KAS Welcomes New Staff & Faculty for 21-22

Mr. Brian Borgi, High School English

Brian Borgi is joining KAS in 2021, teaching DP and MYP English Language and Literature. He is a graduate of Binghamton University, where he double-majored in English and History. He later earned his teaching license through the University of Colorado Boulder and his Masters of Education at Lehigh University. Having previously taught in the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, and Peru, Mr. Borgi is excited to begin his new life in Taiwan with his wife and daughter. Outside of the classroom, Mr. Borgi enjoys hiking, cycling, reading, visiting museums, playing board games, and watching Jeopardy!

Anny Chuan, Kindergarten

KAS Kindergarten adds a new smile to its Elementary team with Ms. Anny Chuan. She has worked with wonderful children from an array of cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, and abilities in Virginia, California, and Texas; and in international schools in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia; Manila, Philippines; and Beijing, China. She holds an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Texas Christian University, an M.S. in Public Relations from San Jose State University, and a B.A. in Communication from the University of Arizona. Anny is also a K-12 certified Special Education teacher who has experience working with students with unique learning needs. She believes a life-changing teacher can spark learning through creativity, constructive guidance, and constant encouragement. One of her favorite quotes says: “Every day may not be a good day, but there is always something good in every day.” Her goal as a teacher is to walk with students through thick and thin, taking them on a journey of discovering their own distinctive strengths and abilities.

Ms. Kimberly Clark, High School Principal

Kimberly Clark, an educational leader and San Francisco native, is excited and honored to be selected as the incoming High School Principal at KAS. She holds an Ed.S. from Mercer University, an Ed.M. from Harvard University, and a B.A. from Spelman College. Her professional experience includes time spent as a Deputy Principal in Abu Dhabi, UAE, a Vice Principal and Instructional Coach in Houston, USA, and an AP World History Teacher and Department Chair in Atlanta, USA. She is certified by the USA State of Georgia as an Educational Leader and as a Social Studies Teacher.

Ms. Clark hopes to continue impacting the lives of students through her dedication and commitment to the words of Marian Wright Edelman – “education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.”

Ms. Clark and her partner Audrey both enjoy traveling the world, experiencing new cultures, relaxing on the beach, and desert dune bashing. They are looking forward to exploring the beauty of Taiwan!

Ms. Shari Dixon, Elementary School Counselor

Shari has 25 years of experience as an Elementary School Counselor in the USA, Thailand, and Jordan. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Walla Walla University in 1993 and a Masters of Education in School Counseling from Seattle Pacific University in 1996. Shari considers Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington as home. In her free time she loves to travel, hike, scuba dive, do Zumba, snow ski, water ski, read, play table games, explore new places wherever she’s living, try new restaurants, and most importantly hang out with good friends.

Ms. Christina Fears, Pre-K

Christina Fears will be joining KAS, this summer 2021, as Pre-Kindergarten teacher. She attended Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey for her undergrad and graduate studies, graduating in 2009. Christina holds a Masters Degree in Early Elementary Education and a teaching license for New Jersey. While completing her studies, Christina was a teaching assistant at Acelero Learning, which is a bilingual school, where Christina later became a Lead teacher for 3 years. In 2013, Christina began her international teaching career in the United Arab Emirates, working in government schools as an English Medium Teacher, teaching both, preschool and kindergarten for the past 8 years. Christina adores working with this age group because it is always random, fun, and full of energy. Christina loves exploring new places, eating delicious food, and having a good time.

Ms. Celine Fournier, MYP Art/Design

Celine Fournier is joining the KAS community in 2021 as an IB MYP Art and Design
Teacher. She has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a focus on
painting and animation. She completed her MPhil in Arts, Creativity, and Education at the University of Cambridge with Distinction and received a “Best Dissertation Award”. She is also certified in TESOL and trained in both MYP visual arts and design. Passionate about art and education, she worked as an Education Assistant at the Chicago Artists Coalition where she participated in curriculum planning and management for emerging artists. She was the Visual Design Coordinator of the 2019 Kaohsiung International Piano Festival. Celine is also a visual artist who paints fragments of her everyday life and constructs them into irregular-
shaped self-portraits. Her works were recently exhibited at the Auction Center Taipei. In her leisure time, Celine enjoys hiking, working on ceramics, as well as visiting art museums and galleries. As a KAS alumna, she is thrilled to be back!

Conor Gannon, High School Science

Hey folks, looking forward to meeting you in person in a couple of months. I’ll be the new HS physics teacher. My background is (obviously) physics, with a focus on astrophysics and then nuclear physics. I’ve taught physics for 5 years so far, all in IB schools. I also taught English for a year which has definitely helped with aiming my lessons at the correct level for non-native speakers.
Things I’m most looking forward to about moving to Taiwan:

  1. Nature (I’m currently in a concrete jungle)
  2. Chinese. It seems like a cool language and I’ll enjoy being terrible at it
  3. New people. One nice thing about joining a new school is meeting hundreds of new students and co-workers. The connections that you make with people is easily the best part about being a teacher.

See you in August!

Ms. Iyeshia Grant-Haynes, Elementary Art

Representing the state of M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i, Ms. Grant-Haynes joins the KAS fold in Elementary Art! She’s a 2014 graduate of the Mississippi University for Women with a Bachelor’s of Art in Biology, and also holds a Masters of Art in Art Education from the Memphis College of Art. She has experience teaching in-person and virtually to large and small class sizes in her school district in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Iyeshia enjoys working with young children and is looking forward to new adventures with KAS as she sets her sights on Taiwan.

Mr. Jim Laney Jr., Interim Head of School

My family’s home is in Oregon, in the USA. I began my teaching career in the US Peace Corps in Kenya in the early 1980s. Now completing my 36th year as an educator, I have served in American and international schools in New York City, Nicosia, Taipei, Warsaw, Addis Ababa, New Delhi, and Maputo. I’ve taught at all grade levels from K to 12, including computer science, technology, math, and physics. In addition to other leadership roles, I have served as a principal in elementary, middle, and high school programs, prior to becoming Head of School at the International Community School of Addis Ababa in 2010. Since 2005, I’ve been a principal or director in three distinguished IB schools. I am currently finishing an interim year as Director at the American International School of Mozambique.

I have four daughters in Oregon, including two who are in graduate school to become international school teachers. My partner Laura is an experienced and qualified ESL and Learning Support teacher from the state of New Hampshire.

Dr. Kevin Mansell, HS Math

Kevin Mansell is excited to be joining KAS in 2021, teaching IB DP Mathematics. With qualifications from both Cornell and Harvard
University, Dr. Mansell is an alumnus of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, UK. Having previously taught in international schools in Germany and Hong Kong, Kevin enjoyed a research fellowship at the world-renowned Shell Center for Mathematical Education. Outside of the classroom, Kevin has performed in a rock band, coached badminton, looked through a telescope at the night sky, and conducted puppet shows for the young and young at heart.

Ms. Kate Meade, Elementary ELL

Kate Meade is joining KAS in 2021 as an ELL teacher at the elementary school. Mrs. Meade earned her Bachelor of Science from Longwood University and earned her Masters in Curriculum Instruction and Literacy Leadership from The College of William and Mary. Mrs. Meade previously taught kindergarten through fourth grade and was a reading specialist in grades six through eight in Virginia. Mrs. Meade is looking forward to exploring Taiwan with her husband, Mr. Meade (HS science) and her two children.

Mr. Stephen Meade, High School Science

Stephen Meade is joining KAS in 2021 teaching MYP & DP Biology. He is a graduate of The University of Melbourne where he double majored in Botany and Zoology with an additional minor in Australian flora & fauna. While still at The University of Melbourne Mr. Meade completed a Masters in Teaching specializing in secondary science education. Mr. Meade has been teaching a variety of high school sciences in Virginia for the past ten years with his wife Katherine and two children who are all excitedly moving to Kaohsiung.

Mr. Meade loves cricket, soccer, and badminton; he also enjoys trying out new foods and spending time outside with his family.

Ms. Laura Rollison, MS Humanities

Please welcome Ms. Laura Rollison to the 2021-22 KAS roster. She is a graduate of NYU and Dartmouth College, and has taught ESL all over the world. Most recently, Laura worked with students in her placements at ICS Addis Ababa in Ethopia, and the American Embassy School in Dehli.

We are happy to have her among our excellent Middle School team.

Mr. Meade loves cricket, soccer, and badminton; he also enjoys trying out new foods and spending time outside with his family.

Ms. Lily Tejeda, MS Science

Representing the flag of the Dominican Republic is Ms. Lily Tejeda, who will join KAS’s strong science department and teach students in grades 7 and 8. Ms. Tejeda and her dog “Nuby” have called Taiwan their home for over 5 years. Her background includes teaching the British A Levels at the Middle and High School levels. Prior to this she was a senior researcher assistant specializing in molecular biology, running a science laboratory. Ironically, Lily confesses that during her high school years, science had not been her cup of tea. This changed when she understood the power that science knowledge can provide to help others see the world in all its color. Her aim is to make science more accessable by removing stigmas and teaching the needed basics for students to grap Science and hypothesize about everyday phenomena for fun!

Ms. Angela Hsu, Aquatics Director

This year, Ms. Hsu has accepted the role of Aquatics Director after years of experience in the department. Angela Hsu joined KAS in 2016 as a lifeguard. She earned her BA from Kaohsiung Medical University in Sports Medicine and her MA from National Kaohsiung Normal University in Teaching. Angela is a certified lifeguard and Lifesaving Coach, fitness coach, volleyball referee, and coach, and has her EMT license. Angela is also an athletics trainer for local, national, and international events, including the National Games in Taiwan and ACAMIS in Hong Kong and China. She also coaches the girls’ varsity volleyball team and took them to the championship in 2018. She and her sister live together in Kaohsiung; they enjoy traveling, cooking, swimming, and watching movies.

Ms. Angela Kuo, Elementary Faculty G5

Angela Kuo joined KAS in December of 2020 as a one-on-one paraprofessional in fifth grade. She will continue as a fifth grade teacher for the 2021-2022 school year. She is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, where she majored in Visual Arts and minored in Education Studies. She continued to obtain her teaching certificate in multiple subjects as well as a Master’s in Education from the University of California, San Diego. After teaching in the United States, Angela and her family decided to settle back in Taiwan. She is looking forward to continuing her learning and teaching at KAS, while at the same time enjoying the endless adventures that Taiwan has to offer. Some of her favorite things to do to relax are going to the beach, swimming, making arts & crafts, and just spending time with loved ones.

Mr. Jitesh Pattni, MYP Science

Jitesh will teach MYP Design and Science this school year. He brings with him 11 years of experience as a fisheries biologist on the Oregon coast where he led the research of salmonid population dynamics and harvest rates to ensure a sustainable future for the species. He received his BA in Environmental Studies and Economics from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and is currently working towards completing his Masters in Education. You may recognize him from his work in the elementary school and coaching basketball, volleyball, soccer, and swimming at KAS. When Jitesh isn’t on campus, he helps organize the Kaohsiung Ultimate League and can often be found on the ultimate frisbee field. You’ll frequently spot him in his wife Kali’s 4th grade classroom, or playing with his amazing daughter, Ilia, in Aozihdi Park.

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