Within a month into school, there was a teacher who competed in the Berlin Marathon. Maybe you have seen her on Youtube (which you can check it out here!) Whether you are currently taking her Biology course or have just checked out the Youtube channel, our SAS community has welcomed a new science teacher, Ms. Castle.
Ms. Castle launched her educational career at Wembley High Technology College. After three years teaching in London, she moved to the Big Apple and taught in United Nations International School for 11 years. She decided to move to Shanghai after she noticed SAS’s “absolutely world-class science facility,” she says, and concluded that it was a “great opportunity for [her] professional growth as a science teacher that [she] couldn’t pass off.”
Surprisingly, at the beginning of the year, some students recognized Ms. Castle even before she introduced herself. They have watched her Youtube channel dedicated to guiding IB students, which started in 2015. Although it has been challenging, Ms. Castle is committed to uploading videos as she has received many “positive messages that confirmed to [her] that students find the videos helpful.” Even if it is a lot of work, Ms. Castle promises her students that she would be more than happy to upload youtube videos whenever her students need help. She hopes for her effort to help students in SAS too.
When asked about the most successful traits a student can have, Ms. Castle was taken aback by the first thing that came into her head- resilience. “We are all students, not just the students in the classroom. Resilience is important because when we learn, learning takes place through making mistakes which makes us learn to get better,” she says. Ms. Castle observes that when students make mistakes, they feel like they have failed. When students feel like this, she wants to tell them that “failure is part of the road to success,” they should recognize that these “mistakes are a crucial point of learning and a guide for us to improve.” She advised that students should be resilient readily susceptible to receive constructive criticism for improvement to be successful.
Ms. Castle describes herself as adventurous, ambitious, and well-intentioned. We can clearly notice her adventurous side as she completed her 13 marathons including her recent participation in the Berlin Marathon on September 16, 2018. Her personal best record is a 3:31 and she ran the Berlin Marathon for 3:40. When she found out that she qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2016 (which is one of six marathons you have to be eligible for,), it has been “part of a more recent dream for [her] to complete the world marathon majors.” The Berlin marathon was her five of six qualifying marathons. She has now completed The Chicago, New York, London, Boston, and Berlin marathons. The final remaining competition is in Tokyo. We hope the best for her future marathon in Tokyo!
Ultimately, Ms. Castle appreciates and is very grateful for everyone making her feel part of this community. She “never guessed that varying passions could be integrated into the SAS community so well,” she says.
Olivia Hwang
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| (Courtesy of Ms. Castle) |
Ms. Castle launched her educational career at Wembley High Technology College. After three years teaching in London, she moved to the Big Apple and taught in United Nations International School for 11 years. She decided to move to Shanghai after she noticed SAS’s “absolutely world-class science facility,” she says, and concluded that it was a “great opportunity for [her] professional growth as a science teacher that [she] couldn’t pass off.”
Surprisingly, at the beginning of the year, some students recognized Ms. Castle even before she introduced herself. They have watched her Youtube channel dedicated to guiding IB students, which started in 2015. Although it has been challenging, Ms. Castle is committed to uploading videos as she has received many “positive messages that confirmed to [her] that students find the videos helpful.” Even if it is a lot of work, Ms. Castle promises her students that she would be more than happy to upload youtube videos whenever her students need help. She hopes for her effort to help students in SAS too.
When asked about the most successful traits a student can have, Ms. Castle was taken aback by the first thing that came into her head- resilience. “We are all students, not just the students in the classroom. Resilience is important because when we learn, learning takes place through making mistakes which makes us learn to get better,” she says. Ms. Castle observes that when students make mistakes, they feel like they have failed. When students feel like this, she wants to tell them that “failure is part of the road to success,” they should recognize that these “mistakes are a crucial point of learning and a guide for us to improve.” She advised that students should be resilient readily susceptible to receive constructive criticism for improvement to be successful.
Ms. Castle describes herself as adventurous, ambitious, and well-intentioned. We can clearly notice her adventurous side as she completed her 13 marathons including her recent participation in the Berlin Marathon on September 16, 2018. Her personal best record is a 3:31 and she ran the Berlin Marathon for 3:40. When she found out that she qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2016 (which is one of six marathons you have to be eligible for,), it has been “part of a more recent dream for [her] to complete the world marathon majors.” The Berlin marathon was her five of six qualifying marathons. She has now completed The Chicago, New York, London, Boston, and Berlin marathons. The final remaining competition is in Tokyo. We hope the best for her future marathon in Tokyo!
 |
| (Courtesy of Ms. Castle) |
Ultimately, Ms. Castle appreciates and is very grateful for everyone making her feel part of this community. She “never guessed that varying passions could be integrated into the SAS community so well,” she says.
Olivia Hwang
