Staff Profiles
Specialist Staff
At St Christopher’s, our dedicated and well-qualified team of staff put your children at the heart of everything we do.
Specialist Staff
Nurul Amira
Bahasa
Amira was born and raised in Penang, Malaysia. She graduated as a teacher from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Education (HONS). While completing her studies, Amira also taught in one of the secondary schools in Perak for a while. Later, as she completed her bachelor’s degree journey, she worked as a teacher in one of the well-known preschools in Penang. To further broaden her teaching experience, she decided to join SCIPS as a teaching assistant. She loves interacting with children as she believes that every child should have something meaningful to remember from their childhood as they grow up. A year later, Amira is now a Bahasa teacher in SCIPS!
Nur Syazwany
Bahasa
Nur Syazwany graduated as a teacher in 2012 from Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNIRAZAK) with a Bachelor Degree in Education (Hons). She has been teaching for more than 6 years in the government and private school, as well as lecturing in one of the well-known colleges in Penang. Currently she teaches Bahasa from Year 1 to year 6 and supports Math for Year 3. During her spare time, she enjoys walking while listening to the music, spending time with her family and relaxing with a good book. She strongly believes that good bonding between a teacher and students are important to create a comfortable classroom environment and also education is the key to success.
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Janet Ng
Mandarin
Janet is from Malaysia and holds a Master degree in Music Pedagogy and Performance. She first completed a Bachelor degree in Music Education from University Sains Malaysia (USM) in 2009. Upon completion of her studies, she taught Music and Mandarin in Penang. She has been teaching in the local school as well as tutoring for Mandarin in Penang. Janet has taught Mandarin classes at different levels prior to joining the SCIPS family. Janet started teaching at St. Christopher’s in September 2015 as a Mandarin teacher. Currently, she teaches Mandarin from Reception to Year 6 and supports Maths for different year groups. Janet enjoys playing the piano, swimming and baking.
Esther Wong
Mandarin
Esther Wong comes from mainland China and has been an international teacher for over 7 years, working as a whole school Mandarin Specialist and Primary Bilingual Teacher. Esther has a Bachelor Degree in Chinese Language and Literature with Chinese teaching certificate qualification, and a Master Degree in History. She is familiar with British National Curriculum, Cambridge IGCSE Mandarin and Alberta Bilingual Program. Esther is incredibly passionate to motivate students learning Mandarin inside and outside of classroom. She is excited to join SCIPS with her almost 4 year old son. Meanwhile explore the beauty of Penang and Malaysia.
Rogini Thana Raju
Juniors ESL
Rogini was born and raised in Penang. She has completed a Master’s degree in Education specializing in TESL at one of the local universities in Malaysia. She has taught in different international schools for nine years from early years up to Year 2. She has been very passionate about teaching and nurturing young children since secondary school.
Living in a food paradise, Rogini enjoys all types of cuisine just as teaching! She loves trying on new recipes, reading, listening to music, and most of all spending time with her family. She is married to Kishen Gavaskar and they have a child named Shroshenn Gavaskar.
Rogini is excited about her new adventure of being an EAL Juniors teacher moving from Year 2 at SCIPS along with her son in Year 1.
Chelvalatha Krishnan
Infants ESL
Chelva was born and raised in Penang Island, Malaysia. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in TESL from Management and Science University (MSU), Selangor, and currently, she is pursuing her Master’s Degree in TESOL at University Sains Malaysia (USM) to enhance her skills in the EAL field. Chelva started her career in an International school based in Penang. Prior to joining SCIPS, Chelva was teaching at an International school in Selangor. She has taught in all key stages and she loves to develop her skills in teaching. She believes that all students are unique and everyone learns in their own way. Thus, she loves to use multiple methods of teaching to reach students, so that no one is left behind. She was hired as an EAL teacher for infants at SCIPS after serving as a Year 1 teacher for two years.
Robert Slowther
PE Teacher
Rob is from a small town called Guisborough in the North East of England. He studied at Northumbria University and graduated in 2013. After graduating from University, he spent a couple of summers coaching ‘soccer’ in the United States of America, whilst also teaching in a local College. Rob spent 2 years teaching as a Special Needs Primary School Teacher in the UK before embarking on his first venture as an international teacher in the beautiful country of Myanmar. When he isn’t teaching, Rob spends his free time out exploring nature, playing sports, keeping fit in the gym, and (when he’s feeling like having a ‘lazy day’) he spends time reading books, eating lots of food, and playing on his XBOX. He is really looking forward to experiencing life in Penang and working at such a great school.
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Lawrence Chaplin
PE Teacher
Lawrence is from Durban, South Africa and grew up in Qatar where he attended an international school as a student. Upon graduating, he attended Kingston University in London and graduated in 2015. Shortly after this he worked as a football coach and lifeguard for a water safety company in the UK. He then returned to Qatar to complete his teacher training and secured a position at his current school where he has taught PE for the past 5 years across primary and secondary. Outside of school, Lawrence enjoys being outdoors, playing sports and spending time with friends and family – you will more than likely find him at the beach kicking a football or throwing a frisbee. Lawrence is very excited to be moving to Penang with his new wife Fenella, who will also be teaching PE at SCIPS.
Fenella Foskett
PE Teacher
Fenella is originally from a small town called Woodbridge in the south-east of England. She studied at Swansea University and graduated in 2013. After this, she went on to complete her PGCE and MA in Education at Liverpool Hope University. Fenella spent the first few years of her teaching career teaching Geography and PE in secondary schools in the UK. In 2020, Fenella took up her first international teaching position in Doha, Qatar, where she has been teaching primary PE. Fenella has always been a keen sportswomen, having previously competed at national level for swimming. During her free time, Fenella loves spending time outdoors, exploring new places and meeting new people. Fenella will be moving to Penang with her husband Lawrence who will also be joining the PE team at SCIPS. She is really looking forward to experiencing life in Penang and becoming part of the SCIPS community.
Daniel Guerrard
Juniors Music
Dan Guerrard is a Music teacher, composer, orchestrator and conductor from the United Kingdom. He trained at Keele University and has a Masters in Psychology of Music in Education from Sheffield University. He has worked internationally in Bermuda, Thailand, Kuwait and China before relocating to Penang.
He is a director for the Penang Island Chorus, loves musical theatre, plays piano and bass guitar and is here with his wife Lori and young children Miranda aged six and Freddie aged three.
Soong Yi Yiing
Infants Music
Yi Yiing is from Penang, Malaysia. She graduated from University Putra Malaysia with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance. Later, she completed a Master’s in Early Childhood Education and graduated with honours from University Science Malaysia. Her main instrument is the piano and cello is her secondary. Yi Yiing has worked at SCIPS since 2008 and she loves interacting with young children and has a passion for teaching them. She has contributed in many different ways to school life in and outside of the music classroom with particularly noteworthy contributions in leading the school music productions and music clubs, developing children’s musical abilities and confidence in performances. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with her husband Phang Seng and children, Chloe, Joie and Kenzie.
Katherine Evans
Head of Languages / German
Hailing from Liverpool in the UK, Katherine is excited to be joining the SCIPS team. After graduating from Sheffield University with a BA Hons degree in Modern Foreign Languages, Katherine worked in industry and lived in the Netherlands before realizing that she could combine her love of languages with teaching. After completing her PGCE at Manchester, Katherine taught in the UK before moving to Muscat, Oman as head of languages for five years. Now with her sights set on Penang, Katherine is beyond excited to be a part of a vibrant community which offers many language learning opportunities. Katherine specializes in German and Dutch, but also enjoys working on her Spanish. Katherine is passionate about creating an engaging curriculum and loves to use technology to enhance student learning. Outside of school, Katherine enjoys supporting Liverpool Football Club, reading, cooking and traveling.
Tunde Baranyi
German Language
Tunde is originally from Hungary, but the love of languages and learning has taken her to other countries from a young age. After finishing university with a BA and Master’s degree in languages and a teaching qualification, she wanted to pursue this path further by sharing her passion with young learners around the world. She has worked in schools in the UK, Spain, Switzerland, China and Hungary. Many destinations make for many learning opportunities and she now speaks five languages. As a lifelong learner herself, she is able to apply her personal learning experiences when connecting with children from diverse cultural backgrounds and differing educational levels. She aims to create a safe environment which nurtures multicultural awareness, authentic communication and well-being. She is also a qualified yoga teacher and often uses elements of mindfulness with her students in the lessons. She is excited to take on this wonderful new opportunity at SCIPS as a German Teacher and is looking forward to sharing her skills and enthusiasm for learning with the SCIPS community.
Astya S E Rajah
Learning Support Teacher
Astya has been committed to her passion for teaching children for over ten years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education and has worked across EYFS, KS1 and KS2, in International British Schools in Penang and Johor Bharu. In 2016, Astya had the privilege of gaining her first experience teaching internationally when she relocated to Laos with her family. She believes that all of these diverse experiences have been immensely enriching and rewarding, both personally and professionally. Astya joined SCIPS as a Learning Support teacher in 2019 with a focus on supporting and nurturing students with additional needs in an inclusive classroom.
Her passion outside of teaching include art, as well as movies, nature walks, travelling and spending time with friends and family. Astya is married to Kumar and together they have a son, Rishaant. Astya looks forward to another exciting year and being part of the SCIPS family.