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
K. Ravintheran
Bahasa
Ravi is from Penang, Malaysia and joined SCIPS in 1994. Prior to this, he was attached to local schools when he started his teaching in 1983. He obtained his teaching credential from Ipoh Teachers Training College, Perak. He has vast experience teaching children from the age 6 to 12.
He specialised in teaching Bahasa Malaysia before taking on the responsibility to teach Maths for Year 2 and 3 in 2004. Currently he teaches Bahasa Malaysia from Year 1 to 6 and supports Maths for Year 5 and 4.
Sarasu Kumar
Bahasa
Sarasu is originally from Kedah, Malaysia. She has a Bachelor Degree of Arts in English and Literature from University of Malaya and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from University of Sunderland, UK. She has been teaching for 14 years in SCIPS, having taught in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Currently she teaches Bahasa from Year 2 to Year 6 and Maths to Year 3.
Sarasu is married to Raja and has two children, Gisshara and Nidhis.
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Janet Ng
Mandarin
Janet is from Malaysia and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from University Sains Malaysia (USM). Upon completion of her studies, she taught Music and Mandarin in Penang. In 2011, Janet completed her Master of Arts (Pedagogy and Performance) at USM. During her studies, she worked as a piano Instructor. She has been teaching the piano for seven years and she is also a classically-trained pianist.
Janet started teaching at St. Christopher’s in September 2015 as a Mandarin teacher.
Catherine Lee
Juniors ESL
Catherine is Malaysian and always knew she wanted to have a career in teaching. Her interest in teaching has enabled her to work with a wide range of age groups. Obtaining a diploma in TESOL from the London Teacher Training College meant that she was able to work more closely with non-English speakers in teaching them English as an additional language. It is this aspect that she now enjoys. Catherine has been teaching for twenty-two years and is also a classically-trained pianist. She is still actively involved in making music, whether with friends or other professional musicians. She is a holder of the Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music, London and a Fellow of the Trinity College of Music, London.
Catherine has been an EAL teacher in St. Christopher’s since 2008.
Sittra Letchumanan
Infants ESL
Sittra was born, raised and educated in Penang. She has been teaching English, Maths and Malay Language to children ages 6 to 9 years old in private schools for the past 20 years. In her early years she took a two year course to get her teaching certificate and later received her Primary Combination teaching diploma from London Montessori. She has also completed her TESOL to enhance her skills as she loves educating and nurturing young talents. She has attended many workshops on education to further improve her teaching skills.
Sittra was appointed as EAL teacher for KS1 and has served for 5 years in St. Christopher’s International Primary School, Penang.
Astya S E Rajah
Learning Support Teacher
Astya is from Penang, Malaysia and holds a Masters Degree in Education. She has had a rich and varied teaching career in primary, successfully establishing herself over the past 8 years in International British Schools. Prior to joining SCIPS, Astya taught Year 5 and was the Head of Milepost 3 at Crescendo-HELP International School, Malaysia. She had the privilege of gaining her first experience teaching internationally when she relocated to Laos with her family in 2016. Outside of school you will generally find her busy with family, sampling great food and adventuring with her husband Kumar and son Rishaant.
Astya is excited to be part of the team and looks forward to beginning a new adventure with the staff, parents and pupils at SCIPS.
Sabine Bruggemann
German Language
Sabine is from Germany. After finishing University she taught many years in German primary schools. She has a passion for teaching and travelling, speaks 4 languages and visited more than 20 different countries in her life. Now she enjoys being in Malaysia and starting teaching children from all over the world at SCIPS. She loves the cultural variety in Penang, the great food and exploring the island with her little family which for them is a perfect place to stay.
Jonathan Abel
Head of PE
Jonathan is from the United Kingdom and has a Bachelors degree in English Literature/Language and Theology from The University of Birmingham. After a year spent travelling in Canada, America and Mexico, Jonathan started working in a special needs secondary school as a teaching assistant. 2 years later, Jonathan completed his Post Graduate Certificate in Education specialising in Literacy. Following that, Jonathan worked in Surrey as a teacher of a Year 5/6 mixed class for 2 years, where he was also the school sports coordinator. After 2 years working as a Year 6 teacher in Dubai, where he met the future Mrs Abel, Jonathan settled in Penang.
Jonathan is married to Kirsty, who is a former teacher at SCIPS, and they have three daughters, named Tamara, Kerenza and Morwenna.
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Hannah Phillips
PE
Hannah is from the United Kingdom and has a Bachelor’s degree in Sport Studies at the University of Sunderland. She then completed her PGCE teaching qualification through Northumbria University. Hannah taught in Northumberland, England for five years, and was P.E. lead for two years at her last school. Hannah loves keeping fit, travelling and socialising with new friends. Hannah completed one year as a Year 4 teacher at SCIPS and has moved to the P.E. department to become a P.E. teacher.
Tom Leighton
PE
Tom is from the United Kingdom and has a degree in Education Studies and PE from the University of Plymouth. Tom has taught PE for 5 years at both Senior and Primary schools in England and has also organised events and holiday courses for a large Independent school over many years. Tom is a keen sportsman who still regularly takes part in football, badminton, table tennis, tennis, frisbee, hiking and other keep-fit activities. Tom enjoys travelling and trying out new foods. He has visited a few countries in Asia but is looking forward to exploring more in the future.
Jonathan Cannon
Juniors Music
Jonathan is originally from Chester in the UK and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Nottingham University as well as a PGCE from St Martin’s College, Ambleside. He enjoyed being a class teacher for many years, teaching Years 1 to 6 in Suffolk, UK and then at The British School, Kathmandu in Nepal where he met his wife Bina. Whilst in Kathmandu, Jonathan was able to become what he had always wanted to be, a music teacher, and has enjoyed sharing his passion for music with children of all ages, first during his 9 years in Nepal then for the last 3 years at the British International School, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. He loves being involved with concerts, productions and music festivals and enjoys opportunities to perform himself – either playing flute or singing in a choir.
Jonathan is looking forward to working on the beautiful island of Penang and getting to know the SCIPS community.
Soong Yi Yiing
Infants Music
Yi Yiing was born and raised in Penang, Malaysia. She started piano lessons when she was five and she has had music in her life ever since then. She graduated with honours and holds a Master in Early Childhood Education from University Science Malaysia, and a Bachelor degree in Music Performance from University Putra Malaysia. She loves interacting with young children and has a passion for teaching. Besides music, she loves spending time with family and her daughters, Chloe and Joie.