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Homepage News and Media Insights | Introducing EY3&EY4 teaching partners

Insights | Introducing EY3&EY4 teaching partners

18 Oct 2019
EY3 Owl teaching partners
Sarah Zhang and Lynn McLaren
A lifelong resident of China, Sarah has been teaching kindergarten for over 8 years and loves to work with children every day. A Zumba fan and an extensive traveller, one of Sarah’s passions is exploring China and she recently climbed the snow-capped mountain of Yunnan Province.
Her educational philosophy is to be consistently available, intellectually and emotionally, to guide the pupils in her care. She says: “I love to watch the children develop in the best way they can. And on the way I will be always observe, support and ready to help them.”
Her teaching partner, Lynn McLaren, has 13 years of teaching experience but has only just joined us here at Huili. Also a traveller, last summer she visited St Kilda, small cluster of islands in the Atlantic Ocean that constitute a world UNESCO heritage site. Lynn’s future aspirations focus on becoming the best educator she can be, as she hopes to, “Continue to learn and grow as an early years educator. I want to continue to read up on and implement best practice.”
Sarah and Lynn are supported by Vanny and Alice.
 
EY3 Penguin teaching partners
Scarlett Xi and Liam Hartley
Scarlett achieved a Bachelor’s Degree from Fudan University before launching into a 14-year long teaching career to date. A swimmer, decorator and a music and film buff, Scarlett is extremely gratified to be teaching Penguin class.Her teaching partner, Liam, is currently enjoying his third academic year in China and has been teaching in the UK for 5 years before his travels and career aspirations brought him here. Liam is a keen fitness enthusiast who plays badminton and does cross-fit regularly. He is also very much enjoying all of the culinary delights that Shanghai has to offer. Nicely settled into his life in China, he says: “I plan to stay in China for the foreseeable future. I may also look into applying to do a PhD on an area relating to sociolinguistics or speech and language development in EAL children.” Scarlett and Liam are supported by Bunny and Grace.
 
EY3 Robin teaching partners
Bella Yang and Steffen Eichhorn
Bella holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Chinese Language and Literature, a certificate on teaching early childhood and a diploma in Early Childhood Education. A great enthusiast for traditional Chinese cultural pursuits, Bella enjoys painting reading and cooking in a classical style. She believes that the successful future development of children requires a solid example in the form of their teachers:“I believe that teachers are important role models for children to learn from; the more playful, creative and aware the teacher, the richer the learning experience for the children, and the more hopeful the future will be for them.” Steffen, her teaching partner, as been living in China for 9 years but is relatively new to teaching as this is his second academic year. A Chinese science and cultural science scholar, Steffen is devoted to improving his body and mind to become the best possible teacher he can be: “I strive for excellence in all that I do and to have high expectations for myself. I am working on getting back to being as fit and strong as I was three years ago, maintaining a regular training schedule and qualify for various fitness-related competitions. My aim is to be a lifelong learner and to continually improve my teaching practice and interpersonal skills.” Bella and Steffen are supported by Linda and Leaf.
 
EY3 Flamingo teaching partners
Emma Wang and Jennifer Jacques
Emma has been teaching for the past 8 years after achieving her kindergarten teacher qualification certificate from East China Normal University, with a major in early year education. A keen musician, Emma is used to hard work and rigorous practice to become skilled in everything she does, as she hopes to: “remain a highly professional teacher in both theory and practice.”Her teaching partner Jennifer started her career in 2011 by teaching English as a second language for two and a half years in Shanghai. After teaching in China for five years, she decided to return to England to further develop her best practice but felt the need to return to Shanghai in 2019 to pursue her passion for teaching abroad. Another big passion of Jennifer’s is music, as she attends weekly drum lessons and hopes one day to be in a band. As for her teaching philosophy, she aspires to: “create an environment in which every child is safe, happy, included and inspired.” Emma and Jennifer are supported by Kelsey and Amy.   EY4 Giraffe teaching partners Herming Chen and Joanne Parrishen   Herming has been involved in the education industry for over a decade and has simple aspirations to be: an amazing teacher at Huili Nursery. Herming loves yoga, cooking, dogs and going on long hikes. Herming’s teaching partner Joanne has been teaching for almost 20 years, the past 8 of them here in China. She holds a BA (QTS) in physical education and sport science, as well as a post graduate diploma in education. Joanne has been exploring China’s language, culture and geography along with her family during their time here and they are all keen to see more of what this beautiful country holds in store. She also aims to take on additional professional challenges as she grows as a teacher: I would like to continue to further qualify myself in my field, undertaking distance learning courses and some educational research. Herming and Joanne are supported by Iris and Monica.

EY4 Zebra teaching partners Katrina Cui and Chris Haley Katrina’s hometown is Zhejiang but for the past 15 years she has made Shanghai her home and joined Huili after 13 years in education. While she loves to cook, travel, dance and enjoy music, she is also a cat lover, even though her cat Bambi is a, “very naughty boy!” Alongside her career aspirations, Katrina aims to explore more of what the wider world has to offer: I am very keen to travel to see more countries and absorb their culture. Food is also a great love of mine and I want to learn how to be a better baker! Chris Haley, the other half of the Zebra class teaching team, is from the UK but has been in China for the past 5 years, where he has been putting his Postgraduate Certificate Education (International) (PGCEi) to good use. Chris loves to be active, whether he is going climbing with his family or taking long bike rides with friends. He is also a lifelong runner, gradually advancing from 1-mile runs as a child to completing marathons today. Currently, Chris is taking on triathlons to advance his skills and physique even further. Looking ahead, Chris wants to tackle new challenges professionally while enjoying his family life: At work I would like to take my understanding of Early Years education further over the next couple of years and complete a masters degree in early years education. My aspirations for my family are that firstly we are all happy, and secondly that we continue to have great adventures together. Katrina and Chris are supported by Gillian and Julia.

EY4 Monkey teaching partners Emily Gu and Katie Ware After graduating from East China Normal University, Emily also achieved a Certificate in pedagogies for Bilingual/Dual language learning from Goldsmiths’ College, London. With 16 years of teaching experience, Emily is always looking for ways to make the learning experience better for the children in her care, as her ambition is to, establish a safe, caring, happy, motivating and inspiring learning environment for each unique child. I want to find every opportunity to arouse childrens learning interests, encourage them to become independent learners and risk takers in the new generation. Her teaching partner Katie joins us from England where she gained her BA in history from the University of Derby and her PGCEi from the University of Nottingham. Katie’s whole teaching career has taken place here in China, as she was in Changzhou for 3 years before making the move to Shanghai. As well as teaching in the classroom, Katie also teaches rugby and martial arts to adults as a fully qualified instructor, as she aims to keep developing her growing range of abilities and qualifications while enjoying her life in China. Emily and Katie are supported by Liezel and Ella.

EY4 Elephant teaching partners Jenny Xu and Nicolle Horn After almost 7 years of teaching, Jenny has taken on the role of Elephant class teacher with great joy and enthusiasm, as she is always eager to help her pupils develop physically, mentally and emotionally as well as academically through their studies. A keen student of healthy diet and exercise regimens herself, Jenny believes that a healthy body is essential for maintaining a healthy mind. To keep herself openminded and receptive to new ideas, Jenny hopes to, visit different countrys nursery setups in the future, so I can learn from the way they teach and organise themselves. He teaching partner Nicole is already something of a world traveller, having moved to Spain at age 11  with her family where she learned to speak Spanish fluently. Nicole has been in China for the past 3 of her 6 years of teaching, and says that she would love to, immerse myself more in Chinese culture, travelling to towns and cities out of Shanghai, as well as improving my Chinese! As a teacher, Nicole believes that there is always something new to learn and practise. As such, she is always on the lookout for opportunities to improve her teaching skills by attending as many professional development workshops as possible, while learning from fellow teachers and leaders. Jenny and Nicolle are supported by Michelle and Mandy.