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Faculty

As always in the international schools, some teachers move on, and others move in to take their place. Ten seems like a big number, but we have 50 teachers now – and in this uncertain world we are pleased to retain 80%. We are also pleased to introduce this year’s new faculty – with an interesting mix of experience ranging from more than 30 years of experience to recent college graduates.

MIDDLE/UPPER SCHOOL

Patrick Higgins

Pat Higgins comes to us with a rich background in international education. He will be involved with students in the Middle School as Principal, and the Upper School as counselor and coach. Although he comes to us most recently from the Cairo American College in Egypt, he knows Brent from six years at Brent Manila, where he served as Middle School Principal for three years and assistant principal in the Upper School for one. Previous to all that, he was at the Taipei American School for twelve years, and from Brent Manila he went  for three years to the American School of Doha in Qatar.

Dr. Gary Van Slyke, Biology (grades 9, 11, and 12)

Admitting to having inherited the “wanderlust” of his Dutch forefathers, Dr. Gary Van Slyke, an American originally from New York, brings a wealth of experience in the classroom and in the field.  He will teach Biology in grade 9 and IB Biology in grades 11 and 12. Over the years he has taught at both the high school and the university levels in the USA, United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. He is accompanied by his wife, also a teacher, especially of foreign languages.

He has mixed in with his teaching some years as a veterinarian, at one point heading a group of vets from around the world who gathered in England to fight foot and mouth disease, followed by a stage in Wales as an epidemiologist fighting TB.

Dr. Van Slyke attended the university of Hawaii on a football scholarship , later switching to Cornell, where he played rugby, graduated, and continued working toward a Master’s and his Ph. D. degree. He returned to Hawaii, teaching at Waihiawa School and the famed Punahou Academy (President Obama’s alma mater).  This stint was interrupted when he signed on to play rugby for a top Sydney team. Most recently he has taught in Australia and Kuwait – pretty much completing his childhood goals of being a teacher, veterinarian and world traveler.

Jonathan Chandler, English (grades  10, 11, and 12)

Educated in the United Kingdom, Mr. Chandler has considerable business experience to go with his school background. He has lived for many years in Taipei, where he owned and operated a government-licensed English language school and UK Study Travel Center. He also lived near, and became a very good friend of, Mr. Todd Wyks, a former Subic teacher who is now the IB Coordinator at Baguio.

Most recently he has lived in China, where his two teenage daughters continue to reside with their mother. There, he was an “executive language coach” with well-known clients such as HSBC, Fedex, etc. Last year he worked with a small team starting up a private college based on Eton and Oxford in Qingdao.

After 25 years he has come to feel that East Asia is “home,” especially the Republic of the Philippines, where he has visited often and has some small business investments. He writes, “I feel greatly privileged and deeply honoured to have been invited to join the Brent family at Subic in this glorious world of natural beauty, and I make a solemn commitment to do my very utmost to ensure that the students achieve more than they ever thought possible.”

Kirsten Thompson

Kirsten Palmer Thompson, who will teach Art in both Middle and Upper Schools, was raised in the great state of Maine in the United States.  She grew up right on the water and loves swimming and boating.  After high school she attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to receive her BA in theater.  She won awards for her stage designs and was the first undergraduate to design a set for the main stage.   She also spent a semester back-packing and hiking with the National Outdoor Leadership School.  After college she became a white water rafting guide and met her husband, Doug Thompson, who will be teaching mathematics in the middle school.  She worked as an emotional growth wilderness counselor for at-risk teenage girls, then decided to work on a Master's degree at Colorado College, and received high honors in Secondary Art Education.  From Colorado the Thompsons moved to Beilun, China, where they taught for the past two years. They love to bike, hike, canoe, and back-pack.  “ Together we will try anything and are looking forward to this new adventure.”

Doug Thompson

Another import from “the great state of Maine” is our new middle school math teacher, Doug Thompson. He comes with his talented wife, Kirsten Palmer (above). Doug's last position was in Ningbo, China, where he taught math in the middle school and coached basketball and volleyball.  Previous to his international experience, Doug taught math and physical education in the United States.  He also has coached traditional and recreational sports such as whitewater paddling, orienteering, biking, and softball.  Doug is “extremely excited about coming to Brent!” 

Roy Cosca

Though new to Brent, Roy Cosca is not a stranger here in Subic.  He was born and raised in Olongapo City and as a grade schooler enjoyed the mountains and beaches of Zambales.  He did his high school education at Ateneo de Manila and earned his A.B. degree in Pre-Divinity  from the same university.  He holds an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry.  Roy attended a 9-month certificate program in Spiritual Direction and Retreat Giving in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.  He has also taught at the high school   (Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City) and college (St. Paul University, Quezon City) levels. He did pastoral work in the Philippine national penitentiary and gave spiritual direction to lay people and seminarians.  He is going to teach Religious Studies and is looking forward to going back to the mountains and beaches of Zambales.

Bernabe Flores III

Bernabe Flores will be our teacher for grades 4 to 6 music classes, grades 7-8 band and grades 11-12 choir. He has spent the past two years at Brent Manila teaching the Middle School bands and co-coaching the APAC Band. In the past, Mr. Flores has been involved in performing in chamber music concerts for young children and teaching a community band in Manila.

As a music student in the UST Conservatory of Music in Manila, he actively participated as a horn player in the symphony band, the symphony orchestra, and the chamber ensembles. In the National Music Competitions for Young Artists in Manila, he has won two categories consecutively in the solo category. Other experiences include playing in the Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra, ASEAN-China Cultural Youth Orchestra and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.  In 2008, Mr. Flores appeared as speaker on general music education in a seminar workshop conducted by the Department of Education.

Angelo Fernandez

Another native of Zambales, Angelo E. Fernandez, will be our Middle and Upper School librarian. After a family move away from this area, Angelo attended high school in Visayas, then returned to accept a scholarship at Columban College, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, majoring in Library Science. In college, he worked during the day and studied at night, but still found time to help the track and field team as a sprinter. He also enjoys basketball and used to play in a local league.

He graduated in 2006 and was given a chance to work with his alma mater. In that same year he passed the board exam.  For three years he served his university as graduate school librarian. In Zambales he has worked as a volunteer, helping to  improve and standardize the educational system of the Catholic schools. Currently he is pursuing a Master’s degree at Philippine Normal University and hopes to continue to a Ph.D. degree. He knows our school because he has substituted in the past and is “very happy to work here in Brent.”

LOWER SCHOOL

Linda Kang

Our new pre-kindergarten teacher, Linda Kang, was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her parents came from Korea 30 years ago. She has an older sister and brother. Her sister is a financial analyst living in Los Angeles, while my brother is a hotel manager in Louisiana. Miss Kang attended an international school in Baja California and a boarding school in the state of Washington. For college she went to the University of Washington in Seattle, majoring in American Ethnic Studies with a minor in Anthropology. I got my MIT this past June.

She has a Pomeranian named Pommy. As she starts her career on Binictican, she writes,”I enjoy teaching because I feel as if I change the world with one student at a time.” She received her Master's in Teaching degree.

Erin Carney

Erin Carney comes to us from a small town in the forests of northern Wisconsin called Hazelhurst.  She has always loved living in a small town community. As a junior in high school she became involved with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and lived in the small town of Riesa, Germany as an exchange student. 

A graduate of Beloit College with a B.A. in International Relations and Modern Languages and a minor in Asian Studies, she studied both German and Japanese. In August 2005 she accepted a two-year teaching contract to teach English in Japan.  She taught – again - in a small rural town in the northern prefecture of Iwate.  Teaching English to students at both the elementary and junior high school level, Erin says that “it was here I found my passion for teaching.”

She returned to Wisconsin to go back to school for her teaching license in Elementary Education, German and Teaching English as a second language through the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point.

In her free time Erin likes to work on many different types of art projects. She writes, “ I find it relaxing to have an art project in your hands and I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I finish.  I make Temari, dye Ukrainian Easter eggs, and dabble in photography as well as quilt, knit and crochet.  My hobbies have also led me to teach others what I know and to donate to charities such as Project Linus, which gives blankets to children in hospitals.”

Lisa Eriksen

Our new first grade teacher is another Wisconsinite, Lisa Eriksen from Eau Claire.    She has worked with children through various volunteer activities, in church musicals, Sunday school, sports, and scouts. Most recently she went back to school for her elementary teaching degree with a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language. Throughout college she worked with various grades through practicum experiences, and her student teaching was in a first grade classroom. She substituted full-time and had two long-term positions working as an ESL teacher for grades K-12, teaching and supporting students, and collaborating with classroom teachers.  She also had a leadership position as a peer guide coordinator for the international student orientation and received “an award for exemplary service and dedication to the international student population.” For the past two years she has worked as a tutor at the Northwest Reading Clinic helping special needs children of various ages with reading and math skills. She sings, plays guitar and enjoys “incorporating this skill into my teaching.” Lisa has written a few articles and stories published in various Christian children’s magazines.  At home, she has three grown children and “two sweet grandchildren.” She is looking forward to her experience in the Philippines.

Lauren Scannell

Rosemarie Austria

Our new Lower School librarian, Rosemarie Austria, grew up right here in Santa Rita, Olongapo City. She attended Columban College and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree  in Secondary Education with a major in Library Science in 2006. She received a Dean's award for her dedication to her studies, and also a Service Award, for her work as Student Assistant at her school, where she says she “learned to become efficient, hardworking, and productive.”

She has passed the licensure examinations both for teachers and librarians. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Library and Information Science at Philippine Normal University, Manila.

She also attended several trainings/seminar-workshops for her professional development. For four years she was employed as the college librarian at St. Joseph College-Olongapo, where she administered the college library and supervised the operation of the elementary and high school library.

She writes, “I am privileged and honored to join the Brent  family, and I am greatly excited for the new experiences in Subic.”

Faculty Members

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