Staff Profiles

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.

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.

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.

Yang pursued his Bio Resource degree at University Sains Malaysia in Penang before furthering his education with a PGCEi from Nottingham University and obtaining Fina coaching certification. He began his career as a PE teacher at SCIPS before transitioning to KTJ, where he served as Head of PE from 2014 to 2019. After five years at KTJ, Yang took on the role of Head of Aquatics and Club Coordinator in Tbilisi, Georgia. From 2021 to 2024, he advanced to become the Head of Whole School PE and Aquatics in British International School Tbilisi. Yang is thrilled to return to SCIPS as a PE teacher. Outside the classroom, he is passionate about fitness, water polo, swimming, and spending quality time with his family.

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.

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.

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.