NEW STAFF

2015-2016

Introducing...

Kathleen Sherman
Pre-K/Kindergarten

Mark Zawisa
5th Grade

Antonio Landero
Upper School Teacher

Aricia Cox
1st Grade

Alicia Landero-Acevedo
4th Grade

Analiese Smith
5th Grade

Adam Solomon
Music

Pascal Morin
French

Julie Kanel
ELL

Rick Taira
Upper School Teacher

Sean Ledet
Upper School Teacher
Page 2

Ryan Smith
Upper School Teacher

Kathleen Sherman
Pre-K/Kindergarten

I live in Washington State. I spent my

early years traveling the United
States with my family of seven.
My father was a writer of
westerns and we visited many
places while he conducted
research. It was a great growing
up as we car camped on most of
our travels or stayed with friends
or relatives. I have an older
brother and sister and a younger
brother and sister.

I am a goal oriented person and set

annual objectives. Most recently I
have climbed (almost to the top) of
Mount Rainier in Washington State,
walked across England on the
Wainwright Coast to Coast route, and
moved to China to teach school
(again, almost).

The things I love most in the world

are my three children, Claire (28),
Emma (25), and Philip (22). I almost
have a son-in-law, Travis. Emma and
Travis will marry this summer. I
chose to become a mom a little later
than my friends and am very happy I
did.

My parents have both passed, but all

of my siblings are well and live in
Mexico, Colorado, Oregon and
Washington.

I am most looking forward to meeting

new friends, learning about China,
Other loves/passions include hiking, enjoying the food and enjoying
skiing, gardening, reading, cooking o u t d o o r a d v e n t u r e i n a n e w
and teaching. Fun things I enjoy are environment.
Iron Chef parties and book groups.
Page 3

Aricia Cox
1st Grade
grade, Kindergarten, 1st grade (2, 3, 1
years respectively). I chose QISS as
my next educational journey because
the culture and student development
embody my education philosophy.
! Im Aricia Cox and Im beyond
When thinking of the schools theme,
excited to join the excellent team of
Developing a Mindful Heart, it
educators at QISS. I will be teaching
meshes well with the importance of
1st grade in the Lower School at
developing the whole child. As an
QISS. I am a native of eastern North
educator I find value in ensuring that
Carolina. My father was in the Army,
all students work to develop their
so I called Stuttgart, Germany home
minds, hearts, souls, and bodies to the
for 4 years and Leesville, Louisiana
best of their ability. In facilitating this
home for the next 4 years. At age 8
learning, students will take ownership
my family decided to move closer to
for their learning and find balance in
family; we made Goldsboro, NC our
all they do. The Pages and Dr. Teston
home.
also had a huge role in my decision to
move to Qingdao.
Over the past 10 years I have called
Raleigh, NC home. I started my life
in Raleigh as a Secondary Math
Education major and NC Teaching
Fellow at North Carolina State
U n i v e r s i t y, G O PA C K ! ! ! M y
sophomore year I realized my passion
for younger students and transferred
into the Elementary Education
program. During my studies I held After teaching alongside Mr. and
several leadership positions as Mrs. Page for several years at
committee chairs and Vice President Combs, we have similar values and
of the campus Teaching Fellows. expectations for education.
While at NC State I was a Deans List Knowing that both Michael and
student and earned several leadership Shannon have been supported by the
awards. Since earning my bachelors QISS staff makes QISS incredibly
degree in Elementary Education with enticing. During an interview with
a concentration in mathematics, I Dr. Teston he showed great interest in
have also earned Common Core getting to me as a person and not
Certifications and National Board solely as an educator. I have always
Certification.
found it essential to develop

about my family and background

before investing in my professional
talents. I also enjoy the fact that Dr.
Teston has lived in eastern NC, which
enables him to understand my love to
eastern NC BBQ (pig, not sauce) and
my want to explore the world outside
of Goldsboro.

In moving to Qingdao I hope to

provide quality education to a diverse
population of learners. Working with
a new staff and learning from brilliant
educators from all over is exciting.
As an educator its essential to be a
lifelong learner--I plan to learn so
much from my new colleagues and
students daily.
Every classroom
environment has so much to offer;
Ive gained so much in the classroom
in NC, but I know Qingdao will have
new and exciting opportunities for
growth. Outside of the classroom I
want to broaden my cultural
knowledge and experiences through
adapting to life outside of my norm.
Having taught several students from
all over China, Ive been interested in
putting myself in their shoes. Im
intrigued by how much international
students learn in such a small amount
of time. My
eagerness to
travel to China
is to learn
about the
outside world
around me.
Ta k i n g t h e
professional and personal
chance to
I began my teaching career in 2009, at relationships with colleagues and
travel abroad
A.B. Combs Leadership Magnet school leaders to have a successful
is a dream of mine and changing of
Elementary School. During my time work environment; Dr. Teston gave a
the lives of students abroad is an even
there (2009-2015) Ive taught upper wonderful first impression in learning
larger dream of mine.
and lower elementary school: 5th
Page 4

Alicia Landero-Acevedo
4th Grade
concentrations in
English and Theater. In
2012, I completed my
Masters in Education
with focus in Bilingual
and Dual Language
Education.
I come from a family of
educators, as my parents
are retired educators and
Hola! My name is Alicia Landero- my sister is a graduation coach for a
Acevedo, and I am very excited to small public high school in Houston.
join the QISS team along with my My love for teaching actually
husband, Tony Landero. I will joining developed after I lived on Jeju Island,
the QISS team as the new 4th grade South Korea for one year teaching
teacher.
conversational English in four
I have taught everything from 1st different elementary schools on the
grade math and science to middle and island. In the middle of the year, I
high school Spanish. My first two found out I was going to be aunt for
years teaching were in 4th grade, the first time! I was desperate to go
which I loved, so Im excited to try it back home and be with my family by
the following September.
again.
I was born and raised in Houston,
Texas from immigrant parents who
came from Northern Mexico. I
graduated from Lamar High School in
Houston and
decided to
stay in my
hometown to
go to the
University of
St. Thomas.
There
I
received my
Bachelors in
Liberal Arts
w i t h

was time to act on our mutual goal of

teaching abroad.
I love spending time with friends and
family, especially with our two
beautiful nieces, AnaSofia and
Agustina. They are a huge reason why
Tony and I want to fulfill our dream
of teaching abroad; so our nieces
know they should pursue whatever
goals they may have, no matter where
you are in your life.
I am excited to start a new chapter in
my life with my husband, especially
in such a beautiful place like Qingdao.
Being from a flat concrete jungle, I
am very much looking forward to
living on the coast with mountains in
the background.

We knew there was something unique

and special about QISS when we
interviewed with Dr. Teston and his
wife. As soon as we met, they made
us feel comfortable, as if we had
known each other for years. In fact,
our interview was extra special since
we all got witness a mass pillow fight
outside the hotel where the conference
was being held. It was the best
interview I have ever had. We felt like
The following year I decided to enter we were instantly part of a family.
into an alternative certification
program to obtain my teaching
certification, while working as a longterm substitute. In the program I met
the man of my dreams and my future
husband. We fell in love over shared
salads in our teaching courses and
study material. Almost five years
later, we got married and decided it
Page 5

Analiese Smith
5th Grade
Curriculum and Development with an
Emphasis in Elementary Reading to
work in an elementary school as a
Reading Specialist.

NFL football, especially the Dallas

Cowboys. We are a big Cowboys
family. My boys even have middle
names that relate to the Dallas
Cowboys. My husband is already
In my spare time I enjoy reading looking into how he can watch the
books. Any genre will do! I have Cowboys play while we live in
Hello! My name is Analiese Smith always loved to read and one of my Qingdao.
number one goals as a teacher is to
and I hail from Hampton, Virginia.
pass on a love of reading to all of my I learned about QISS from Dr. Jay
I grew up in many different places in students. I love introducing students Teston who I worked for when he was
the United States, but lived the to new books that get them excited a principal in Newport News,
m a j o r i t y o f m y c h i l d h o o d i n about reading. This year at my school Virginia. After reading about the
K i n g s p o r t , Te n n e s s e e . A f t e r we started book clubs in fifth grade schools philosophy of education and
graduating from high school, I moved and saw a huge growth in students seeing examples of how students were
to Florence, South Carolina to attend love for reading just by introducing learning, I was very excited to pursue
Francis Marion University where I them to some great book such as a job at the school. Add in the fact
was on the Cross Country and Track Harry Potter and the Sorcerers that QISS is located on a completely
team. Running has always played Stone, Percy Jackson and the different continent and I knew that it
such a big part in my life. It is even Lightening Thief, and Among the would be a great opportunity for not
the reason I met my husband as he Hidden just to name a few. I also just myself, but my two boys and
also ran on the team in college. I spend quite a bit of time hanging out husband as well. I look forward to
w i t h m y continuing to work in a project based
received my undergraduate degree in
two boys learning school where students are
Elementary Education. After working
a n d m y engaged and empowered.
for a while, and having one child, I
husband.
decided to return to school to get my
We like to I am most looking forward to my
masters degree.
p l a y family embarking on this exciting
o u t s i d e , adventure together. I am also looking
In my sixteen years in education I
w a t c h forward to meeting the students and
have taught second grade, third grade,
m o v i e s , staff of QISS and having an amazing
and fourth grade as a classroom
a n d j u s t year.
teacher. I have also worked with
spend time
students in kindergarten through fifth
together.
grade as an elementary school
interventionist. Most recently I have
u s e d m y m a s t e r s d e g r e e i n I have a love/hate relationship with
long distance running. Since
graduating from college I have
completed 2 full marathons, 13 half
marathons, and numerous 5k races. I
enjoy the challenge of the longer
races, but do not always enjoy all the
time that is spent to prepare for a
longer race. I also enjoy watching
Page 6

Mark Zawisa
5th Grade

H e l l o , m y an adult, I have had the opportunity of

n a m e i s living and working in Germany,
M a r k England, Colorado, and back to
Zawisa.
Vi rg i n i a
where I
I have 16
earned a
years of
degree in
teaching
English
experience,
Literature at
including
O
l
d
nine years
Dominion
teaching 4th grade in Baltimore,
University
Maryland where I currently live.
and later a
However, I havent always lived in
Masters in
Baltimore. I
Elementary
spent my
Education from the University of
childhood
Phoenix.
m o v i n g
every three
years and
have called
Alaska, Italy,
T e x a s ,
Missouri,
and Virginia
home and as

Now, Im excited to continue my

journey by calling Qingdao home and
joining QISS as the new 5th grade
teacher.
During my spare time, I like playing
sports, riding motorcycles, exploring
cities, spending time in nature,
reading widely, working
Page 7 out, hanging

out with friends, creating art, and

learning new skills. But most of all, I
enjoy living in the moment. I feel
fortunate to have found a career that
reflects my passion and joy for
learning.
I chose QISS because I feel the
schools mission for learning through
discovery, creativity and rigor while
practicing peace with a mindful heart
best reflects my teaching style and
philosophy. Im looking forward to
joining you at QISS see you soon.

Julie Kanel
ELL

I am presently the ELL teacher at

two elementary schools and I love
working with this population of
students.

Hi, my name is Julie Kanel and I will

be the ELL teacher in the lower
school.

In my personal life, I have two

great children that are both in
college. I love to hike, cook, read,
and listen to live music. I have
been a vegetarian for half my life (a
long time). I exercise as much as
possible and try to live a healthy
lifestyle.

I am from San Francisco,

California and have been
teaching in the Bay Area for
over 20 years.
I was a classroom teacher for
several years before going back
to school to become a reading
specialist. Last summer, I took
some additional courses to get
my certification to work with
English Language Learners.

Page 8

Traveling has always been a passion

of mine and Im excited to travel
around Asia, meet new people, and
learn about different cultures.

Adam Solomon
Music
teaching, which
included a High
S c h o o l
Marching Band
of 500 kids, I
moved to Rifle,
CO to start my
career as an
elementary
music teacher. I
did this for three
years, and then
my dream job
My name is Adam Solomon, and I am opened in the same district: Middle
excited to be part of QISS! I was School Instrumental Music! I held
born in Philadelphia, PA. It was in this position for four years and got my
this great city that I developed my Masters of Music Education online
love for music and percussion, all through Boston University. Now, I
starting with my elementary music am making my way to Qingdao, CH!
teacher Mrs. Simon! Throughout my
K-12 life, music and performing were Some of the passions in my life are
always my passions, and allowed me music, film, food, and friends. In my
to meet lots of friends, have great
experiences and see the world!
I graduated with a Bachelors of Music
from Temple University Go Owls!
I got to study music with
percussionists who are now playing in
some of the top symphonies in the
world.
I also started seriously
thinking about a career in Music
Education during my time at Temple,
because I saw
some of my
old students
perform a
concert, and
was so taken
by
his
progress. It
was a great
feeling! After
s t u d e n t

spare time, first and foremost, I enjoy

where I live, and the company of the
people I live amongst.
In
Philadelphia, I would take advantage
of all the culture, restaurants, and
performing arts. I was also part of an
orchestra, and a drum corps while
living in Philadelphia. In Colorado, I
became an avid snowboarder, enjoyed
playing softball, whitewater rafting,
Page 9

and cooking delicious dinnerssince

there were very few places to eat out
where I lived. I am looking forward
to moving to Qingdao, because I love
the sea, the mountains, and the city!
One goal of mine will be to learn to
sail.
Christopher McCandless of Into The
Wild said, The core of mans spirit
comes from new experiences. This
is what I love about my journey so far.
My first explorations in life were into
music. This has transferred to my
exploration of food, language, and
travel.
This also helps me take
different approaches to teaching and
helping students learn.
I chose to come to QISS because I
want to start the next chapter of my
life teaching internationally. QISS
has a great developing music
program, and one of my goals as an
educator is to help to continue to
evolve music programs. I want music
to be an important part of the lives of
all of my students. I also want to
continue to foster a cooperative music
environment in community of QISS,
where the students value and support
each other in the challenging
endeavor that is performing in an
instrumental ensemble.

Pascal Morin
French

Bonjour!
My name is Pascal Morin.
I am
French and I have been a French
teacher for almost 20 years. I come
from a little town called Niort (a
beautiful and peaceful place) in the
west of France. I studied at the
University of Angers in France with a
major in linguistic and French
teaching. I taught French 2 years in
Mexico. After this experience I
wanted to work in Asia and I arrived
in Qingdao 15 years.ago. I met my
wife here and my two daughters were
born in Qingdao.

The educational framework of the

school offers conditions of learning
and teaching that are very interesting
to me Im thrilled to be part of the
teaching team of QISS and eager to
start teaching French next semester.

with significant populations in 54

countries. Moreover this is an official
language in many international
organizations. This too is the key to
higher education in France and
Canada and the gateway to the French
culture (cinema, literature,
art, fashion, etc) so there are
many reasons to start the
adventure of learning
French at QISS!
I look forward to meeting
you soon!

During my spare time I like to listen

to music, especially baroque and
flamenco. I play classical guitar and I
read novels and essays.
Learning French is a
chance to broaden
your opportunities to
communicate
worldwide. French is
spoken by about 350
million people around
the world as either a
native or a second
language,
Page 10

Antonio Landero
Upper School Teacher teams in High School and still love to

Hello, my
name
is
Antonio
Landero, but
all of my
friends call
me Tony. I
am originally
from Mexico
City where I
lived until I
was 10 years
old. My
parents then moved to Houston,
Texas, and that has been my home
ever since. I am sad to be leaving this
amazing city, but I am very excited to
meet all of my students and team at
QISS.

teach and coach swimming when I get

an opportunity. For fun, I love going
to watch my beloved Houston Texans
play. I try to go to as many games as
possible, and if I cant make it to the
game, I make sure I have a get
together at my house to be able to
watch the game with friends.

In QISS, I will be teaching 6-8 grade

math. I am very excited about this
opportunity as math is my passion and
I love teaching it. I have taught
everything from 1st through 4th grade.
I started teaching 3rd grade in a selfcontained classroom. These students
had to be taught in Spanish because
they were new arrivals in the United
States. The following year, I was able
to move up with them to fourth grade.
This time around I was just the math
teacher. The challenge that year was
that I had to teach in all English
because that was their transitional
year. I loved the experience of
transitioning students to a different
language while still being able to
I have taught in only one school maintain their native tongue.
district, Houston Independent School
District. I have done so since 2009. I went to Sam Houston St. University
This time has really made me fall in and Stephen F. Austin St. University
love with teaching more than I in Texas. I studied communication. So
expected. The students that Ive had I am sorry to say that youll probably
to work with have always made me get tired of my rambling abilities.
very happy and proud to be a teacher. My hobbies include anything with a
That is, by far, my favorite aspect of competitive nature. I love playing
teaching.
sports of any kind, with my favorites

My wife, Alicia, and I chose QISS

because we were able to meet Dr.
Teston at the ISS Conference this
year, and we just loved what he said
about QISS. He was very confident
about where the school is headed and
also let us know about how close
everyone was at the school, and how
we would have a lot of support in
order to get acclimated and beyond.
After meeting him, we knew there
was nothing to think about, and were
honored to get the opportunity. I am
looking forward so much to start
learning from everyone and being
able to contribute to the QISS family.

I have never visited China, so I am

also looking forward to the adventure
of immersing myself into a whole
new culture. Dr. Teston made a great
impression with us about the city of
Qingdao and we just cannot wait to be
being baseball/softball and soccer. I there.
was on the baseball and swimming
Page 11

Rick Taira
Upper School Teacher
My name is Rick Taira and I am a
U.S. citizen. I was originally born in
Miami, Florida, but I grew up in Los
Angeles. Shortly after high school
graduation, I moved to New York.
From New York I moved to Taiwan
where I lived for 17 years. In 2011, I
returned to America and have been
living and teaching here.
I have been a life-long learner and
my studies have covered a wide
range of subjects. The first degree I
earned was from Columbia
University in New York. I received a
BA in Urban Studies and continued
on to pursue a Master of Social Work
(MSW). In 1994, I headed to Taiwan
and started teaching ESL courses.
Feeling the need to develop
professionally, I studied for and
received a second masters degree in
the field of Applied Linguistics
(MApling). When I returned to the
U.S. in 2011, I decided to continue
my academic pursuits and applied to
the Master in Teaching program at
B a r d
College.
I
finished
t h e
program
in 2013
and have
s i n c e
b e e n
teaching

in secondary
schools
in
Californias
Central Valley.
Teaching has been
my
chosen
profession for the
past twenty years.
My first teaching
assignments were
i n Ta i w a n . I
taught English as
a second language and worked with a
range of students from elementary to
college-level. Though I started out
with TPR and other antiquated
approaches to language instruction,
my mainstay has been
communicative methods in the
classroom. When I returned to the
U.S., I had the opportunity to expand
my pedagogical knowledge and add
to my instructional interventions.
This year I had the unique
circumstance of being charged with
teaching Mandarin and English
language arts.

many different styles of music. In

addition to music performance, I also
like reading in my spare time. I have
a preference for British novelists,
especially those who write
postcolonial literature.

I look forward to my time at QISS.

The program that I have been hired to
work for sounds exciting and
challenging. I will be working
directly with Mainland Chinese
students at the junior high school
level. My efforts will be towards
preparing them to attend high school
in America. Though my 17 year
experience working with Chinese
When I am not teaching, I like to students in Taiwan does give me
preoccupy myself with a variety of some confidence, I do feel that my
interests. A long time hobby of mine time at QISS will present me with
has been music performance.
I unique challenges. Despite the
started out playing the double bass trepidation that I always feel with
when I was in elementary school and every new teaching assignment, I feel
h a v e c o n t i n u e d o n w i t h t h e that my background has prepared me
instrument. I have performed in a for my assignment at QISS.
variety of venues and have played
Page 12

Sean Ledet
Upper School Teacher

My name is Sean Ledet. Im from the

US. I grew up in New Orleans and
Houston and then went to university
in Seattle and continued to live and
work there as a young adult. Ive
travelled to 17 different countries,
mostly in Europe and East Asia.
Ive been a teacher officially for 8
years (since getting my masters
degree and secondary certification)
but unofficially for 12. Ive taught
many subjects and age groups, from
pre-K to adults, but mostly at the
secondary level, grades 6-12.
Subjects have included history,
g e o g r a p h y,
social studies,
U
S
Citizenship,
ESL, Career
Preparation,
gymnastics,
guitar, reading
and primary
level math.

When Im not working, Im a husband

and a parent of 3 kids, all under the
age of 5. I like to play with my kids
and spend time with my wife. I like
to cook, especially barbeque.

Whenever I can, I play guitar,

watch movies and play video
games. I like reading, camping and
travelling.
Im generally an
adventurous person, so I like new
experiences. I have a black belt in
Tae Kwon Do. I also enjoy dancing
and yoga.

Page 13

I chose to work at QISS because Im

attracted to its spirit of openness and
community and dedication to
excellent education.
Ive been living in Qingdao now for 8
years. I like it because its close to
the mountains and the sea and
because its got an interesting history
that can be explored by walking
through its old town. Its got good
food and good beer! And there are
plenty of opportunities for adventure.
I also have an extended family here
on my wifes side, so Qingdao has
become my second home.

Ryan Smith
Upper School Teacher
Hello! My
name is Ryan
Smith and I
am from
Hampton,
Virginia
where I live
with my two
sons and my
wife.

obtained a strong background in I enjoy an active lifestyle which

human related sciences, kinesiology, includes running, playing in softball
physiology, biology, and life sciences. leagues, kickball leagues, and playing
with my two young boys outside. I
also enjoy playing video games both
In the fourteen years since I obtained with my boys and on my own. As a
my masters degree I have worked in
huge sports advocate I enjoy watching
college basketball, softball, baseball,
different situations where educating
and football (GO GATORS!). I am
others has been an integral part of my
also a fan of premiere league soccer
position. As a program coordinator for
and cheer for the Arsenal Gunners.
the athletic division of the City of
My family enjoys watching NFL
Hampton I have provided instruction
I grew up in many different places in
football, especially the Dallas
to community groups of all ages and
the United States, due to being part of
Cowboys. We are a big Cowboys
cultural backgrounds in the areas of
a military family, but lived a large
family. My boys even have middle
coaching, rules and regulations
chunk of my life in Hampton Roads
names that relate to the Dallas
enforcement for referees (including
area of Virginia. After graduating
Cowboys. I am already looking into
compliance), conflict resolution, and
from high school, I moved to
how I can watch the Cowboys play
teaching of youth sports rules/
Florence, South Carolina to attend
while we live in Qingdao.
regulations. I also have experience
Francis Marion University where I
working with young learners in
was on the Cross Country and Track
team. I received my undergraduate
I first learned about QISS through my
degree in Business Administration
wife, who worked for Dr. Teston
which has provided me with a strong
when he was the principal at her
background in math including
school in Newport News, VA. As well
business calculus, algebra, and
as agreeing with the philosophy of
analytical geometry. After graduating
education for the school, I am very
from Francis Marion University I
interested in learning new ways and
moved to New Orleans, Louisiana
strategies to interact with and teach
where I pursued
students. I am excited about the
a Masters of
opportunity to explore the city and the
Education
culture
d e g r e e i n vocabulary development, math skills, w i t h
H u m a n conflict resolution strategies, and how m
y
P e r f o r m a n c e to embrace other cultures. I am family.
a n d H e a t h currently working on my TESOL
Promotion at certification and will complete that
University of course soon.
New Orleans.
Through pursuing my degrees I
Page 14