One of the very first questions my principal asked me was, “What does ES need after being an AP for a year?” So many things started running through my head and I didn’t know where to begin or what to say. I listed four or five things and then she asked, “Which one is the most important one you think that needs immediate action?” I immediately responded with, “a behavior plan.”
Tag: IBschools
A Decision
This year I followed through with a decision I had in mind last year. Admin decided, that we would take soccer away as a consequence since it was causing so many problems. Once I got the green light, I went ahead and sent out the email to all the duty teachers letting them know that there will be NO soccer for 1 week for grades 3 and 4.
Change
As many of you know and read in my June blog posts, my old principal left and a new one came. When it comes to international schools and education there is always a turn over with either staff or admin/leadership. With that being said there are always changes when someone new enters admin.
My question is, why is it a fight or really hard for some to accept a simple change? Why are people hesitant to give chances and trust the process? I feel that the ones who always have barriers are the ones who do not want to improve professionally or be risk takers and try something that they are NOT used to.
Creating Schedules for 2018-2019
I was told when I got the AP position that I had to increase Arabic as per the ministry’s request. I have been thinking about this since beginning of last June and the ways to make it happen. The time has come and it was time to work on schedules for 2018-2019. It feels like yesterday I was working on this year’s schedules. My God, time is flying!
My Recruiting Experience!
Over the weekend my superintendent, owner of the school and I flew to Dubai for the GRC recruiting fair. It’s a one day fair and I must say that I was nervous about this trip. Those two nights I barely slept. Especially the night before for the fair. I was told I was going since September. And since then I always wondered what it would be like. We got in on Friday. Friday night my superintendent and I met and we reached out to our candidates by email. We set up interviews timings to those that sent us their CV’s through the GRC website and went through our interview questions.
Saturday came and we sat up our table, had breakfast and was ready for the candidates. The doors opened at 8am. From 8 am till 10am the candidates came and confirmed their interview timings. Some people checked out our openings and dropped off their CV. Working 14 hours straight with 1 hour break was exhausting. Smiling, talking, interviewing, answering their questions and making small talk was insane but loved it. I did my first interview with my superintendent and then went solo with the owner by my side giving me tips and answering their questions. The whole experience was surreal. Between interviews we would get other directors/principals asking us for reference checks for our current staff that were there attending the fair as well. When we were done interviewing, it was our turn to email and ask for reference checks for those we interviewed and were interested in offering a contract. The minute we were finished interviewing, we debriefed over dinner, got their referenced checked, then sent emails offering some candidates a contract. It went by so quickly yet so slowly and I learned a lot from both my superintendent and the owner. So many countries and schools attended this fair. It was interesting to see lines were queues for China, Vietnam and South Korea. I went around to see which schools were there. The ballroom was filled with tables and schools from around the world. It was fun, tiring, exhausting and overwhelming all at once. Can’t wait till next year’s fair! 🙂
Kudos
I have to say, blogging isn’t my modus operandi, nor is writing a hobby or passion that comes naturally to me. Writing about the most vulnerable and intimate experiences of my life, and sharing them with the world, is definitely not something I would call a joy ride, because it’s not the way I’m assembled. I’m a doer. I get an idea of what I want to create, and I go ahead and get it done without a lot of fan fair. But this is where I’m blessed; I have loved ones who cheer me on without me even having to ask. My husband and one of my closest friends both yanked me out of my head and pushed me to write about what it means to be one of the first Kuwaiti women to pave this road in education. What it took. How it feels. Without them, this whole website wouldn’t exist. Also, the Director of PTC Bambi Betts, was the third person to mention to me that she believes others would benefit from reading about the journey of a woman who pursued an uncommon path and dream in the Middle East. So here I am, listening to the support system whom without, I would not be the same person. I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the love. I appreciate you endlessly.
Get to know me!
Myself in a nutshell. Born and raised in Kuwait. I received my high school and bachelor degrees from academic institutions in Kuwait. Married with two children. My passion while growing up was always to be a teacher. As my aspirations grew, I set my goal towards becoming assistant principal and, ultimately, principal, which I have partially accomplished thus far. Growing up in Kuwait as a minority was not easy. I am ensuring that any negativity I endured as a child is not repeated in school with other students. I take the responsibility of shaping future generations very seriously in mind, body and spirit.
Name : Dana Shuhaibar
Birthday: October 5th
Nationality: Kuwaiti, Middle East
Experience in teaching: 10 years
Experience in Assistant Principal: 3 years and going
Schools I taught in: Bayan Bilingual School for seven years (BBS.) I taught Grade 3 for five years and Grade 4 for two years. I moved with my daughter when she entered KG1 to American International School of Kuwait (AISK). I taught there for three years in Grade 3 and was the Team Leader for two years before becoming Assistant Principal.
Education:
- M.S., Interdisciplinary Studies and Educational Leadership Certification, Buffalo State SUNY – June 2011
- B.A, English Education with a teaching certificate, Gulf University of Science & Technology – December 2006
- HS Diploma, American International School of Kuwait- June 2001
Credentials
- Principal Training Center-enrolled 2016 (2 courses completed)
- Principal Training Center-enrolled 2017 (Graduated)
- TESOL Kuwait Conference –November 2013
- PYP “Introduction to the PYP Curriculum Model” Certificate – October 2013
- ICDL Certification – January 2009