At Long Bay College we are lucky to have a wonderful collection of teaching staff. Getting to know our school means getting to know our faculty. This month we would like to introduce our community to Mr. Marius Sandu.
Mr. Sandu is one of our Mathematic teachers. Being an Engineer, Marius has a strong passion for Calculus and is always trying to find ways to engage and excite the students.
Mr. Sandu has been at Long Bay College for 5 years. He chose the school for its reputation in the education industry as an innovative and emerging school on the North Shore.
Having a Mechanical Engineer background, Mr. Sandu loves putting real-life scenarios into play in his teachings. Working with the New Zealand Education system, Mr. Sandu made augmented reality assessments a teaching standard. The year 11 extension class was a great place to get a little creative with projects to excite students and get their creativity flowing. As each project is related to an individual student ID code, no project will have the same outcome. “The project allows students to simulate their work without having to make a prototype of their creation”.
When chatting with Mr. Sandu, we asked him four questions;
What is your proudest teaching moment?
I take great pride and joy when my students succeed. I am proud of the rapport I have built with my students, gaining mutual trust and respect. I feel as though I am achieving my job as a teacher on another level. Maths can be seen as a dull subject, so finding a way to make it relatable and interesting is very rewarding for me.
What advice would you give to your students as they leave school?
Do something great with your life, be productive members of society, and make a mark! Don’t be afraid to embrace change, and keep an eye out for opportunities because they are abundant, but they don’t always come to you. Seize the Day!
What did you want to be growing up?
I always wanted to be a Mechanical Engineer, which I am. I became a teacher in 2011, in the later part of my career. But I have always found a passion in anything mechanical and this translates well in my classes and what I teach as I always try to relate what I teach in Maths to real-life scenarios.
What is your funniest teaching moment?
There are many when you teach teenagers, but one that stands out in particular. I was conducting a parent-teacher interview and there was a student attending with his parents. He was struggling a little to keep up with Level 2 Calculus. I asked him, ‘What do you want to do with your life?’ quickly his parents jumped in and said “he wants to be an engineer!”. I then went on to explain to my student “if you want to become an engineer you need to master Calculus!” we started discussing ways to help make this happen and come up with a plan to move forward. Once the interview concluded, my student stayed behind for a moment. He then turned to me and asked “look, Sir, do I really need all of this, I just want to be a panel beater!.”
“Teaching is my passion now” – This shows in the efforts Mr. Sandu goes, to create an engaging and creative Maths space.
Thank you for your time Marius.
If you would like to nominate a member of faculty for us to interview or have any testimonials you would like to share about any one of our incredible staff, please send us an email at [email protected]
