Mr Roger Hawke completed his B.A. (Public Policy) at the Flinders University of South Australia, Bachelors in Teaching (Primary) at the University of Melbourne and Graduate. Diploma of Religious Education at the Australian Catholic University. Since 2004, he has taught Junior / Middle Primary at schools in Melbourne, Suzhou, China, and most recently, regional South Australia. He is currently undertaking a Masters of Education, with a focus on learning organisations. Roger enjoys playing and watching sports, travel and new experiences. He is very excited to be back living and teaching in China again.
Ms Shannon O’Dwyer grew up in Brisbane, Australia. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching degree in 2004, with Honours and the University Medal. Shannon received educational excellence awards in 2008 and 2010, while teaching Grades 4 and 6. Most recently, she has held the position of Enrichment Coordinator at Abbotsleigh School in Sydney, overseeing extension programs from K-6. Shannon is currently undertaking a Masters of Education. She enjoys travel, music, cooking and B-grade action films! Shannon fell in love with China in 2002, while working as an English teacher in Nanjing. She is thrilled to be returning to this vibrant country.
Lara Ronalds was born in Japan and spent her Primary Years in Hong Kong. Upon moving back to Melbourne, Australia in her teenage years she traded the high-rise life for bush living, with horses and farm animals. After no longer keeping horses she turned to painting them as a hobby. Lara completed her Diploma of Primary Teaching and Bachelor of Eduction at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. She has been teaching for 17 years and has been fortunate to experience teaching in a wide variety of educational settings: private and state education, urban and rural (including a one teacher school), single sex and co-ed education and alternative, multi-age and play based programs. This experience has allowed her to understand and appreciate the many ways children learn. She greatly values childhood and is passionate in her pursuit of teaching children to be inquisitive, to recognise their strengths and to believe in themselves as individuals and as learners
Tim Gascoigne was born and raised on the island of Bermuda. He completed his B.A in New Brunswick, Canada and his B.Ed in Ottawa. He focused on the primary years in his degree and has primarily taught Kindergarten through Grade 3. Tim loves the early years and helping kids reach their full potential through a love of learning. Tim taught at the Canadian school in Beijing last year and is excited about joining the family at BISS. He loves the outdoors, traveling and experiencing new cultures.
Miss Summer Li is a young teacher who strives to lead her students towards happy learning through fun activities. She joined Beijing BISS international school as a teaching assistant in 2006 and she had also been teaching Chinese language to Pre-K and Kindergarten students for the last three years. She graduated from the Beijing Renwen University with a Diploma in English. She had obtained the Theories of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Beijing Language and Culture University. She received her teaching license from Heilongjiang Education Board and since 2010 she has been working on her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the Beijing Normal University. Miss. Summer loves singing, dancing and calligraphy.
Mrs Clare Demnar grew up in coastal NSW, Australia, and followed a passion for music to university where she trained as a high school music teacher. In the last thirteen years she has extended her experience to the elementary years and completed a master’s degree in educational management, technology and gifted and talented education. Clare really enjoys directing ensembles and producing concerts. She likes travelling around Asia with her family and relaxing at the beach.
Ms Linda Pollard comes from the Waikato, New Zealand. She graduated from The University of Waikato with a Bachelor of Teaching. She has mainly taught in the Junior Department and for the last 5 years has been Assistant Principal responsible for a Junior Syndicate. Linda is also a trained Reading Recovery Teacher where she has been involved in teaching a specialised programme with 6 year old children that are not achieving in the literacy area. Her passion is to be involved with young children and to be able to celebrate their successes in learning.
Mr. Jarman graduated from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. He possesses a Bachelor of Education, with a concentration in English as a Second Language (ESL). Since 1997, Mr. Jarman has been teaching in schools in Canada and New Zealand. He has designed and run literacy programmes in Aboriginal communities and served as Head Teacher at an elementary school on Vancouver Island. He continues to work with the Council of International Schools (CIS) on accreditation teams that assess international schools around the world. Currently in his seventh year at BISS, Mr. Jarman teaches Grade 4 and is the school’s K-12 ESOL Coordinator.
A life-long “Global Nomad”,Ms Paige Emerich calls Florida home as it is the state she most often lived while growing up in a military family. Since 1999, Paige has been teaching internationally at schools in Mexico, Turkey and El Salvador. Paige has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Florida and a Master’s Degree in Education from Framingham State College, Massachusetts. In addition to elementary classroom experiences, Paige has taught elementary computer class and has been both a Media Specialist and Literacy and Assessment Coordinator. In her free time, Paige enjoys water sports, traveling, and reading. Both she and her daughter, Marley, are excited about living in Beijing.
Mr Glen Royce received his B.A. in Spanish/Education with a minors in Latin American Studies & German from Plymouth State College. While studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he began to teach EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and German on a part-time basis, whereby he discovered that his dream was to follow a career in overseas education. After returning to his family roots in Quebec to study French, Glen set off to Japan to take a post in a Japanese public school again teaching EFL & German. During his three years in Japan, Glen has attended, organized, and led various workshops and seminars for teachers of second languages, at both the national and local level. He recently completed his professional portfolio for his ESL license and has received certification. Glen has been teaching Grade 5 since 2009.
Ms Michele Russell grew up in Tasmania, Australia where she completed her Bachelor of Education at the University of Tasmania majoring in PE. Her teaching experience extends to the public and private system in Tasmania, Queensland, the UK, and most recently in Qatar. After teaching Grade 1 the past few years, Michele made the move to the Art department where she will be handling the PYP art duties. She is currently undertaking a Post Graduate Diploma in Children's Literature and her interests include sports, music, art, and traveling.
Ms Akane Yoshida is a Japanese national who arrived in Beijing via London seven years ago. She has worked with students with special educational needs for the past three years. Akane holds a PGCE from the University of Sunderland, UK, and has been trained in the use of internationally recognized teaching methods including Fast ForWord, PECS and TEACCH. She believes in valuing and respecting the individual needs of every student and providing them with the tools necessary to reach their full potential. Akane speaks English, Japanese and Chinese and enjoys international travel and fine dining.
Ms Jessie Chen joined BISS in 2002 as a Teaching Assistant while working on her teaching degree. She recently received her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. She loves children and very much enjoys teaching Chinese to her students. During her spare time she likes reading and sports.
Ms Kristi Koziol is a native of Arizona, USA. She had been teaching first grade for twenty-two years in Phoenix. She received her Master of Elementary Education with Distinction from Northern Arizona University in 1997. She is presently the ESOL teacher for Grade One and Two. Kristi has an endorsement in English as a Second Language. She enjoys international travel and bareboat sailing.
Mr John Lindsay is originally from Melbourne, Australia but has spent most of his teaching career internationally in Zambia, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Qatar as well as his home Australia. He has taught a range of subjects including elementary school, middle school English, ESL and Philosophy for Children, MYP Maths, DP Maths, and TOK. John attended LaTrobe University Melbourne where he earned his BA and an RSA Cambridge Certificate of Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults, and holds a Graduate Diploma in Mathematics from Hawthorn Institute of Education, Melbourne. To find out more about him, go to http://johnlindsay.wikispaces.com.
Mr. Elmer Reyes was born in the Philippines and has done his Post Graduate Course Work in BS-Education at Southeastern College, Philippines. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Administration from De La Salle University in the Philippines and has done a correspondence course in Computer Application for Curriculum Integration from the University of San Diego. Elmer has recently started his masters studies in education in the U.S.A. He has worked in Thailand, Sweden, the United States of America, Cambodia and Indonesia.
