Introduction of New Faculty

2010 – 2011 School Year

Diana Kincaid – EC3• Diana Kincaid will be

joining the EC3 team, taking over the duties from Laura Biella, who will return to being a full time mom and part time student. Diana is currently teaching the Early Years classroom at Vientiane International School. She and her husband, Tad, will be relocating to HCMC this summer.

Tina Ratliff – EC4• Tina Ratliff will be joining the EC4 team as

Kerry Loosmore is returning to Australia to be closer to her family and to reconnect with her Australian ‘roots’! She plans to resume teaching with the Queensland Education Department. Tina and her husband, Jeff (Technology Resource Facilitator for HS), are currently teaching at the American International School Dhaka, Bangladesh. Tina has most recently served as a literacy support teacher at AISD, including work with their early childhood classes.

Kree Barrus - Kindergarten• Kree Barrus will be

joining the Kindergarten team, taking over for Dyana Wilson. Dyana will be returning to Canada to be closer to her father who is under treatment for cancer. Kree is just coming off of maternity leave after the birth of her second daughter, Kendra (9 months). Her first daughter is Cassidy and she’s three years old. Kree’s husband, Steve Poole, will be teaching math in the high school.

Mike Jackson – Grade Two• Mike Jackson will be joining

the second grade team, taking over for Graham Tait. Graham will be returning to HCMC in the fall to take up a teaching position at The British International School. Mike J. is currently teaching at an independent school in Seattle. He and his wife, Lauren, and their two sons, Trevor and Colin, are returning to the world of international schools after a few years back in the USA. Lauren will be teaching English in the high school.

Mike Gallagher – Grade Two• Mike Gallagher will be

joining the second grade team, taking over for Steve Campbell. Steve is off to the Philippines to teach at Brent International School. Mike G. is currently teaching fourth grade at Singapore American School. He and his wife, Anita, and two sons, Sean and Kyle, have been overseas at a variety of international schools across the world!

Anita Gallagher – Grade Three

• Anita Gallagher will be joining the third grade team, taking over for Ann Yoshizuka. Ann is planning her second retirement and looks forward to being back closer to family, friends, and her dog! Anita is also coming from Singapore American School where she has been teaching third grade. In addition to looking after Mike, Sean, and Kyle, Anita also keeps an eye on their puppy, Pumpkin.

Suzyn Kelley – ES Art

• Suzyn Kelley will be joining SSIS as our elementary art teacher, taking over for Helen Campbell. Helen will be returning to Singapore to pursue her art there and to be closer to her family. Suzyn is currently teaching art in Richmond, Virginia. She has a split schedule, meaning she teaches art in two different schools and she reports that one of her art rooms is in a gymnasium that she shares with some other specialists! I suspect she’s going to be very happy with her art room here at SSIS. Suzyn has three young-adult children who hope to visit her in Vietnam.

Barbara Wilson – Learning Support

• Barbara Wilson will be stepping into our position of learning support teacher, taking up part of Noel Simon’s caseload in this area. Noel will be staying in Saigon to do private practice work in speech and language therapy. Barbara and her husband, Ron, and ‘child’, Kelsey, are currently teaching at the American School of Doha. Barb has recently been a classroom teacher but she has extensive experience as a learning support specialist.

Ron Wilson – EC/ES Counselor• Ron Wilson will join SSIS as

elementary school counselor, taking over that portion of Dan Hahn’s counseling work. Dan will be staying in Saigon, consulting with SSIS, and is planning to pursue opportunities to utilize his expertise in the area of school psychology. Ron is currently teaching fourth grade at ASD. He has a BA in Social Work and is completing his MEd in counseling.

Bob Johnston – HS MusicBob Johnston comes to SSIS from International Schools in Beijing where he has taught IB music and conducted a range of choral and instrumental ensembles. His principal instruments are piano and clarinet and he has been involved in many theatrical productions at professional, amateur and school levels in his more than twenty year career in education.

Bob will be teaching all high school music classes next year including Orchestra, Choral Music, Instrumental Music (Band), and IB Music. Bob will be taking over for Darren Morley who is departing SSIS after this school year. Stephen Ada will be teaching MS music classes next school year.

Steve Poole – HS Mathematics• Steve Poole will be

joining the Math Department in the high school. This is a new position at SSIS due to growth. Steve will be teaching Geometry, IB Math SL, Pre-Calculus, and AP Statistics (grade 12). Steve and his wife, Kree (previously-mentioned EC teacher), are experienced international school teachers and have taught in the United Arab Emirates, Paraguay, and Bolivia.

Danielle Richert – MS Humanities

Danielle is currently teaching MS Humanities at Interamericano Academy in Guayaqil, Ecuador. Prior to that, she was a teacher and team leader of Grade 8 at a middle school in her home of Boise, Idaho. She has extensive experience in the teaching of writing in grades 7-10

Danielle brings solid experience in teaching middle school students and she loves it! She will be teaching Grade 8 Humanities and one section of grade 9 English next school year and will be joined by her husband, David.

Siqin Taoli – MS Mandarin

Siqin will be joining our middle school next year as a teacher of Mandarin in grade 6 and 7. Siqin is married to the Elementary Music teacher, Stephen Thompson. She has experience teaching students of this level both Mandarin and Music.

Lauren Jackson will be joining the high school English department, taking over for Rob White. Rob will be leaving SSIS at the end of this school year. Lauren is currently teaching at an independent school in Seattle. Lauren and Mike (new elementary teacher) worked at Hong Kong International School before they went back to the US for a few years to raise their children.

Lauren will be teaching English 10, AP Literature (grade 12), and IB TOK (Theory of Knowledge). She will also work with high school students in developing a literary magazine of which she has considerable experience doing.

Lauren Jackson – HS English

Regina Katz will be joining us from Fairmont Schools in Anaheim, California. Regi has taught for 12 years and is experienced in teaching both the AP and IB curricula for Biology. In fact, Dr. Katz has served as both an AP and IB examiner in the subjects her career. At her current school, she has worked closely with high school students interested in pursuing careers in life science and health and medicine.

Regi will be taking the position of Mal White who will be leaving SSIS at the end of this school year to take a teaching position in Germany. Regi will be teaching integrated science 10, IB Biology, Biology, and AP Biology (for grade 12). Mike Williams, Gregg Cottrell, and Brett MacRury, returning SSIS faculty, will be teaching our chemistry, physics, and environmental science classes next year.

Regina Katz – HS Science

Jeff Ratliff – Technology Facilitator

Jeff Ratliff will be assuming the position of HS technology facilitator. This is a new position in support of our 1:1 laptop initiative in the high school next year. Jeff, a seasoned international educator (IB, AP experience), will work with teachers in integrating technology into the curriculum.

Jeff and Tina (EC teacher) have taught in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bangladesh.

Katie Rigney Zimmermann‐My name is Katie Rigney‐Zimmermann yes, I know it is long, I figure it is a short person’s compensation thing. ☺

I am originally from Rochester, NY but have not lived in the US since 1989. I went to Heidelberg, Germany to do my MBA and never returned. I married Stefan and we now have 5 children. After 10 years in Germany, and another 10 in Malaysia, my husband’s company moved our family to HCMC. In January 2010, we enrolled our children in SSIS. My eldest is in high school and my youngest in early childhood. We are very pleased with our school choice and I am very excited about being given the opportunity, as Admissions and Marketing Director, to share this with others in the community.

I love to read but, currently find myself only reading textbooks as I am completing a M. Ed. online. Otherwise, most of my free time is spent with my family doing the normal stuff of playing, cooking and just having fun. I greatly appreciate all the efforts that the SSIS community, teachers, administrators, and parents have been put into helping our family transition and look forward to joining the staff in July.