NEW Faculty BIOS

Hello my name is Elena De La Rosa. I am from San Diego, California, USA. I have been an educator for 28 years. I have been a bilingual classroom teacher, resource teacher, deputy principal (middle and elementary) and an elementary school principal. I am currently in Singapore having completing my first international experience at Stamford American International School as the lower elementary principal. I will be joining Global Jaya, as the new primary expat principal. I truly believe in a healthy work-life balance. I enjoy visiting museums, listening to live music, spending time with friends (pre-COVID) and of course traveling. I am very excited to join the Global Jaya community and to continue my international experience in Indonesia. I look forward to meeting, working and growing with everyone!

“Children want the same we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted.” Dr. Seuss

My name is Vicki Gardner and I’ll be joining the Global Jaya community, as the first ever Dean of Students, with my thirteen year old daughter. My eldest child will be moving on to university in the Netherlands, whilst my husband lives and works in Kerala, India. We originate in the UK, but our home is in the South of France. It is a rare occasion to find us all in the same country at the same time!

Over the course of our international school journey, our family has been fortunate enough to be based in the Channel Islands, Belgium, Azerbaijan, South Korea, Sweden and Vietnam. Both of my children are products of the International Baccalaureate programmes and I’m grateful for the skills, attributes, understanding and international-mindedness that this educational foundation has afforded them.

I am a passionate advocate of the IB mission and, through the years, I have worked for the IB as a DP examiner, an MYP curriculum writer and author, an online facilitator, a senior BQC reviewer and a workshop leader for the Arts, Social Emotional Learning and Inclusion.

At the heart of my professional motivation is the belief that every child has the right to an education and that our role as educators is to do whatever we possibly can to remove barriers that prevent students from being as successful as possible. No student should slip through the net.

I’m so excited to transfer my passion to the Global Jaya community.

My name is Shane Ross and I grew up in the North Island of New Zealand. I am an NZ certified primary teacher, and I have been teaching for over 20 years. In that time I have taught in New Zealand, South Korea, and China. I have been involved in PYP schools either as a teacher, team leader or instructional coach since moving abroad in 2001. I am excited to be joining the year 4 team at GJS this year. I believe that what great educators and educational institutions do well is build strong relationships of learning, and I look forward to building these relationships with students, caregivers, and colleagues here at Global Jaya School.

Hello, my name is Joseph Stodart, and I am one of the Year 6 teachers at Global Jaya. I am from a small beach town in New Zealand, where I enjoy watersports such as sailing, diving, surfing, and hydrofoil surfing. I play guitar, bass, and double bass. I also enjoy sound engineering, basic music production, and recording.

I have previously taught all subject groups at several primary schools in New Zealand, with most of my experience coming from Years 4 - 8. My teaching experience over the years has also included training SCUBA instructors and their associated specialty courses, first aid, risk management in outdoor education, music tutoring, and youth programme coordination.

I am excited to be part of the Global Jaya family, and I look forward to meeting everyone.

Hi everyone! I'm Nanda Ryan from Cirebon (but I now stay in Tangerang, Indonesia). I'll be teaching Buddhism Religion in GJS, yay!

I've been teaching since I was in college. I graduated from STABN Sriwijaya and now earning my post graduate study from Unindra. I'm looking forward to the experiences we're going to have in GJS!

Hola! My name is Bu Lily from Indonesia and I’ll be joining Secondary School Mathematics this academic year. I was born and raised in Bandung but my Sundanese is rough. I studied architecture in university but later found my passion in teaching and I’ve been doing this for the last 20 years. My prior experience includes PYP, MYP Math and A Level Mathematics and I’m excited to work with my new colleagues and students in the IB DP at Global Jaya School.

I’m a mother of three teenage boys and a feisty little cat so there hasn’t been a dull moment in my house. I love outdoor activities but not to the extreme, of course. My highest accomplishment is vertical climbing at Parang Ferrata rock for 300 m last year and I’m hoping not to do it again in the near future. I’m a long-life learner as well and I have taken up watercolor art for the last 4 years and I’m loving it.

I’m mostly excited to join the vibrant community of Global Jaya School. I’m looking forward to working with students, teachers and all members of the community.

My name is Adisty Kanastari and I am joining Global Jaya School as Secondary Visual Arts teacher. I am educated in architectural design from Institut Teknologi Bandung, and I am very excited to be teaching the creative process in the classroom. I was born in Surabaya, but as a child I have lived some of my primary school years in Sydney during my father's education. Also, in high school I participated in a year-long student exchange program to Germany with AFS. I hope that my intercultural knowledge and experience as a student in foreign settings will help me empathise more with the students at GJS. I feel very honoured and excited to be a part of the community at Global Jaya!

Hello, My name is Ingrid Sakul. I am Indonesian. I worked at Global Jaya from 2012-2019 as a Secondary School Counselor and University Advisor and then I moved to China last year. Then, the pandemic happens and I need to return to Indonesia for various reasons. So here I am! I am excited to be back! I will resume my position as a counselor in the Student Support Services team. Other than doing the job I love as a counselor, I also enjoy travelling, photography and journaling. Feel free to connect with me if you have the same hobby. I look forward to rejoining the GJS family soon!

Hello, my name is Derrick Eddleston and I am the new MYP English Language Acquisition teacher at Global Jaya. I am originally from the United States, but left it behind just after I finished university. I have been an EAL and ELA teacher in different capacities for fourteen years. I started teaching in Ukraine, followed by South Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand. I have experience teaching and am licensed in both Language Acquisition and Language Arts, but my MA is in ESL. I love teaching English in all its forms as I get to bring different thematic depending upon circumstances of the class.

I am (some day) coming to Indonesia with my board game collection and small pile of diving equipment. I am excited to become part of this new community and grow professionally, culturally, and personally.

Hi everyone, my name is Nia Budi Kurniati. I am a lifelong learner who loves teaching math. I graduated from University of Indonesia, majoring Mathematics. I will be teaching secondary mathematics this year. I've been teaching secondary mathematics with various curriculum for 13 years and this is my 6th year being an IB educator. I have jparticipated in workshops for the IB DP and MYP during the last 6 years.

I always believe that learning math can be fun. Therefore, I am committed to helping each one of my students develop a love, respect and appreciation for mathematical concepts. I'm very happy and excited to be part of the Global Jaya community. I hope everyone will have joyful and fantastic teaching and learning experiences this academic year.

Hello everybody! My name is Ibu Diana. I am the new Secondary Drama Teacher in Global Jaya School. I was born and raised in Bogor. I've graduated from Universitas Negeri Jakarta with major Dance Education and Universitas Udayana with major Master Degree Programme of Cultural Studies. I am a Dancer, Choreographer and an Art Teacher. It such an honor to be a part of Global Jaya School Community and looking forward to meet you all soon.

Hi, everyone. I am Budijanto from Jakarta. You can call me Budi. I am a new Mathematics teacher at GJS and I will teach Mathematics from grade 9 to 12. I have been teaching Mathematics of Cambridge and of IBDP at several schools in Jakarta and it is an honour to be a part of the faculty of GJS.