Find each of the members of our wonderful teaching staff below, organized by section:
1) IB Coordinators & Whole School
2) Early Years & Primary
3) Secondary
Specialization. Teacher Self-Introduction
| IB PYP Coordinator | Nat Jensen | I work with the IBO as an IB Educator in the Asia Pacific and Africa, Europe and Middle East regions, qualified as a Workshop Leader, School Visitor Team Member and Reader. I absolutely love this work as I get to work alongside educators and as part of the verification team help schools as they transition to the PYP framework. As PYP teachers we support and foster student agency and as a leader I believe in supporting the agency of teachers and work within a strengths-based approach, recognising and supporting teachers in their roles and creating a culture of mutual respect. |
| IB MYP Coordinator | Mike Piotrowski | I was born in the United States, brought up in Poland but spent most of my life in China. I hold an MA in Applied Linguistics and have taught English, Spanish and TOK in IB schools for nine years. I also have experience teaching at language summer camps in England and Poland. Currently, I teach DP English Language and Literature course, DP Theory of Knoweldge and MYP English Acquisition. I devote all of my free time to my family and learning new languages. |
| IB DP Coordinator | Johan Aucamp | |
| Librarian | Charlotte AuCamp | I am from the sunny South Africa. My primary goal at ZIS is to make kids love reading. I love the special moments that teaching generates. I have 27 years of experience in teaching and 11 years of experience as a Librarian. I am the founder of the multy level library of BIAC International – Chengdu. I obtained my Bachelor of Education at the University of Pretoria. In my spare time I like reading historic novels and cycling. |
| Chinese Librarian | Yan Wu | I am from Guangdong Province, China. I graduated from a Shantou college and major in Education English. Before transferring to the ZIS Library, I worked at the ZIS office as an administrative staff for 9 years. I like ZIS because I can learn from everyone here. With a thirst for knowledge and love for students, I will begin my first year of full-time service at ZIS Library. This is a new chapter, I will try my best to make it better. Outside of work, I travel with my family a lot. We are planning a motorcycle trip with our sweet girl next year. |
| College Counselor | Shihui Tang | With ten years working experience in a university in northeast of China, I am capable to offer college counselling services bilingually concerning the overseas universities applications and major selections based on students’ uniqueness and future career preference. Respecting students’ opinions is one of what I believe. I assist students to think about their future by strengthening the understanding on different majors and occupations. One of my interests is talking to people from universities and all walks of life and share this information with students. |
| School Counselor | Dr. Lana Staton | I was first introduced to international teaching and the IB curriculum nearly 18 years ago while teaching special education in Ethiopia. Since then, my love of inquiry-based learning and travel has prompted me and my husband to teach in Ecuador, the United Arab Emirates, and throughout my home country of the United States. I hold a doctorate in Educational Leadership, a Master’s in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in Special Education, and a BA in Elementary Education, and have a host of experience leading, educating, and counseling in a variety of settings. Digging deeper into my love of learning about how the brain functions, I continued my post-graduate studies in Neuropsychology last year. Joining me in Zhuhai are my two children and my husband who is working at a nearby university. For fun I enjoy hiking outdoors with my family, reading, watching movies, and learning something new every day. |
CLASS NAME SELF-INTRODUCTION
| Nursery | JoLeen Peternel | I am originally from a small town in Ontario Canada where I grew up living on a farm. I graduated with a degree in labour studies before beginning my career in education. In 2009 I decided that adventure was calling, so I moved to South Korea. After teaching young learners in Korea for five years, I decided to move to China to gain experience teaching at universities. However, it wasn’t too long before I made my way back to the kindergarten kids. For the past five years I have been teaching kindergarten and I am really looking forward to teaching Nursery at ZIS. When I am not on campus, I enjoy spending time with my family and scuba diving! |
| Reception | Wesley Franz | I am from South Africa. I have a BA degree In Sport and Recreation Management. My degree led me to work at schools, where I did Physical Education Activities with students. I loved it and thus I decided to do my Post Graduate Certificate in Education.I was a teacher in South Africa for 8 years. In 2017 I started the China adventure, which has been totally amazing. For the last 3 years, I’ve been working with kindergarten students. I am eager and excited about working with the students of ZIS.
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, and I love my early morning cycle. |
| Year 1 | Sasha Andrews | I am from Cape Town South Africa. I relocated to China in 2010 to travel and explore the wonderful culture. I decided to stay and complete my bachelor’s in economics while learning the Chinese language. I worked in Hong Kong for a Commercial Real Estate company as an analyst; however, I didn’t find much joy in the day-to-day office environment. With a career change and further study, I gained experience teaching ESL to primary students, Nursery, Kindergarten and 1st grade in China. I’ve found my passion working in the education field and have been doing so for 7 years. I am also currently obtaining a US post-baccalaureate in education . I enjoy spending free time with my family doing outdoors activities. |
| Year 2 | Lorene Tung | My name is Lorene Tung, and I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. As a Canadian-born Chinese and growing up in a country that strongly supports cultural diversity, cultural adaptability is one of my core strengths. I graduated from the University of Toronto and completed my Postgraduate Certificate in Education with focus on International Early Years at the University of the West of England, Bristol. I have been working in Zhuhai for 5 years and have over 10 years of teaching experience with students across various age levels in Primary. I can not wait to start working in ZIS and I hope we can have lots of fun together. |
| Year 3 | Michelle Hobbs | I am from the province of Ontario in Canada. I moved around a lot growing up and as an adult. I have been working in international schools for nine years, and twelve years total in the education field. After gaining my first degree from McMaster University (a Bachelor of the Arts), I decided to teach ESL in South Korea to see how I liked teaching, I later returned to Canada to get my teaching degree from The University of Toronto before returning overseas. In the past I’ve worked in South Korea, Qatar, Japan, Taiwan and now I’m in mainland China. I just came from Chengdu, where I was for two years, and now I’m excited to start my job in Zhuhai and contribute to the learning community and enjoy the beautiful scenery all around! I have am very interested in singing, public speaking, cooking and animated media. I am working as the Year 3 teacher and in the realm of clubs, have passion for The Arts. |
| Year 4 | Mazyar Ahmadizadeh | BIO Coming Soon
I am from Chengdu China where is the panda’s hometown. I studied Chinese Language and Literature there before beginning my career in education. Also got my Chinese teaching certificate when I am graduating from the university. After teaching Chinese for 2 years in local middle school, I took up my first international post in ZIS in 2014. I am a co-teacher in primary school and mostly teach Chinese. I taught the students who were in different level in the past years. Now I am teaching year 5. When not in the classroom I enjoy playing with my twins, reading and traveling. |
| Year 5 | Laura Purdon | I’m thrilled to be joining the ZIS team. I see myself as a vibrant, outgoing, and energetic individual. I believe my personality and zest for life comes from growing up in sunny South Africa. I enjoy gardening, the outdoors, and spending quality time with my family (including my two cats). In South Africa, I was a teacher in the subjects of business, economics as well as travel and tourism. I have been in China for four years, during which time I have educated students of different ages with regard to English. I strive to make learning an exciting experience and impart my passion for knowledge to every student that enters my classroom. |
| Year 6 | Adeem Sajid | I am delighted to join the Zhuhai International School team as a Year 6 Homeroom teacher as well as the PYP Coordinator. I am from Windsor, Berkshire, England. I have been an English Primary Teacher in various cities of China for over 7 years including Beijing and Shanghai. In my spare time away from work, I enjoy performing at musical events due to my passion as a musician. |
| PYP Art | Jurian Killian | I’m an educator and sports enthusiast from South Africa. I hold a Bachelor of Education degree with a focus in educational themes and professional studies. I have also completed several courses in ABET and Arts. For the past 11 years, I’ve have been a primary school teacher, grade, and subject head. I’ve not only been an ardent sports enthusiast but also involved in coaching various sporting clubs over the years where I’ve served as the Athletics and Cricket Coordinator. When I’m not in the classroom or on the field, you can often find me pursuing adrenaline pumping activities. |
| PYP PHE | Craig Dudley | I am from the United Kingdom and have lived in China since 2015. I am a former professional rugby player who has played in New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East. |
| EAL & Chinese | Mandy Deng | Introduction coming soon… |
| EAL | Winnie Huang | I am Winnie Huang from Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. I majored in English Education before I work as an Engilsh teacher at a language training school, middle school and primary school for more than 9 years. After the 9 years’ English teaching experience and with the enthuisam to Chinese, now I come to ZIS to continue my career. Hopefully, I will help my students to find learning Chinese fun and easy. When out of work, I also enjoy swimming, travelling and follow some opera shows from which I can learn some interesting expressions. Recently, I am preparing for the test of Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages. |
SUBJECTS. NAME SELF-INTRODUCTION
| MYP / DP Visual Arts | Inela Kovacevic | I was born and raised in Southeast European country Serbia, formerly known as Yugoslavia. Studying art was the only logical path for me since many members of my family are artist. After obtaining my bachelor’s and master’s degree in history of arts at Faculty of Philosophy of University of Belgrade, I wished to broaden my knowledge and gain some different skills, which then resulted in me working in several different positions from being an Art teacher to working for a globally known fashion company as a visual coordinator, store manager and educator/trainer in merchandising field. This is my fourth year in Zhuhai as a teacher and my first year in ZIS. My main pedagogy method and concept is – enjoying. Art is such a marvelous way of communicating and I hope I can teach my students how enjoyable and enlightening it can be. When I’m not in school, I’m outside practicing kung fu and learning Chinese lion dance, photographing or designing jewelry. |
| MYP Music | Shayok Banerjee | Bio coming soon. |
| Design & Art | Camellia Qin | I am from Guangdong Province, China. Because of my parents’ job transfer, I studied in different cities in Guangdong Province, from Jiangmen, Zhuhai, to Guangzhou. I got my undergraduate degree in Guangdong University of Foreign Studies majoring Digital Design, and master degree of fine art in Illustration in Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA in the U.S.. When I was in the U.S., I was my professor’s assistant and in charge of several undergraduate projects, which was my first time to get into education area. This experience gave me a strong sense of accomplishment. After back to China, I have continued working in the field of international education. Now it is my fourth-year teaching, but first year in ZIS. Outside of my work, I enjoy watching movies, or go to cafes. There is a cat cafe near my house, and they have lots of Ragdoll cats. Spending time with them makes me relax. |
| Sciences
Physics, Math |
James Chung
Bob Meng |
I was born in South Korea but raised in sunny southern California and Dallas, Texas. I hold a B.A. in Christian Education and Youth Ministry, and a MEd in Curriculum and Instruction: Leadership. I have always enjoyed working with students and have volunteered to support various youth groups and clubs. I began my education career 10 years ago in China as a primary core teacher, and I was able to serve with the same school for the last 10 years gaining experiences in primary, secondary, and administration. This will be my first year with ZIS and I will be teaching MYP and DP Science. Beyond school, I love spending time with my family, cooking, drinking a good cup of joe, and playing tennis and basketball. I am very excited and honored to be part of ZIS and look forward to growing with ZIS community.
BIO coming soon… |
| DP Coordinator & English | Joan Aucamp | I’m from Johannesburg, South Africa. I obtained my Bachelor of Education from the University of Pretoria. I majored in Geography and Afrikaans and started teaching in 1994. I took up my first international post in 2019 in Chengdu where I taught in the PYP and MYP. I now teach Language and Literature to our students in Zhuhai. I believe that all teachers should create a warm, caring environment where students can flourish and explore to reach their full potential. When not in the classroom, I enjoy cycling, tennis, hiking and spending time with my precious family. |
| Chinese | Lynn Qiu | I was born and raised in Jiangxi Province, China. And I worked as a Chinese teacher at the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia for three years after graduating from my undergraduate degree . After that, I got a master’s degree in Teaching Chinese as an International Language at the Education University of Hong Kong. Now I teach MYP Chineses Acquisition, MYP chinese language and literature and DP Chinese Acquisition at Zhuhai International School.Outside of work, I enjoy reading, watching movies and learning new skills. |
| Math | Eric Mitzel | I am from the beautiful desert of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. I graduated from the University of Arizona with a major in Biology and minors in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. After working as a chemist and volunteer tutor, I found my passion to be teaching. I received a Master of Arts degree in Secondary Education from the University of Phoenix. Over the course of 17 years, I have taught all levels of Mathematics and Mathematical Methods to Elementary Educators at Arizona State University. I am excited to begin my third year at ZIS. This school and community is a great place to work and our students make me smile everyday. I am continuing to be the homeroom teacher for year 10 and am grateful to experience their continued growth. This year I am taking on the challenge of being the CAS and SA coordinator. I look forward to creating amazing community service activities for our school. At ZIS, I am also involved with organizing the community dinner and supervising MUN. When not teaching, I enjoy bike riding, traveling, yoga, reading, and watching movies. |
| Chinese | Kimberley Shi | Kimberley Shi is from China where she lived and studied Chinese language and literature in normal university. She got the National senior school teaching certification and National Psychological counselor certification. She had 3 years of Chinese teaching experience on local school curriculum, then she taught PYP curriculum for 3 years in ZIS and MYP/DP Chinese curriculum for 4 years until now. She likes reading books related to education and literature and playing different musical instruments. |
| Chinese | Haiyan Rong | I am from Henan Province. I obtained my master of Teaching Chinese as a foreign language in Yunnan University.I worked as a Chinese teacher in Myanmar, America and Nigeria for more than 5 years. I am gonna teach MYP Chinese Language Acquisition in ZIS this year. In addition, It is also my great pleasure to join in this so warmly community. I enjoy cooking and watching movies. |
| Chinese | Fang LIN | I am from Fujian province. I have been teaching Chinese for over ten years since I graduated from Sichuan University. I worked in a bilingual school in southern Thailand after six years’ working in Chengdu and Suzhou. My career started as a secondary Chinese acquisition teacher. I joined ZIS two years ago as a MYP Chinese lang and lit and Chinese acqusition teacher. I am also teaching DP Chinese B. |
| Econ & Business Studies | Stephen Padilla | Hello everyone. I will be the language acquisition teacher for this year. My educational background is in economics. I received a B.A. in economics from University of California Riverside and have passed the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) level 1. However, I have found a wonderful career in English teaching. My teaching career in China began at English First. This is where I developed a love for teaching. My following journey was opening a business specializing in TOEFL and IELTS. Now I have come to Zhuhai to experience teaching in an international school. I look forward to embarking on the challenge and can’t wait to meet everyone. |
| English & MYPC | Mike Piotrowski | I was born in the United States, brought up in Poland but spent most of my life in China. I hold an MA in Applied Linguistics and have taught English, Spanish and TOK in IB schools for nine years. I also have experience teaching at language summer camps in England and Poland. Currently, I teach DP English Language and Literature course, DP Theory of Knowledge and MYP English Acquisition. I devote all of my free time to my family and learning new languages. |
| Math | Navid Aminian | I was born in Iran but from the age of six I studied in India at an international school for twelve years. I then attended university in southern India where I received two master’s degrees: in Mathematics (M.Sc.) and Education (M.Ed.). My three decades of teaching experience began with teaching CBSE and London University GCSE Mathematics and Physics for thirteen years at the same international school. Then I moved to China where I taught English at BNU, BIT and UIC (an affiliate of HK Baptist University) in Zhuhai for eight years; and for eleven years I trained and managed foreign teachers at American TPR English School. I enjoy reading in my spare time and love visiting my family in the USA, Germany, Italy and Dubai and my former schoolmates who are spread all over the world. At ZIS I will be teaching MYP Mathematics, will be the Year 8 homeroom teacher, and will run the Chess and Brain Teasers Club. My wife is Chinese, and I have integrated into the Chinese culture. |
| PHE | Sego Mokgothu | Bio coming soon. |
| Vice Principal of Secondary & Biology | Aaron Patterson | Born and raised in Belfast, Ireland. I hold a BSc in Biomedical Engineering and an encyclopedic knowledge of 1980s rock music. After gaining my teaching qualification from Cambridge I have benefitted from experience as a researcher, development practitioner and teacher working in projects including early childhood education programmes, global citizenship education, SEN and inclusive education, and student-centered pedagogies. I have lived and worked in China for 12 years (a country that I have developed a strong bond with). These experiences have reinforced my enthusiastic approach to international education and global development and to education as a catalyst for equitable social change as a peace-building process. My free time is devoted to my three children and listening to ‘dad rock.’ |
| EAL | Andri Cronje | I am South African born and have enjoyed travelling and teaching various class groups and individuals for the past 21 years. After obtaining my Honours Degree in Psychology and thereafter studying to obtain my teaching credentials in South Africa, I began my international teaching career in London. I was afforded amazing opportunities to support students with learning challenges and also to further my studies in Education . I have worked at various schools providing learning support, remedial sessions, counselling, teaching EAL, English FAL, English Home Language, IGCSE English, Afrikaans and Life Orientation and also supported learning in other subjects. I coordinated and enjoyed various extra-curricular activities on and off the sports field. The past 21 years have provided me with teaching opportunities in England, Taiwan, South Africa, Oman and China. This year at ZIS I am privileged to have the opportunity to work with the MYP students again and will be responsible for EAL Yr 7/8, Language Acquisition Phase 2/3 Yr 7/8 and Language Acquisition Phase 4/5 Yr 9/10. I love travelling, archaeology, drinking coffee on my balcony, walking and watching insightful movies and documentaries. |
| I&S | Damon Sazegar | Mr. Damon Sazegar has been with Zhuhai International School (ZIS) for the last three academic years as a DP Economics and Business Management teacher and as a MYP Individuals & Societies teacher. Before coming to ZIS he was the Director of Studies for Cornerstone International School in Zhengzhou, Henan. He has earned a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in Finance from San Jose State University, and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Pepperdine University. Both schools are located in his native home state of California, U.S.A. |