Qatar forum: Newton International and British Schools
Posted in the Qatar forum
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Enigma Alpha
06 Aug 2009, 20:15Newton International and British SchoolsCan anybody please shed some light on the current situation of these schools??
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in what way
im about to start work there
i arrive next tues!!!!! -
Well, I feel for you. Newton has a long and notorious reputation for NOT treating their staff properly. Many have not been paid their full holiday pay for August, some people have been living in accomodation with their children that has been over run with cockroaches, and were told to accept it or move on. They obviously opted to move on. The list is endless!!
Anyway, I wish you have a better experience than the 80% of the existing teachers and 100% of ex-teachers. For a more indepth overview of this school, read the old forum on JUST LANDED, it should prove illuminating. Feel free to ask anymore questions. -
I agree 100% with Enigma. I was unfortunate to have landed a job there 2 years ago and let me tell you, I have completely omitted that school from my CV. The package sounds lucrative, even the reception was warm and friendly, accomodation good. Until a fire broke out next to our apartment building and then we(teachers) realised the death trap we were in. We were told to evacuate and leave our apartments unlocked at 2am and many of us were promptly robbed of our valuables (some lost up to QR 6000) and all the owner did was shrugged and pointed out it was not her problem. Those of you who have just started, DONT be fooled by what you see and hear, you have entered a period of professional stagnation. In a period of 5 months (sept 07-Jan 08) that school lost 23 teachers. Yes, 23 teachers. They have the highest turnover of staff in Qatar and have now employed a "director" to smooth things over. I wish them the best of luck in the future, but as a fellow educator, I urge you to find employment in one of the better schools in Qatar.
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Fred Shubulte
02 Nov 2009, 17:53Any international school that does not offer music isn't worth a mound of camel dung. Students at Newton are getting the shaft.
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Blazing Light
14 Nov 2009, 13:32Newton International and British Schools have done it again!!!! The teachers at West Bay is jumping ship yet again.. Why you may ask?? Horrendous management practices is the answer for those hoping to teach there... Not so long ago they employed a "Director" to gain accreditation for them and, this is all good except, it would now appear that Mrs. De Martino does not know her ear from her elbow.
Last month she was getting CIS accreditation, this month it is Sita or something or other.
It would appear that the poor lass is confused as to what needs to be done at that school.Good luck in getting a straight forward answer... This woman is glib and verbose.
I am sorry Enigma, I know that you have faith in this woman's competence but if you still believe this after the recent accreditation fiasco, then you are a fool. Not to mention 3 teachers leaving Westbay during the first term.. When is the SEC going to realise that Newton is doing more harm than good to education in Qatar?? -
Enigma Alpha
14 Nov 2009, 22:13Post was deleted by Moderator.
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Blazing Light
15 Nov 2009, 13:50
So what you are saying essentially is that the Gayle is merely a pawn and that the Principals can do as they please? I don't think so. It is convenient for Gayle to look the other way hence Trudie Mastersons actions. Both of them should be held accountable for messing with the education of our children. For taking our money, for not providing decent resources, qualified teachers etc.
Your loyalty is misguided and believe me, not appreciated at all by the Director. I have dealt often enough with her to know that she uses people like you for her own ends, be it professionally or otherwise. I hope you take heed and realise this before you get used. -
Angela Finch
18 Nov 2009, 07:26Hi there, I am very interested in what you have to say about West Bay as I am considering taking up post in January and would obviously be replacing one of those teachers 'jumping ship'! Could Blazing Light email me so I can get some more info before I decide what to do and make a big move. You can email me at [Email hidden]. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Ax
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Blazing light - I suggest you get a life - what a sad and bitter individual you must be to spend your life slating a school in a such an underhand manner.
Get over it and get a life!
If you are a member of staff like me then why don't you leave and let us professionals get on with our job? I am happy with my accommodation thank you very much!
You don't know what you are talking about - you misrepresent the truth and you are making accusations and comments that you cannot substiate. You exaggerate the truth - one member of staff has left for personal family reasons.
You are a coward who hides behind forums and quite frankly the staff at NIS are fed up with you.
Anyone can see that all of the teachers are working hard and all the parents of children in my class are delighted with the education they are getting. -
Jeff Mantra
18 Nov 2009, 09:00
Please name the 3 people who have left as that is untrue!
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Daniel Tschentscher
18 Nov 2009, 09:21Dear members,
we have had complains (and including legal threats) from Newton International school about this discussion. As we know from other discussions, some institutions are able to cope with critizism and some are not.
That said, we are legally required to delete any comments that are rude, offensive, defamatory etc. If you want to comment about Newton International School, please do this in a factual way and avoid any swearwords, personal insults etc.
Otherwise, we will be required to delete your posts and eventually the whole discussion.
We would be glad if you could do your best to enable us to keep this discussion live as we aim to provide an open platform which allows for open discussion and critizism. If you have used any insulting terms in previous posts, please edit those.
With best regards,
Daniel
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Jeff Mantra
18 Nov 2009, 09:45
Teachers at Newton are happy to consider any constructive criticism - however personal comments which are inaccurate are damaging to all concerned and are unfair. The statements made about staff leaving for example are simply not true and we do not feel we should have to correct these things time and time again.
We are professional people who wish to conduct ourselves in an appropriate manner and consider that an internet forum whilst it is informative it is a shame when the powers that be do not regulate the content effectively for all concerned.
If people are going to make personal comments then they should at least have the decency to spell the names correctly!! -
Deleted user
18 Nov 2009, 11:10
Finally, some sense! Newton seems to be getting a bad rap from those who have been around for a while and don't want to recognise things are changing. At my interview, the person I spoke to (and I'm not naming names cos that's just plain WRONG! Shame on you Blazing Light and shame on Just Landed for not having the common courtesy to delete them-if my name was published I'd be making legal threats too!) was very honest and I came here looking to make a difference. Everyone I have met has been helpful, my colleagues are fantastic people, my class is lovely and everytime I have approached management they have done everything in their power to help me out. That is not easy at times because with any privately owned school money is not in unending supply and I have worked in countries where the situation is MUCH worse. The accommodation is lovely, brand new in fact, and fully kitted out with everything we need. Including bedding and towels! And let's be clear. There has been no accreditation fiasco, in fact only accreditation success. All Newton schools now have Cambridge accreditation and we are proud of our hard work, so stop belittling it! If Blazing Light doesn't know the difference between the two types of accreditation they should leave their job now and go hang their head in shame. And by the way it's CITA not SITA! Newton is not perfect but we are trying really hard and working really hard and we can hold our heads up high.
Last edited 18 Nov 2009, 18:24 -
Deleted user
18 Nov 2009, 14:55
Strange, don't you think, that after 'Newton' allegedly complains and allegedly makes 'legal threats' that Just Landed delete a post saying positive things about those working there, the same post also defended the person slighted in the posts written before. Beware all that comment here...Just Landed don't appear to want some of us to have a voice, or at least, only those who have negative point of view are entitled to free speech. Shame on you!
Last edited 18 Nov 2009, 18:24 -
It would appear that I have touched a nerve... Good! I have always been fair of my assessment of NIS. If the teachers at NIS are so fed up with little old me why are so many of them still posting.. You are spot on Daniel, ANY type of crit regarding NIS is viewed as negative...Hence the large staff turnover. I have a human right to free speech and intend to exercise that right fully.The teacher that supposedly left due to personal family responsibilities is a blatant misrepresentation. Fact 1: He left because he could not cope with the lack of support and guidance at Westbay. Fact 2: He was not suitably qualified and got the job because he was a friend of the Principal. Fact 3 Close to 75 teachers have come and gone from NIS in the past 3 years. Ponder on those.
I am neither nasty or unprofessional or sad. I am ensuring that my fellow educators make an informed decision when choosing a school in Qatar. If that does not fit with the educators code of ethics then I don't know what does. -
I was trying very hard not to answer your post as I thought my last post sufficed. However, it has been deleted because of my descriptive language. There are two things I abhor above all else and that is disloyalty and injustice. Thus, here are a few facts of my own and I hope this satisfies your ire.
- Gail might be many things, but incompetent is NOT one of them. In fact I still believe that she is the ideal candidate to turn things around for NIS. I have many years experience in most areas of education and can spot potential a mile away. Your implication that her verbosity equates incompetence is without premise and totally biased.
_ You cannot expect Gail to fix 4 years of mismanagement in a matter of months. This is unrealistic and unfair.
- Gail is one of only two people in Management at NIS that actually takes into account the needs of the staff. Whether it be labourer or Principal. Her strife towards the preservation of their human resources is unprecedented.
-I have seen first hand the level of commitment and professionalism that she displays even if its to her own detriment sometimes. Show me one other member of Management that does this.
-She is a sweet woman who, like the rest of us , is not perfect and is bound to err sometimes: but to ignore all the positives for one perceived negative really tips the scales of accountability the wrong way. You CANNOT, I repeat, CANNOT hold her responsible for things outside of her prescribed paradigm. Prescribed of course by the owners of the school. As it is with all businesses, the owners needs and wants takes precedence over all else even common sense.
Once again, Light, be fair... Lay blame where blame should be laid. The hiring of the Director still is the the wisest choice NIS has made to date. -
Once again, Blazing light, you astound us with YOUR 'blatant misrepresentation' of what goes on at Newton making me wonder if you really are a member of staff, as you claim to be. The only nerves you are touching are on those of us who really enjoy our jobs and don't want anyone reading these posts to believe your inaccurate comments. We do see your critisizms as negative and also clearly untrue if you read the other posts. And odd that you are the only person complaining...where are the other dissatisfied teachers? Maybe they have the professionalism to go and speak to those who can help them instead of hiding behind a nickname. Jeff is right, you are a coward. You are happy to name other people on this site but you don't want us to know who you are. And you haven't even had the decency to edit your previous posts and take the names out. Don't insult the rest of us by calling us your 'fellow educators'. We want nothing to do with you!
'I am neither nasty or unprofessional, or sad'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nasty. oh yes you are. You have named one of the most professional people working for Newton and slandered them.
Unprofessional. Oh yes you are. If you were a professional you would have voiced these concerns with the Director, face to face.
Sad. We can see you hunched over your computer, wringing your hands making up the next inaccuracy to publish globally.
The only light you are blazing is that of your own ignorance, cowardice and vindictivness.
You are not interested in free speech so don't start playing that card. Free speech means you stand up and be counted. You hide and make snide remarks. You want to bring people down publicly without having the courtesy to amend anything you write once faced with the truth. Instead, you hide behind Daniel to get onside with JL. But do you know that they refuse to control anything on this site and refuse to take names off even when what is written is untrue. We were shocked to find this out and advised to protect ourselves in light of this information. I hope those named DO take legal action.
- You claim there has been an 'accreditation fiasco'; untrue. Our Director sucessfully took us through CIE accreditation, no mean feat, believe me! She and the Principals did most of the hard work so we could get on with teaching. Something you obviously think little about, you seem too busy slandering colleagues.
-The schools have a large staff turnover; I have done my homework on this one because I am new at the school. If you knew anything about international education you would know that because of the short length of contracts many of us move on after two years. This can be for personal reasons, because we want to experience a new country or because it is simply time to move on. You cite numbers and %s as if you are the school recruiter...are you? 'Close to 75 teachers have come and gone...' Really? Name them! You're good at that! There is a staff of almost 160 teachers and TAs make that number bigger. Losing 75 teachers over 4 years, over 3 schools is actually quite normal. So we are averaging 18 teachers a year over three schools on a staff of 160 or so. Stop blatently exaggerating numbers to make the situation appear drastic. IT IS NOT! Some of the teachers have been with Newton for 4 years and they are the foundation for us newbees.We see and respect their hard work and dedication.
-The teacher who left did not leave because of lack of support. Fact 1, his colleagues supported him daily, giving him lesson plans and resources and advice. The Principal was always on hand to help. Fact 2, he was not a friend of hers as he was constantly sniping about her, a bit like you. He was a local hire who happened to live on the same compound. And he was qualified, is your gripe because he wasn't qualified in your country? Are you qualified? Opinion 1, his reasons for leaving are his own personal business so leave him out of it.You're not interested in anyone making an 'informed decision'. If that was the case you would start by informing yourself. And as for our code of ethics, DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! You are clearly one of the most unethical people to have ever smited the earth.
And I want to be one of those who stands up for our Director. She has had the courage to stand up publicly in our schools and share what has happened to her on this forum with the Newton staff. She asked that we don't take it on ourselves to defend her on this forum but, sorry Director, I'm ignoring you! You have helped many of us and often out of school hours. You have always been ready to solve problems when you can and lend an ear when we need it. Glibe and verbose you are not. Blazing Light is just too ignorant to understand where you are talking about.
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Deleted user
20 Nov 2009, 08:22
Sorry, I got carried away. The last line shoud read:
Blazing Light is just too ignorant to understand WHAT you are talking about.
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Hehehe.... smited, unethical, glibe(its actually glib). I love it. When the big words start coming out it actually lends credence to what I said before.
You wrote an entire chapter as a response and I must thank you for this.
The mere verbosity of the response leads me to believe that either you are the Director or you have no life yourself. Why do you hide behind an alias? Since you took upon yourself to stand on your soapbox and champion the ignorant, surely you would want all and asunder to know who you are? You keep say we this, and we that. Who is this we. Do you talk for all the teachers at NIS? I don't think so! As for the "director". Watch this space closely.
chris vine
Freedom Mnunygovi