Students interview new principal

by Mark Beales

Garden International School Rayong has a new principal, Dr Stuart Tasker.

To help get to know him better, several students from the school, which is based in Ban Chang, Rayong, wrote some questions and then had the chance to interview him. This is what they learned.

Dr Tasker is from New Zealand where he was headmaster of Pinehurst College for six years. He spent two years at Dulwich College, Shanghai, as head of senior school, and three years as head of secondary at The Regent's School, Pattaya.

Stefanie (year 7) asked, "Are you going to change the school?"

"Yes," said Dr. Tasker, "I hope so! But initially I need to get a deeper understanding of how things work and what the bigger issues are. Any changes I can help make must be beneficial to the students of GIS."

John (year 7), wanted to know, "How many schools have you worked in?"

"This is my 8th school."

Mary (also year 7), posed the question, "Why did you want to come to Thailand?"

Dr. Tasker explained, "To be principal of GIS is a great opportunity for me and it was an easy decision. Thailand is a wonderful place."

Another seventh year student, Pop, asked, "What festivals do you like in Thailand?"

"I like the concept of Songkran – showing appreciation and respect for our older relatives," said the new principal. "The water on the hands is a wonderful way of showing this. But of course there is also the full-on water fight which everybody enjoys throughout the country!"

The final question from a year 7 student was posed by Kam: "What are your first impressions of GIS?"

"Very good. Everyone has been kind and welcoming. The teachers are all committed professionals and very much student-focused. The parents I have met have been nice and the students I have met so far are fantastic!"

An equal number of year 6 students submitted questions for Dr. Tasker, beginning with Dhriti's poser, "What did you do before coming to this school?"

"I was the head of a secondary school, but in China."

Miriam was curious about the Kiwi's personal life, "Do you have any children?"

"I have two children, a son and a daughter. My son is 20 and my daughter is 18. Do you have any pets?"

Miriam answered, "Yes, I have two pets – a poodle called Lily and a miniature pincher called Khushi."

Liyana followed that up by asking, "Do you have any pets?"

"I bought a hamster for my children, but they wanted a dog, so we called the hamster 'Dog'. Then we bought another hamster called 'Snoop' – so we had 'Snoop Dog'."

Changing the subject, Kavisha asked, "When did you start studying martial arts?"

"I started when my daughter began to learn sports," said the GIS principal. "She found karate interesting so I joined her."

Jessica was inspired to ask, "Can you break wood with your hands?"

"I can, but we normally don't do this in karate," answered Dr Tasker, who then showed Jessica how to punch near a candle so the flame would go out.

For more information on GIS, visit www.gardenrayong.com.