Re: Shannon Wislang I worked with Shannon Wislang in my capacity as the Program Leader for Learner Support at International School Manila (2008-2013). During this time, Shannon was a Grade 1 teacher and a Grade 3 teacher. It was always easy to place a student with additional learning needs into Shannon’s classroom as she could be relied upon to faithfully carry out any recommendations to support their learning, with ease. However, it was for different reasons that I was always happy to place a more challenging student with Shannon. As a teacher, Shannon goes out of her way to let each and every child know that she likes them, that she enjoys their company, that she believes in their abilities and, most importantly, that they are an asset to that classroom. This is not a message that children with additional needs always get to hear and Shannon would make sure that they heard it loud and clear from her. We know that children learn best when they feel safe and valued and Shannon would make sure they felt that way. As a Grade 1 teacher, especially, Shannon would often have students in her classroom that presented as a puzzle. Students that were not quite performing in the ways that she would expect in some areas of their learning. Students that didn’t have any documented learning needs or who had maybe never came up in any conversations with the Learning Support team. I have great admiration in how Shannon would never give up on these puzzles. It is not easy to be the teacher who raises their head above the parapet to highlight some concerns and questions that they have about a child or to be the first teacher to have that difficult discussion with parents but Shannon would never shy away from this. She would ask for support, she would have all documents in order and she would even be prepared to be wrong as long as the concerns were explored and the student benefitted. On more than one occasion, this exploration led to discovery of quite significant, but hard to spot, needs (for example, a multi-lingual 6 year old with an extensive language disorder) that I am confident would not have been picked up as quickly with another teacher. I am happy to answer any questions about working with, and supporting, Shannon in the classroom. I am happy to offer a strong recommendation for Shannon as a creative, supportive and curious teacher who is highly skilled in teaching students with additional learning needs. Angela Reilly

Re: Shannon Wislang I worked with Shannon Wislang in my capacity as the Program Leader for Learner Support at International School Manila (2008-2013). During this time, Shannon was a Grade 1 teacher and a Grade 3 teacher. It was always easy to place a student with additional learning needs into Shannon’s classroom as she could be relied upon to faithfully carry out any recommendations to support their learning, with ease. However, it was for different reasons that I was always happy to place a more challenging student with Shannon. As a teacher, Shannon goes out of her way to let each and every child know that she likes them, that she enjoys their company, that she believes in their abilities and, most importantly, that they are an asset to that classroom. This is not a message that children with additional needs always get to hear and Shannon would make sure that they heard it loud and clear from her. We know that children learn best when they feel safe and valued and Shannon would make sure they felt that way. As a Grade 1 teacher, especially, Shannon would often have students in her classroom that presented as a puzzle. Students that were not quite performing in the ways that she would expect in some areas of their learning. Students that didn’t have any documented learning needs or who had maybe never came up in any conversations with the Learning Support team. I have great admiration in how Shannon would never give up on these puzzles. It is not easy to be the teacher who raises their head above the parapet to highlight some concerns and questions that they have about a child or to be the first teacher to have that difficult discussion with parents but Shannon would never shy away from this. She would ask for support, she would have all documents in order and she would even be prepared to be wrong as long as the concerns were explored and the student benefitted. On more than one occasion, this exploration led to discovery of quite significant, but hard to spot, needs (for example, a multi-lingual 6 year old with an extensive language disorder) that I am confident would not have been picked up as quickly with another teacher. I am happy to answer any questions about working with, and supporting, Shannon in the classroom. I am happy to offer a strong recommendation for Shannon as a creative, supportive and curious teacher who is highly skilled in teaching students with additional learning needs. Angela Reilly

Re: Shannon Wislang I worked with Shannon Wislang in my capacity as the Program Leader for Learner Support at International School Manila (2008-2013). During this time, Shannon was a Grade 1 teacher and a Grade 3 teacher. It was always easy to place a student with additional learning needs into Shannon’s classroom as she could be relied upon to faithfully carry out any recommendations to support their learning, with ease. However, it was for different reasons that I was always happy to place a more challenging student with Shannon. As a teacher, Shannon goes out of her way to let each and every child know that she likes them, that she enjoys their company, that she believes in their abilities and, most importantly, that they are an asset to that classroom. This is not a message that children with additional needs always get to hear and Shannon would make sure that they heard it loud and clear from her. We know that children learn best when they feel safe and valued and Shannon would make sure they felt that way. As a Grade 1 teacher, especially, Shannon would often have students in her classroom that presented as a puzzle. Students that were not quite performing in the ways that she would expect in some areas of their learning. Students that didn’t have any documented learning needs or who had maybe never came up in any conversations with the Learning Support team. I have great admiration in how Shannon would never give up on these puzzles. It is not easy to be the teacher who raises their head above the parapet to highlight some concerns and questions that they have about a child or to be the first teacher to have that difficult discussion with parents but Shannon would never shy away from this. She would ask for support, she would have all documents in order and she would even be prepared to be wrong as long as the concerns were explored and the student benefitted. On more than one occasion, this exploration led to discovery of quite significant, but hard to spot, needs (for example, a multi-lingual 6 year old with an extensive language disorder) that I am confident would not have been picked up as quickly with another teacher. I am happy to answer any questions about working with, and supporting, Shannon in the classroom. I am happy to offer a strong recommendation for Shannon as a creative, supportive and curious teacher who is highly skilled in teaching students with additional learning needs. Angela Reilly