Staff Profiles
Year 1 – Year 2
At St Christopher’s, our dedicated and well-qualified team of staff put your children at the heart of everything we do.
Year 1 – Year 2
Jennifer Smith
Year 1 JS
Jennifer is originally from Glasgow in Scotland. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Degree in Business Information Technology from the University of Paisley and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education from Sunderland University. Prior to obtaining her PGCE, Jennifer worked for 15 years in the Finance and IT sector in Hong Kong, before deciding to relocate to Penang. It was during this time that she decided to pursue her passion of working with children and began volunteering as a Teaching Assistant in a Primary School in Glasgow and then in the Early Years department at SCIPS. Jennifer completed her PGCE training here at the school working in both Early Years and Key Stage 2. She is very excited to continue her professional development in Education and is entering her second year teaching Year 1 at SCIPS.
Jennifer lives in Penang with her daughter Charlotte, who is now in Year 3 at SCIPS.
Cheryl David
Year 1 CD
Cheryl was born and raised in Penang, Malaysia. She spent three years obtaining a Bachelor degree in Management from Universiti Sains Malaysia before realising that her true passion was working with young children.
She joined St. Christopher’s in 2003 and taught Reception for the first 8 years of her career. She then moved into Key Stage One and this is her fourth year teaching Year One children.
Keep up to date with what is happening at St. Christopher’s by following us on Twitter and Facebook.
Beth Harris
Year 1 BH
Beth is originally from Leamington Spa, England. She first realised her passion for teaching when she took a gap year working for a dance company, teaching dance to a range of ages. Inspired by this, she went on to get a Bachelor or arts degree in Dance at the University of Leeds. Whilst studying, her desire to travel was ignited when she applied to volunteer for an overseas charity, building a school and teaching in Africa. Beth then went onto obtain her PGCE from the University of Northampton and worked in Rugby, England for 4 years teaching in Years 1 and 2.
After visiting Penang on holiday, Beth fell in love with the island and decided to combine her love of teaching and travel. Beth enjoys exploring, adventures and cooking and is very much looking forward to being part of the SCIPS family.
Alicja Lopatto
Year 2 AL
Alicja is originally from Poland where she studied Humanities and Economics at university before spending 3 years teaching English in Primary Schools. She moved to Malaysia in 2010 where she has been living ever since, having joined the SCIPS family in 2012 as an Infants teacher.
Apart from teaching, Alicia’s biggest passion is music which she loves arranging and performing.
Alicia is married and has 2 beautiful dogs- Toffee and Cookie.
Louise Keen
Year 2 LK
Louise studied at Lancaster University, England for four years and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Drama with Qualified Teachers status. She began her career in the east of England and had the privilege of teaching children in Key Stage One and Two, coordinating Science, Drama and Mathematics. After an inspirational holiday to Asia, she decided to apply for an international posting at St. Christopher’s International Primary School and was appointed as a Year one teacher and Maths Coordinator in 2012.
Louise thoroughly enjoys travel, new experiences and socialising, although her biggest passion is horse riding. The last year has brought her the delights of marriage and her son, Khalifa.
Jasmin Dhillon
Year 2 JD
Jasmin currently lives in Penang with her husband, a senior engineering manager, son Inesh 14, daughter Tasha 12 and their pet Shih Tzu, Benz. She was raised in Ipoh, Perak and graduated high school from Main Convent Ipoh and later joined the American Degree Program in KDU College Penang. Completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Oklahoma, U.S.A.
Jasmin has been teaching in St. Christopher’s for 9 years. She has been a Year 1 teacher for 7 years and is currently enjoying her second year as a Year 2 teacher.