We have an amazing team of inspirational teachers here at The British School of Beijing, Sanlitun, all of whom are passionate about teaching and learning and ensuring each and every one of our students make exceptional progress.
This week, we interviewed Karen Macaulay, the Year 1 Leopards Class Teacher, who talks about her teaching life at BSB Sanlitun and more!
Q: Why did you decide to teach at BSB Sanlitun?
As a family we transferred to Beijing from another Nord Anglia school in Uzbekistan. One of the key motivators was to be able to work at BSB Sanlitun. BSB Sanlitun is not just a school, it is a community. I believe that in a primary school everyone should work together to promote a love for learning and create a learning environment where every child can succeed. BSB Sanlitun certainly embraces this philosophy and was the obvious place to transfer to.
Q: What is your role at BSB Sanlitun?
Year 1 Leader and Class Teacher of the Leopards class.
Q: Describe a day in your life at school.
My day starts with getting my own 3 children ready for school in the morning. When I arrive at school I am doing final preparations for the day ahead. There is no such thing as an average day in Year 1 and it changes from day to day. Year 1 takes a thematic approach to learning so lots of our activities are based around our topic. In English, recently we were enhancing our story writing skills focusing on innovating a pirate themed story. Parallel to this the children were developing their map reading skills during our Geography lessons. Although my day can change from day to day, Phonics and Reading plays a key role throughout Year 1 and can be found in almost everything we do.
Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching?
Interacting with parents and students to develop a love of learning. I am a great believer of being well planned and this is a strength in my teaching toolkit. My particular interest is with Literacy and Phonics development, and I have been involved for many years in the development of EAL learners.
Q: Tell us about your life outside of school?
I have 3 children who all attend BSB. Most of my free time is involved with ferrying children to clubs, activities, and playdates. As a family we love to travel and this has been one of the biggest challenges with the pandemic, but we plan to see more of China in the future.
