Saying Goodbye to Two Stars!

We are very sad, but happy for them, to be saying goodbye to two of the loveliest staff members we have.  Yvonne the lovely teacher, who puts her total heart and soul into every lesson.  Nick, a brilliant teacher and super helpful IT man (thanks for all your help Nick).  For anyone who wasn't able to make the leaving speeches or leaving drinks here are some reminders:

Yvonne is stopping teaching and moving to Greece to start an amazing new life, and Nick is moving to Oman and will continue teaching.
We are really going to miss these two larger than life characters! ;-(

Pre-sessional Leaving Ceremony Last day of term 2014

We were very proud of our latest group of Pre-sessional students, seen here at their leaving ceremony on the last day of term in December.  They all worked so hard and now they have had a break will be going on to continue their studies in their chosen fields.  We would like to wish them all the very best for their futures.

Our Pre-sessional leavers ceremony June 2014

60 very hard working students received their certificates on Friday at their leaving ceremony.  They have all worked so hard, they really deserve to do well in their chosen futures.  Their teachers must be some of the hardest working teachers ever seen -  dedicated, passionate and all of them caring so much about their students, everyone, students and teachers deserve a huge pat on the back and big congratulations! 

Introducing Bill Phillips

In our occasional series of ‘get to know the staff’ today we are meeting Bill Phillips. 

Bill is on the right!

Bill is almost part of the fabric of the school - teaching at LSI since 1994, always with a smile on his face. He is known (and loved) as much for his trademark bow ties as his catch phrases for example ‘You are like a mother to me’! Originally Bill worked in the Immigration Service, but decided to teach English because of his love of language.  You can often find Bill, along with a few other ‘grammarians’ in the staff room, discussing / disagreeing (usually disagreeing) about the correct usage of a piece of language. 

Bill has a special place in his heart for Italy, having lived and studied there when he was younger and can often be heard singing Italian songs as he walks up the stairs. 
Having taught for such a long time, we asked Bill what guidance he would give to someone thinking about going into teaching  “Don’t even think of doing this job unless you like people” he said, which from someone who ‘loves communicating with a smile’ seems like a very salient piece of advice.

The rest of the teachers in the staff room are always grateful for Bill’s little ‘giveaways’ which are often found left on the side for them in the mornings - plants and seedlings he has grown or little treats and snacks he brings in.

Bill loves walking, when he’s not in the school he’s generally on a rambling holiday somewhere in the UK.

Scoop:  Bill was a Catholic monk for 9 years, in England and Italy, until the age of 28 “When I was not yet bald!”