Forward December 2015 | Page 53

PR E PA R ATORY S C HO OL Meet Carol Ray From Calamity Jane to colouring in, the Caribbean to creative thinking, Years 3/4 Coordinator Carol Ray is a very interesting and diverse teacher, who brings these very same skills out in her students. Carol Ray started teaching in the Preparatory School in 2013, initially as a Year 3 teacher before moving into Year 4. Carol started her teaching career at Katanning Primary School, before travelling overseas, where she taught at a number of schools in London and then assisted with setting up a small international school on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. On her return to Perth, Carol took up a teaching position at Swan Valley Anglican Community School before accepting the position of Year 3/4 Coordinator at Guildford Grammar School. Carol is married with two children. Her son, Louis, is at UWA studying Commerce and is about to head off on a backpacking adventure around the world just like Carol and her husband did in their early twenties. Her daughter, Yasemin is in Year 9 at Perth College. The other member of the household is Puss-n-Boots, their beautiful, but very spoilt cat! Creative Thinking Carol has been involved with preparing teams for competing in creative thinking competitions for the past eight years. She was first introduced to these competitions through her own children’s involvement and has subsequently worked with different groups of primary school students as a facilitator. Since starting at Guildford Grammar Preparatory School, Carol has worked with two teams who made it to the state finals for OptiMINDS and one team who received Honours. For some students, it is very clear what a big difference this competition and way of thinking has made to their life. Weekends Carol enjoys spending time with her family on the weekend and spends a lot of time watching her children play sport and being a taxi driver! Her son, Louis, has played both football and cricket each year since he was in Year 1. Her daughter, Yasemin, is a kayaker. She trains on the Swan River three or four times a week and competes in regular regattas, both short and long distance. Next year she will be competing in the National Kayak Championships at Champion Lakes. She also plays netball for Perth College in winter. Her husband is a sailor who competes in Farr 9.2 races most Saturdays in summer. He also has a yacht charter business in Turkey. Carol enjoys walking and loves to catch up with girlfriends from primary school and high school in Kings Park on a regular basis. She also loves to read and can easily spend an hour or two lost in a good book, however this is generally more of a holiday treat! Travelling Carol lived and worked in the United Kingdom and Turkey for nearly fifteen years before returning to Perth. She is certainly well-travelled, with some of her adventures listed below: • Carol was a Tour Guide in Europe and Egypt. • She spent the millennium in the Caribbean on a 57ft yacht with her husband and son. • She set up a small international school on the Mediterranean in Turkey, where she taught for a number of years. • She regularly visits New Zealand where she catches up with in-laws. • She enjoys camping holidays with the family. A two week adventure to explore the Ningaloo coastline was a favourite. • More recently she has travelled to Vietnam and Kuala Lumpur with girlfriends to celebrate an important birthday. • Another recent holiday this year was to Bali. • For the last two years Carol has accompanied Year 6 students on their Sydney / Canberra trip. Some things you might not know Carol started school in New Guinea. Her favourite treat from the Tuck Shop was salted plums. As a young girl Carol loved having stories read to her. Her favourite was Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, which her grandmother used to read to her. Surprisingly she was not a keen reader in primary school. When she worked and lived in Katanning, she was a member of the Dramatic Society. She appeared in the musical Calamity Jane – she had the only non-singing part! Carol loves colouring in. As a child she used to enter colouring in competitions, which she cut out of The Sunday Times every week and regularly won $1.00 or $2.00 for her efforts. Recently she was given an adult colouring in book which she is thoroughly enjoying, even though she doesn’t win any prizes these days! Carol feels very privileged to work at Guildford Grammar School and appreciates the beauty and history of the school and the region, which she embraces and tries to incorporate into units of work. She enjoys being part of an inclusive community and enjoys getting to know families as well as the students in her classroom. 53