropriately, they have their devices turned off (unless needed in a lesson) and they have their equipment ready to avoid unnecessary time being wasted. However, there may well be occasions where students are asked to complete a task independently and teachers will instruct students about any changes to the cameras/microphones. 

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