Sau-wan Gin is a teacher in Pre-Nursery at the British International School Shanghai, Puxi Campus.
I have worked with children of all ages across the Early Years Foundation Stage and taught in international schools for a number of years before moving to BISS Puxi. Prior to Shanghai, I also taught Reception and Nursery classes at our Nord Anglia school in Beijing. I have also worked alongside multiple agencies in Sure Start Children’s Centres in the UK.
I studied at Birmingham City University and graduated with my degree in Early Childhood Education and Early Years Professional Status.
I currently teach our youngest Early Years learners in Pre-Nursery, and lead our year group of Pre-Nursery teaching experts and learning assistants. As part of the Early Years leadership team, we ensure that our students’ individual learning needs are met through our enabling environments and encouraging plenty of child-initiated learning opportunities.
I believe that teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world and seeing young children learn through exploration, discovery and play experiences is something that I’m very passionate about. I especially enjoy building a sense of community in my classroom and supporting my children to develop those key foundation skills.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time outdoors, cycling, practising yoga and hiking. I’m also a foodie who enjoys cooking, eating and discovering delicious delicacies!
I started teaching in 2006 and taught for eight years in the UK where I had a range of experience teaching in Year 1 and Early Years within some diverse and outstanding primary schools and Early Years settings. In 2016, my family and I moved to Egypt and I taught in one of the leading British international schools in Alexandria, Egypt. During this time, I took a lead role in the development of the indoor and outdoor Early Year’s provision and learning environment.
I achieved a Bachelor of Education (BEd) at the University of Gloucestershire in July 2006.
I teach at BISS as a Pre-Nursery teacher within the Early Years. I really enjoy creating outstanding learning environments for young children to grow and develop within. I especially like the way children lead their learning through the power of play.
I enjoy enabling curiosity in children by providing investigative and exciting resources and learning opportunities. I also love to inspire children’s imaginations through books and stories, using the children’s ideas to create new storylines.
I am married with two children who both attend BISS Puxi. We enjoy the outdoors, especially spending time on the beach or visiting the countryside.
Ha Grant is a Nursery teacher at the British International School Shanghai, Puxi.
I have several years of teaching experience in the UK and internationally, specialising in learning support for SEN and EAL students. I have worked at British international schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and China. In my recent position in Guangzhou, I worked as a Year 1 class teacher delivering the PYP programme in a three-programme IB school.
I studied at a UK university for my BA (Hons) degree and my PGCEi.
I work as an Early Years Teacher in the Nursery Panthers class. We work together as a fantastic team supporting the children’s learning.
What I love most about teaching is that the year group I teach is such a fun age, and I am laying all the foundations for many skills; best of all, I get to teach children how to read, which is so rewarding.
In my spare time, I enjoy yoga, bike riding, craft, and most of all, travelling around Asia with my family.
I have had the privilege of working with children all over the world for the past seventeen years. I taught in a Primary School in the USA and coordinated English programmes in Spain. In Shanghai, I have directed Disney English Centres, managed an international kindergarten and later taught grades three and one.
I studied at the University of Arizona for my BA in Elementary Education and Structured English Immersion. I received my teaching certification in the state of Arizona.
I currently work as a Nursery Teacher as well as Year Leader in the Early Years Foundation Stage. My main role is to ensure the children in Early Years have an exceptional learning experience and cultivate a love of learning. I support all teachers, students, and families in Nursery.
I very much enjoy getting to know my students and their families. The bonds created between school and home make teaching and learning a very special experience. I enjoy planting the seeds of knowledge in such young children and watching them grow to make the world a better place.
I am married with a son and a daughter who both attend BISS Puxi. In my free time, I enjoy going on adventures with my family. We like to visit temples, parks and learn about the world around us.
Devyani Das is a Nursery teacher at the British International School Shanghai, Puxi.
I started teaching and working within the Montessori environment in 1999. Apart from being the lead teacher, I was also actively engaged in mentoring interns and teachers across the school as the Academic Coordinator, and later as the Academic Director.
I studied at the Maharaja Sayajirao University for my BSc, at the North American Montessori Center for my Early Childhood Education, and at Nottingham University for my PGCEi.
I currently work as an Early Years Teacher in the vibrant BISS community.
I see myself as a guide and facilitator. Being a part of young learners’ growing years and watching them go through a complete metamorphosis is sheer joy! My area of focus goes far beyond academic achievement, it boils down to problem-solving skills and life preparation.
Shanghai has been home for me, my husband, and my daughter for the past 26 years.
I taught in England from 2013 until leaving for China in 2019. During this period, I taught across multiple schools in both Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, mainly tasked with developing and/or improving Early Years units over short periods of time. I moved to BISS Puxi in 2019, and took on the role of Reception Year Leader in 2020.
I completed an honours degree in Sport and Exercise Science in 2008 at Nottingham Trent University. I completed my PGCE a few years later, specialising in Early Years and Key Stage One, at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln.
I currently lead the Reception year group, which is part of our Early Years unit. I am responsible for developing the Reception curriculum, as well as contributing to our overall Early Years vision. I have also, during my time at BISS Puxi, had responsibility for leading Pre-Nursery, Nursery, and the Early Years curriculum.
I am particularly passionate about language acquisition, specifically the way in which foreign languages are effectively acquired. I therefore, enjoy incorporating, and teaching, systematic phonics, guided reading, and our Talk for Writing literacy scheme, in order to provide children with a thorough and comprehensive foundation in their English language, particularly for those who speak English as a second or additional language.
I enjoy learning, speaking, and reading Mandarin, as well as playing competitive football in Shanghai.
I started teaching English in a prestigious boarding school in Guangdong, China in 2005. Two years later, I relocated to the UK where I taught Mandarin in both Primary and Secondary Schools for four and a half years. I began work in the Early Years department at BISS Puxi in 2011. During the past 11 years, I have gained invaluable experience teaching all three year groups across the Foundation Stage.
I am a qualified teacher in both China and the UK. I studied at South China Normal University for my BA and gained my UK teaching certificate from Christ Church University, Kent.
I currently work in the Early Years department, as a Reception class teacher. I also take a lead in creating a stimulating and inviting learning environment for the outdoor learning space.
I very much enjoy all areas of teaching in the Early Years curriculum. In particular, I am passionate about children learning outdoors, where they have the freedom to use multiple senses to explore the world around them and to develop a sense of self, independence, creativity, resilience, decision-making and problem-solving skills.
I am married with two daughters who both attend BISS Puxi. Together, we like to spend our free time exploring Shanghai.
Kirstie Chilvers is a Reception teacher at the British International School Shanghai, Puxi.
I started teaching in the UK in 2009, throughout the Primary School and EYFS, taking on the roles of Reception Year Lead and Religious Education Coordinator. I began my Shanghai journey in 2016, teaching at NAIS Pudong and then coming to BISS Puxi the year after.
I studied at Leeds Trinity University, taking a four-year primary teaching degree (BEd), specialising in Physical Education.
I currently work in the Early Years department as a Reception teacher. Within the EYFS team I take on different responsibilities, collaborating regularly with my Reception colleagues to develop and enhance both the provision and the curriculum.
I very much enjoy teaching phonics in Reception, as this is essential for children to become successful readers and spellers/writers in the early years of schooling and beyond. Seeing the huge progress in their reading and writing from the start of the year to the end is very fulfilling.
I have two cats that I adopted when I arrived in Shanghai, which I love very dearly, and I also help a local charity by temporarily fostering stray cats.
Whether your child is a student in the Primary or Secondary School, the foundations for their learning are made in the Early Years.
This area of the school looks different to the regular classrooms in the more senior sections of the school because it is here that we create their future by setting them on the right path for success.
It is here that we provide opportunities for children to explore, evolve and adapt to their ever-changing world inside the school buildings as well as in our outside learning spaces.
It is here where firm foundations create strong and sustainable futures.
Our brand-new learning environment integrates all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
The areas have been carefully planned to enable the children to explore and learn, following their interests and providing new challenges to extend their skills.
These learning areas enhance the children’s ability to extend their skills in physical, logical, intellectual, social, and emotional spheres through guided self-exploration and self-choice.
Using the outdoor environment naturally inspires children to become more physically active, take controlled risks and challenge themselves in different ways.
The outdoor setting motivates children to work together, and problem solve. Students gain the essential skills to manage conflict, communicate their needs, and co-operate with their peers in a warm, safe, and secure environment overseen by our excellent teachers and their assistants.
Speak to our Admissions Team about what makes us unique or arrange a visit to our campus and see for yourself.
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