AHEAD OF THEIR MOVE TO THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF BOMBAY, JULIE LINDSAY AND ANDREW SINCLAIR EXPLAIN HOW THEY ENJOYED AISG SO MUCH, THEY WORKED HERE TWICE!
Did you know the oldest trophy in the AISG trophy cabinet is for underwater hockey? Andrew Sinclair, former swim team coach, helped win it. “We used to use hockey as an exercise at the end of swim meets,” he explains. “Then we decided to enter an underwater tournament with neighboring schools, and we won! The trophy has been here ever since.”
It’s a fine achievement, but not Andrew’s only success at AISG. He also created the school’s first-ever Quiz Bowl team. “The first meeting, about 30 kids turned up. When they found out how hard the questions were, only 10 turned up next time!” But those who stayed loved it and encouraged others to join. “We’re really happy with the way it’s worked out,” says Andrew. “We came this close to first place in the Asian championships this year.”
Surprisingly, Andrew didn’t always plan to be a teacher. A former chef, he and teacher wife Julie moved to Qingdao, where she took up a teaching post while Andrew looked after their young son.
All looked settled, until their daughter’s second grade teacher quit on the first day of class. With no other options, Andrew stepped in. “Julie was giving me lesson plans, my daughter was in the class, so I was kind of thrown in at the deep end,” he laughs. Maybe so, but it inspired him to retrain as a teacher, using his English Masters as the foundation for a distance teaching degree.
From AISG to…AISG
In 2001, the couple made their first move to AISG, where Julie took the post of Elementary Homeroom Teacher. For Andrew, starting at AISG as an English teacher “was kind of crazy. I was teaching kindergarten, primary, grades 4, 7, 8 and 9 – pretty much the whole school. I had a cart with all my stuff, and I just moved it from class to class. That’s how I got rolling at AISG.”
In 2004, the couple left for a United Nations school in Aleppo, Syria, and then to the Philippines, where Julie moved into High School Counseling. “I found that really rewarding, especially the social and emotional aspect – you really can make a difference to the lives of young people.”
But they liked AISG so much, they came back in 2015, Julie taking the position of High School Counselor while Andrew returned to his role as High School English teacher. Things may have changed since they left, but the couple felt immediately at home on their return. “A lot of kids come back to say, ‘hi’, it’s so nice to have that connection across the years,” says Julie.
The family are shortly headed to the American School of Bombay. They have never been to India before, but that didn’t put them off. “The first time we visited was when they flew us in to look at the school. But we’d already signed the contract by then!” says Julie.
Although it will be quite a change, they are looking forward to their new challenge – and we wish them the best of luck with their move.
