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ETC2009 Advisory Council
Tucked into the beautiful coastline of Malaysian Borneo and in clear view of the rugged peak of Mt. Kinabalu, Kota Kinabalu sets the scene for what promises to be an unforgettable ETC 2009.
This year’s EARCOS Advisory Council descended upon Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, from September 13-14, 2008, to discuss ETC 2008 in Kuala Lumpur last March and finalize details for this year’s ETC 2009 to be held March 25-28, 2009, at the Sutera Har bor Resort. Dick Krajczar helmed our meeting and ensured that we covered all aspects of our agenda in final preparation for the March conference.
Our two-day meeting began with a sunset tour of the sprawl ing facilities of the resort, which truly offers something for everyone from family-friendly facilities including Kids’ Clubs and playgrounds to numerous restaurants that offer an extensive array of tasty Malaysian cuisine to the lush, sea view pool setting and the on-site spa for relaxing after a day of workshops. The Sutera Harbor Resort, comprised of two impressive hotels – the polished Pacific Sutera and the more resort-oriented Magellan Sutera – will both offer discounted EARCOS rates and house ETC workshops, and is only a short 10-minute taxi ride from the airport with complimentary shuttle access into town and throughout the resort (although we’d still recommend bringing your walking shoes!). Finally, teacher workshops remain a critical part of the ETC experience and allow for a mutually beneficial exchange of practi cal ideas among your colleagues in overseas teaching. While we particularly encourage teacher workshops that incorporate the ETC 2009 theme “Our Global Impact — My Responsibility” into their presentations, we look forward to a wide range of teacherled workshops and Job-A-Like sessions that encourage faculty and staff throughout a school community to join us and actively par ticipate in this year’s conference.
This year’s Advisory Council delegates represent each of the countries that EARCOS reaches as well as designated representa tives of ISS and curriculum coordinators. The following is a list of members of the ETC 2009 Advisory Council:
-3- The next day, the Advisory Council got down to the business of carefully reviewing the feedback from ETC 2008 participants. With all of the attendees’ comments in mind, we looked at what we did well and what we could do better at ETC 2009.
In continuation of last year’s efforts and to extend this year’s theme — “Our Global Impact — My Responsibility: Service, Stewardship, Sustainability” — and the suggestions that we re ceived from many of you about the need to be even more ecofriendly throughout the conference, we again plan to “Go Green” as much as possible and encourage all of our attendees and presenters to do the same. To this end, we ask that ETC 2009 participants bring their own water bottles along to the conference. Also, you may want to bring your laptop and take advantage of the free internet in their hotel rooms at the conference site to download all materials necessary for the workshops you want to attend.
At ETC 2009, IB and AP teachers will once again have unique opportunities for professional development during pre-conference workshops in subject areas including IB Geography and IB En vironmental Systems, AP Calculus and AP Economics, in addition to special pre-conference workshops connected to this year’s EARCOS theme. Specific details on all pre-conference workshops as well as confirmed keynote addresses and presentations to be held during the main conference are already available on the EARCOS website, www.earcos.org. In addition, during the year, students will also be considered for other EARCOS activities and awards including taking part in the Global Issues Network Conference and the Global Citizenship Award. Please feel free to contact your school’s EARCOS representative for more information. Kenny Peavey – International School Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Michael Peach – International School Bangkok, Thailand Elaine Leavitt – Jakarta International School, Indonesia Nanette Carreon-Ruhter – Singapore American School Dee Mulligan – Hong Kong International School, China Dale Hutchison – International School Manila, Philippines Karen Campbell – Shanghai American School, China Michael Fox – Taipei American School, Taiwan Stella Ellis – International School Beijing, China Warren Bowers – International School of Phnom Penh, Cambodia Mike Moody – American School in Japan - Kobe, Japan Heidi Pullen – International School Yangon, Myanmar Erin McCall – International School Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ann Straub – International School Bangkok, Thailand Lisa Mangelsdorf – Caltex American School, Indonesia
We ended our meeting looking ahead to future EARCOS conferences and discussing the venues and possible themes for ETC 2010 and beyond. The Advisory Council is already looking forward to its March 2009 return to Kota Kinabalu and for what will certainly be a conference to remember. Just like this year’s conference site, ETC 2009 will have something for everyone, and the Advisory Council looks forward to you seeing you there!
For more information about EARCOS or the ETC March 25- 28, 2009, please check http://earcos.org.etc/2009 frequently for updates. Dale Hutchison International School Manila
