Staff Profiles
Nursery – Reception
At St Christopher’s, our dedicated and well-qualified team of staff put your children at the heart of everything we do.
Nursery – Reception
Joanne McCann
Nursery (NJM)
Joey is originally from Liverpool, England. She trained at Liverpool Hope University and has an honours degree in Primary Education and Disability Studies. Whilst at University, she won a scholarship to spend a semester studying and teaching in Durban, South Africa. It was here that she met her husband, Rudi and they have since welcomed two children, Nell and Remy. After teaching in the UK, Joey spent three years teaching in a British International school in Kuwait before eventually moving to work in an international school in Penang, First, she worked there as a teacher and EYFS leader before later becoming the Deputy Headteacher of the school. Joey fell in love with Penang the moment she arrived and now classes Penang as ‘home.’ Outside of school she enjoys fashion, reading educational papers and exploring all of the fabulous food that Penang has to offer! She is very excited to be working in a school as lovely as SCIPS where she has been since 2020.
Elaine Lim
Nursery (REL)
Elaine is a Malaysian Eurasian of British descent. She was trained as an Early Years teacher under the Persatuan Tadika Malaysia (Malaysian Kindergarten Association) at University of Malaya and upon graduation, studied Principles of Early Childhood Education under the London Montessori Centre. She has many years of teaching experience and has taught children from the age of 2-1/2 years to 6 years.
She is married to Vincent and has two young adult sons, Jeremy and Christian.
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Cheryl David
Nursery (NCD)
Cheryl was born and raised in Penang, Malaysia. She obtained a Bachelor degree in Management from Universiti Sains Malaysia before she realised that her true passion was working with young children. She ventured into teaching by joining St. Christopher’s in 2003 and has not looked back ever since.
Since then, Cheryl has taught Reception and Year 1 for a number of years and is currently working with children in Nursery. She believes every child is unique and she enjoys coming to school each day to ‘play’.
Outside of school, Cheryl and her husband, Aaron are kept busy with their three children. Xander and Kaylee are students at SCIPS and little Leylani joined the family in 2022.
Jennifer Smith
Reception (RJS)
Originally from Glasgow, Scotland, Jennifer has spent much of her life working overseas. After earning a BA (Hons) in Business Information Technology, she spent 15 years in Hong Kong working in finance. During this time, she met her husband, Jonathan, and together they have a daughter, Charlotte, who is currently studying the IB Diploma Programme at Uplands.
Jennifer’s passion for education began while volunteering at SCIPS, inspiring her to complete a PGCE with Sunderland University and transition into teaching. She spent three years as a Year 1 Teacher at SCIPS before moving to Scotland to teach in a primary school for two years. This was followed by three years at an international school in Spain.
She has since returned to Penang and is now in her third year at SCIPS. As Year Lead for Reception, she provides leadership to the team and fosters a nurturing, supportive environment for young learners, drawing on her broad experience in early childhood education.
Beyond the classroom, Jennifer enjoys learning Spanish, paddle boarding, dragon boating, and scuba diving, with a particular love for being on the water. She looks forward to exploring more destinations and dive sites around Asia with her family.
Shasivarman Gannason
Reception (RSG)
Shasi has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English Education Degree from the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman(UTAR). Shasi thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working in a national secondary school in Kampar, Perak to develop his teaching practice. He began his teaching career in a fully established Reggio Emilia-inspired school, here in Penang. He received guidance and support from his mentors in Singapore to further develop his skills. He taught there for 2 years before joining the SCIPS family.
Shasi’s journey led him to the vibrant educational community at SCIPS, where he started as a teaching assistant, gradually ascending to roles as a cover teacher, PE teacher, and class teacher. Notably, Shasi spanned over three fruitful years in the Nursery, and he now eagerly anticipates his role in shaping the minds of Reception students in the current academic year.
Beyond his role as an educator, he is an ardent textile and art enthusiast, he is a painter at heart. He enjoys volunteering and supporting the weavers infusing his creativity into every aspect of his life.
Jasmin Dhillon
Reception (RJD)
Jasmin has been residing in Penang for close to 20 years. She has a passion for teaching and has been a teacher in SCIPS for 15 years. Jasmin has a vast experience of teaching in the early years (Reception) as well as Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2). She was born and brought up in Ipoh and graduated high school from Main Convent Ipoh. Jasmin continued her studies in America where she studied at the University of Oklahoma and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication.
She resides in Penang with her husband Jiv, a senior engineering manager and has three children, the first, a mechanical engineering graduate; her second is studying engineering and a daughter who is studying law. Jasmine enjoys nature walks, chilling with friends and cooking. Every year has been an adventure and she is excited about starting her 16th year in SCIPS and looks forward to welcoming her class of 2021.