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 found out.
Dr Tasker, who is from New Zealand, spent two years at Dulwich College, Shanghai as Head of Senior School, and before that spent three years as Head of Secondary at The Regent’s School, Pattaya. Before moving to Asia he was Headmaster of Pinehurst College in New Zealand for six years.’
Yr 7 students get to meet Dr Tasker, new principal at GIS.
Stefanie (Year 7): Are you going to change the school?
Principal Tasker: Yes – 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): How many schools have you worked in?
Principal Tasker: This is my 8th school.
Mary (Year 7): Why did you want to come to Thailand?
Principal Tasker: To be Principal of GIS is a great opportunity for me and it was an easy decision, Thailand is a wonderful place.
Pop (Year 7): What festivals do you like in Thailand?
Principal Tasker: I like the concept of Songkran – showing appreciation and respect for our older relatives. 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!
Kam (Year 7): What are your first impressions of GIS?
Principal Tasker: 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!
Dhriti (Year 6): What did you do before coming to this school?
Principal Tasker: I was the Head of a Secondary school, but in China.
Miriam (Year 6): Do you have any children?
Yr 6 students had the chance to interview Dr Tasker, the new GIS principal.
Principal Tasker: I have two children, a son and a daughter. My son is 20 and my daughter is 18.
Liyana (Year 6): Do you have any pets?
Principal Tasker: 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”.
Kavisha (Year 6): When did you start studying martial arts?
Principal Tasker: I started when my daughter began to learn sports. She found karate interesting so I joined her.
Jessica (Year 6): Can you break wood with your hands?
Principal Tasker: I can, but we normally don’t do this in karate. (Dr Tasker then showed Jessica how to punch near a candle so the flame would go out).
The students enjoyed writing their questions and having the chance to meet Dr Tasker. For more on GIS, visit www.gardenrayong.com.
