Many of you will already know Glenaeon’s Head of Science, Yura Totsuka. She’s been in that role for six years and a member of the Glenaeon community for many years.
Yura joined Glenaeon as a high school student starting in Year 7 and graduating Year 12. Coming from Japan, and moving across from a local and rather strict Church of England primary school, she vividly remembers the King Arthur Main Lesson of Year 7 with lots of drawing, creativity and the multi-dimensional aspects of learning that Glenaeon is recognised for. “I found high school engaging and refreshing, and I really enjoyed the deeper learning made possible in the Main Lesson framework.”
Yura now teaches Year 7-10 science and Year 11 and 12 chemistry. She is looking forward to the Year 10 Chemistry Main Lesson, which is coming up next cycle. Some theory, and lots of experiments are conducted. Yura doesn’t want to spoil the surprise by giving away too much detail, but her students will be delving into the world of inorganic chemistry.
In her role as Year 12 Guardian, Yura supports students in their important final year of high school. She is there to help students navigate the final year, classes, study, exams, projects, friendships, achieving a balance…. She’s also there to guide and encourage and be a nurturing presence. She always enjoys spending time with her students on the Year 12 Mystery Tour, which is always a lot of fun and memory making.
Whilst she considers herself a black-thumb in the garden, she does enjoy mushroom hunting in the autumn. In her spare time, she really enjoys cooking and baking, and her 2020 chemistry class worked hard to earn a six layer chocolate and strawberry cake to celebrate the end of the course. She loves culinary adventures and exploring different cuisines. This year she is challenging herself to make a French Cassoulet. She also loves a good food market, and occasionally bumps into students and families at the weekends when walking the stalls looking for fresh and inspiring ingredients.
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