Matthew Bell grew up in a small Scottish town before a passion for Science and Mathematics had him heading to University of Glasgow to obtain a Master’s degree in Chemistry. During his degree he found himself happiest when helping others and after navigating through a postgraduate diploma in education at the University of Aberdeen he returned to his home council to help spread the passion he had grown and fostered over the years as a science teacher.
Matthew first arrived in Estonia in 2016 and has been with ISE ever since. This year marks 5 years of IB teaching for Matthew. In this time he has taught Biology and Mathematics across both the MYP and DP programs. Additionally, he holds the posts of Extended essay coordinator and staff representative of the student council.
Quick to adapt to new learning and teaching styles, Matthew is a firm believer in experiential learning and the value of new digital technologies. Constantly adapting and refining materials, he strives to teach in ever more engaging ways.
Student Support Coordinator
Dr. Alynne Solway works primarily with children who have Special Needs. She has been in Education as a teacher and professor for over 25 years, teaching from JK to the University level; working in countries worldwide, building schools and administering curriculums. She has had an extensive education and her strength is in linguistics and interpersonal relations. She holds degrees in Special Education, Drama, Music, Dance and Liberal Studies.
PYP Teacher
My name is James Forsythe and I am teaching grade two at ISE for the 2017-2018 academic year. I was born and raised in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. I hold a BA (Bishop’s U, Canada), a BEd (Brandon U, Canada) and a MEd (Concordia U, Portland Ore, USA). I am currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Applied Ecopsychology through Project Nature Connect and Akamai University, Hilo, Hawaii.
I am married to a fellow Canadian and we have two boys ages nine and six. We have been living and working in Bangkok, Doha, Phuket or Nova Scotia, Canada, for the past fifteen years as both a PYP and DP educator. Most recently I was Principal of a K-8 independent school in Nova Scotia, Canada. I am also a part of the International Baccalaureate Education Network (IBEN), delivering IB workshops to fellow IB educators for the past seven years.
I am an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys just about anything done in nature, but especially hiking, camping and playing frisbee with family and friends. I’m a huge fan of live music. I also grew up a basketball player. In a previous life I played and then coached at two different Canadian Universities.
