The warmth of summer has not yet faded, and the campus is revitalized by the return of teachers. The 2025 new school year teacher training is here as scheduled, with a series of enriching and efficient arrangements designed to empower both new and veteran teachers, enabling them to embrace the upcoming semester with enthusiasm.

New Teacher Training:

Empowering and Collaborating Together

Understanding the education of a school often begins with its teachers. Teachers are the main implementers of educational philosophy, and the realization of educational ideals relies on them.

In this new academic year, a new wave of teachers with unique educational philosophies and methods has joined KCIS. They have emerged through rigorous selection, providing educational assurance for students and injecting fresh energy into the school's educational work.

David J.

G4 Homeroom Teacher

● BA in Marketing, Bournemouth University

● Primary Education, University of Winchester (PGCE）

David holds a BA in Marketing from Bournemouth University and a PGCE from the University of Winchester. He began his teaching career in the UK and has since gained six years of international teaching experience in Kuwait, Thailand, and Colombia. He has taught across both the British and American (US Common Core) curricula, with a focus on creating inclusive, student-centered classrooms. At KCIS, David teaches in the Primary School, where he supports students in developing core academic skills alongside creativity and confidence.

He believes that effective teaching starts with strong relationships, and that every child learns best when they feel valued, supported, and challenged. Outside the classroom, David enjoys hiking, exploring new cultures, and learning languages—he speaks Spanish and is currently learning Chinese.

Melissa H.

G2 Homeroom teacher

● Bachelor of Art in Human Movement Science, University of the Free State

● Postgraduate Certificate in Education, University of South Africa

Mrs. Melissa Hager earned her degree in Human Movement Science in 2011 and later completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from the University of South Africa. She brings nine years of international teaching experience, having taught in South Korea for three years and in China since 2018. For five of those years, she worked at an international school in Wuxi, primarily focusing on lower primary students but with experience across all age groups from kindergarten to high school. In Wuxi, she held the position of Head of English Language Arts and developed a phonics “catch-up” program to support students who needed additional help or joined mid-semester, covering Grades 2 through 5.

Mrs. Hager is deeply familiar with the Wuxi community and committed to student-centred education. She has completed the A-Z Thinking Moves course under the P4C China initiative, reflecting her dedication to innovative teaching methods. She believes education is a transformative force and that every child deserves a safe, supportive learning environment. She emphasizes student agency, collaboration with parents, and the importance of fostering lifelong learning. Mrs. Hager is eager to contribute her experience, care, and leadership to help all students thrive.

Joni S.

Music Teacher

● Bachelor of Music, University of Port Elizabeth

● Licentiate in Piano Performance, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music

Joni is set to join the staff at King’s College International School as a music teacher, bringing with her a wealth of experience and expertise. She graduated in 2002 with a degree in Music (cum laude) from the University in Port Elizabeth, specializing in piano, with viola as her secondary instrument. Additionally, she completed her Licentiate in Piano Performance with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

With 20 years of teaching experience in South Africa, Joni has worked with students from Grade 1 to Grade 12. Her diverse roles in music education have included teaching piano and violin lessons, class music, music theory, and history, as well as serving as a piano accompanist, rehearsal pianist, orchestral musician, and choir conductor. Among her notable achievements are conducting choirs that reached the final rounds of national competitions and receiving category awards. Joni believes in the transformative power of music education and is passionate about instilling a love for music in all her future students.

Sandra G.

Social Emotional Counselor

● Bachelor of Science in Brain & Cognitive Science

● Bachelor of Art in Psychology

Sandra brings warmth and deep understanding to her work as a mental health counselor. With a master’s degree in mental health counseling from the University of Rochester, she has spent years supporting teens and young adults in schools, psychiatric hospitals, and crisis settings. Whether helping students navigate emotional wellness, academic pressure, relationship challenges, or questions of identity, she meets them where they are—with empathy, patience, and respect. Having grown up and worked in multicultural communities, Sandra understands firsthand how language barriers and cultural expectations can impact mental health. This lived experience informs her culturally sensitive approach, where she crafts personalized approaches that respect each student’s unique background and perspective. Committed to fostering growth, Sandra creates a warm, non-judgmental space where students feel safe to unpack their struggles, discover their strengths, and move forward with renewed confidence in their lives.

During the new employee training session,Principal Shen Maode introduced the national context and regional characteristics of Wuxi to help new employees understand the city and country’s development background. Executive Principal Ms. Fiona You focused on the educational group to which the school belongs, explaining its educational philosophy, resource advantages, and development patterns. Mr. John Galloway elaborated on the school's positioning, core features, curriculum system, and educational goals, giving new employees a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the school they will serve.

The HR department also arranged one-on-one on boarding guidance for new foreign teachers and organized targeted meetings and training for various departments. New teachers participated in practical courses on IT, finance, and health insurance. Department heads introduced the school’s systems and services, covering student support, mental health,university application guidance, and more.

Breaking Limits & Forging Ahead:

Tackling the new challenges of internationalized education

Fiona Y

Dear middle management leaders, welcome back to campus. Wish you all had a great summer! We are now actively start preparing for the new academic year. At this moment, filled with both hope and challenge, we gather here to discuss the key issues that will shape the future of our school.

Right now, private international education is facing unprecedented challenges—this is the reality we must confront head-on.

1. Empowering Our School through Both USP and Quality

USP is our foundation—our “name card.” While quality is the lifeline of education. We will continue to uphold the philosophy and methods of international education, using projects to drive the development of our school’s unique strengths.

As I emphasized in last year’s staff meeting, “USP” does not necessarily mean having what others do not—it means being the best at what we do and making that excellence visible. Building on our current curriculum, we will deepen our positioning as a school focused on competence and skill-based, holistic education, embedding this into every lesson and every activity. Our goal is to make our USP more recognizable, creating a clear competitive advantage. At the same time, we will safeguard the bottom line of teaching quality—every lesson must stand up to scrutiny.

Through project-based and inquiry-based learning, we will spark students’ self-motivation and creativity.

As HoDs, you must place teaching quality above everything else: strengthen process management, set clear annual goals, use data for regular evaluation, and provide effective teacher training and support to teachers—ensuring that every class is taught with the highest professional standards.
As teachers, you must seize every opportunity to educate and inspire, increasing students’ sense of achievement in activities and creating “spotlight moments” for them. By enhancing the quality of both “teaching” and “educating,” we will help parents see the “high value” behind their “high investment.”

2. Delivering Personalized Support to Its Fullest

Every child is a unique star, with their own interests, learning styles, and developmental needs. Personalized education is our core competitive edge.

While we value that we are a school have many talents, we need fully implement the “One Student, One Plan” approach: using learning analytics to pinpoint each student’s strengths and weaknesses, gaining deep insights into their needs, and tailoring learning plans accordingly. This includes customized support for certain students to help them progress in targeted ways.

Our rich elective offerings will align more closely with students’ needs and growth pathways. Sports programs will focus on developing competitive pathways, ensuring that at least one sport can lead to future academic opportunities. In the arts, we will provide more professional platforms for performance and exhibitions. The goal is to meet diverse needs—helping introverted children speak up, encouraging active ones to innovate, and enabling exceptional students to break new ground.

Whether it is nurturing top talent, creating spotlight moments for average students, or supporting struggling learners, we must help the confused find direction and the passionate go deeper. And all these need you, our middle management leaders, to remind and support our teachers from time to time.

3. Providing Multiple Higher Education Pathways

In light of fluctuations in the overseas study market and parental concerns about studying abroad, we must actively diversify higher education pathways, building a “multi-track” progression system for our students.

Beyond the traditional destinations of the UK, US, Australia, and Canada, we will strengthen ties with universities in Europe, Asia, and other regions, opening new directions for further study. This year, for example, we launched German and Japanese language courses as third languages and our IGCSE Japanese have proved very popular—making it easier for students to access higher education opportunities in Japan and other European countries.

We must also pay close attention to the rising popularity of destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. At the same time, we will expand mainland university pathways, building partnerships and offering progression planning for families seeking international education without sending children far from home.

By broadening high–value-for-money options, we can ease parental concerns about cost and show that “international education ≠ a single overseas path,” using diverse choices to remove their doubts.

4. Enhancing the Service Dimension of Education

Education is not only the transmission of knowledge—it is the embodiment of service. In the end, educational competition comes down to the quality of service to people. We must shift from a “management mindset” to a “service mindset.”

At the school level, we will optimize parent–school communication mechanisms—for example, simplifying admissions procedures and establishing real-time parent satisfaction feedback channels. At the teacher level, we will fully embrace the “all staff are educators” approach: from homework feedback、after-class tutoring to emotional support, from establish personal learning and growth records to working in close partnership with parents. Every detail should reflect the idea that “education is service,” building a strong foundation of trust and reputation.

As members of the middle management team, we must be guided by the needs of students and parents—streamlining educational processes and improving service efficiency. As middle leaders, you must guide and inspire frontline teachers to care for students’ physical and mental well-being, to mentor not only in learning but also in life, and to provide genuine psychological support. Our mentoring system must be implemented in a way that allows every student to feel seen, respected, valued, and inspired throughout their educational journey at KCIS. Within Dipont group, Hangzhou School is considering to provide boarding services from G1, Kunshan school is considering 7 days boarding. I am not saying we need do the exactly the same thing. But every school is working hard to think from parents and students’ perspective, how we could enhance the service. We all need think about our daily practice, which ones are thosed we need improve or upgrade.

The more difficult the circumstances, the greater the need for leadership and responsibility. You are the backbone of this school. Every strategy and policy depend on your oversight, guidance, and motivation to turn into detailed action plans and to be successfully implemented by frontline teachers. Please always keep these three points in mind.

Although we face many challenges, we must also recognize our advantages. Over the years, we have built a solid foundation and a strong reputation. We have many devoted, student-centered teachers of high professional caliber, advanced educational philosophies, excellent facilities, and outstanding alumni achievements. These are our sources of confidence in weathering the storm. I firmly believe: there is no obstacle too high if our conviction is firm; no dead end too final if our thinking remains innovative.

A new school year brings a new beginning. The teachers of KCIS are ready to go, bringing the insights and experiences gained from training, and with professional competence and enthusiasm, they welcome each student, together writing a new chapter in KCIS education!