Our Team

Ms. Minh Nga (Ms. Janny Bui) graduated from the University of Foreign Language Education with honors in 1987 and received a Master's degree in Educational Administration from the University of New England, Australia in 2006. With 26 years of directly teaching students and professional management of high school teachers, she has extensive experience in the application of advanced teaching methods for students and high efficiency, professional and organizational skills.

 

During her 6 years working at the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, she has extensive experience in finding international education programs to complement and enhance the Vietnamese educational program, helping students gain global knowledge and value.

 

With her dedication, professionalism, and creativity, Ms. Minh Nga has helped many private schools in Hanoi discover new initiatives to bring diverse educational experiences to teachers and students in high schools in Hanoi. In addition to this, as the Former Head of the Foreign Education Management Department at the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, she directly supervised the activities of foreign-invested educational institutions in Hanoi. In this capacity, Ms. Minh Nga has been driving the successful operation of those units through constructive guidance, dedicated behavior, and an open mind to finding new opportunities to Hanoi education.

 

Ms. Minh Nga, with a wonderful combination of background knowledge of the Vietnamese education system, especially schools, diverse work experience, professional values, and skills, will be a real asset to HTS.

John is an accomplished, experienced, enthusiastic, and dedicated educational leader from Canada. Possessing over a decade of domestic and international educational experience, he is a curriculum building, child safeguarding, stakeholder partnership, and professional development facilitation expert.

John started out in the financial sector, working for one of the largest firms in Canada. As he made the jump into education, he brought with him the diligence, business acumen, and fiscal responsibility necessary to be a successful administrator and leader. Making his name in international education, he proved himself to be meticulous, collegiate, collaborative, inclusive, and flexible in his leadership style.

As a committed and dependable professional, he benefits his organization by embracing its mission and vision, facilitating the learners to thrive both academically and socially, and building up a supportive framework for staff.

His two best competencies are his growth mindset and his ability to carry out his duties to the highest professional standard while aligning the efforts with institutional goals.

I have worked at Singapore International School for fourteen years as Teaching Assistant. I have worked with multiple levels from grade 1 to grade 6. I believe that with my experience, I will help students in their academics as well as social skills to become global citizens.

During the past 13 years, I have been spending not only love but also care for children especially in the educational field. Hence, I have been working as a Homeroom teacher and teaching many generations of students in the top-ranking Primary schools in Hanoi such as: Singapore International School and Vinschool.

Ms. Stokes grew up mostly in Vancouver, Canada but has lived in five countries as an expat. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Specialization in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada and has been working with children for twelve years. She has lived in Hanoi for over a year and is very excited to be a founding member of HTS.

Ms. Hurter is a qualified special needs and linguistics teacher and has taught an array of students over 11 years. She is currently completing her Master’s degree in Educational Management and is slowly working toward obtaining her Doctorate in Education. For the past 5 years, she has been living in Hai Phong city. Living here has provided her with great opportunities to connect and provide teaching for students from 3 years old right up to 70 years of age, who have wanted to learn English. During her time in Hai Phong, she lived with a Vietnamese family for 3 years, who taught her about the culture, customs, food and language in Vietnam. When she is not busy studying or spending time with her dogs, she can be found riding off-road dirt bikes in the mountain side, or painting murals in restaurants and hotels in Hanoi.

Marc Landau has 20 years of teaching experience and is originally from New York, where he obtained a degree in Elementary Education and went on to teach for the New York Public School System. He later furthered his education and went on to earn a Masters in Science degree with a major in Education at The University of California. He has been an international educator in Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, The Philippines, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China. He has a true passion for working with students of all abilities and grade levels. Helping each child progress in all areas of their development - academic, social, language, and motor skills - is a rewarding challenge that he is honored to accept daily. He strives to create a community of learners that nurtures this growth in a positive, fun environment. He is passionate about education and connecting teachers, parents, and students as a whole community. In his spare time, he enjoys exercising, travelling, hiking, reading, cooking, walking in the park, learning about new cultures, and meeting new people.

Nadia Ronan is a third-generation educator with experience around the world. She has spent the last 5 years teaching English and Drama to grades one through six in Busan, South Korea. She is excited to teach 4th and 5th grade students at HTS in the 2022-2023 AY. Her hobbies include photography, embroidery, playing with her dog, and solving creative math problems.

Norm grew up in Adelaide, South Australia, where his very first job was as a swimming teacher. During the next few years he had many jobs: harvesting bananas in Israel, picking grapes in France, and cleaning apartments in Amsterdam amongst others. After returning to Australia he pursued nursing and teaching. He worked as an Enrolled Nurse for 10 years, before retraining to become a teacher. He has nursed a 102-year-old woman who played the piano for the silent movies and taught 5-year-olds how to tie their shoelaces (along with literacy and numeracy). Norm has a Bachelor of Education for Primary Years and a Bachelor in Drama and English for Secondary School. He has taught in Australia, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan across all grades, from Kindy to Grade 8. He believes that a key to successful teaching is a positive student-teacher relationship. He works hard to get to know each student and create an environment in which they all can flourish. Norm is passionate about instilling a love of reading and writing. In Australia he has presented workshops for the Australian Literacy Educators' Association. He is also a published writer, having had several plays produced and short stories published in various journals. He is currently working on his third young adult novel. When he is not teaching, reading, or writing he enjoys hiking, swimming, cooking, and telling Dad jokes. His wife, Paula, is originally from the Netherlands and they have a 29-year-old daughter, Gemma, who lives in Australia.

James Ocean is a Canadian citizen from Toronto, Ontario. He has been teaching for the past seven years in S. Korea, China, and Canada. Currently, he teaches secondary-level mathematics in Canada and is very excited to return to Vietnam. He loves being in the classroom and believes that motivating students with fun and challenging activities is the best way to help them and develop a love of knowledge. He believes in encouraging lifelong learning and is currently finishing up his M.Ed and afterwards he plans to continue with graduate studies; He hopes to instill this in his students. He looks forward to creating a fun, challenging, and comfortable environment for students so that they can exceed their educational goals

Christopher Leman is from Chicago, Illinois and has been teaching for 10 years in the United States and in South Korea. He has taught physical education, health, strength and conditioning, and has coached boys basketball and lacrosse. He enjoys teaching students about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, and helping them start good habits at an early age. When he is not working, you can find him enjoying the great outdoors: hiking in the mountains, camping, or fishing. He also enjoys reading books, listening to music, and spending time with his family.

Ms. Seifert is an accomplished artist and STEM specialist from the United States of America. She specializes in pottery, sewing, needlework, drawing, and painting. She is also trained in coding and robotics.

Originally from Manila, Philippines, Mr. Saliwan is a CELTA-qualified and licensed teacher and a Cambridge speaking examiner (YLE, KET, and PET). He has been involved in English Language Teaching (ELT) for over 6 years, and he has taught at numerous institutes in the Philippines, Sudan, and Vietnam. He holds a Bachelor of Education degree with a focus on English/ESL. Currently, he is pursuing his master’s degree. He is committed to making a space in the classroom for translanguaging, where learners are encouraged to and can use their entire linguistic repertoire to express themselves and comprehend the world around them. Away from teaching, he loves spending his free time with his friends in search of the best cafes in Hanoi.

Joyfulness, warmth, enthusiasm, and creativity are what people can find in her, just like her name - "Dieu Linh" translating to "The Sun" in Vietnamese. Throughout her 5 years in education, she has accumulated a lot of experience in working with children studying in multicultural environments such as international, bilingual, and international bilingual schools. Ms. Linh has also had two successful years as Bilingual Primary Learning Lead at Hoi An International School. There is a saying that she loves and has always taken as a guideline for years when exploring the educational horizons full of dreams: “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.” (Ignacio Estrada). Therefore, when coming to Hanoi Toronto School, Ms. Linh not only strives to bring an abundant resource of knowledge to students, but she also desires to preserve and promote the educational philosophy of "Embracing differences". Aiming to help students create happy moments that will remain in their childhoods and help them discover the best version of themselves.

After graduating from the Hanoi National University of Education, Xuyen started her job as a primary school teacher at Nguyen Binh Khiem school. The practical teaching has helped her hone many pedagogical skills in teaching at an elementary school. After more than 6 years of teaching at elementary schools in Hanoi – Archimedes Academy Primary School and Alaska Academy, she has realized one thing: “Teaching is a process of learning from experience and re-experiencing things that are learned”. She is always ready to learn cutting-edge teaching and learning methods to help students have an enjoyable experience at school. For her, the cooperation between parents and the school is very important in the growth of students, so she is always ready to listen and share educational issues with parents. Xuyen loves to participate in experiential activities with children and travel to discover new lands. In addition, in her spare time, she often reads books or goes to the movies - drinking coffee with friends.

Ms. Trang was born and raised in Hanoi - the beautiful and peaceful capital of Vietnam. Ever since she was a child, she has always wanted to become a primary teacher. With her efforts, her dream came true. She graduated with honors from the Department of Primary Education at Hanoi National University of Education. Immediately after graduation, she became a primary school teacher at an international school, followed by 8 years working at a high-quality Primary School in Hanoi. She has always been trying to improve her knowledge through active learning so that she can become a great teacher. She participated in the Vietnam-Korea teacher exchange program organized by UNESCO in 2018. This is a program that brought her memorable experiences in Korea - one of the countries with the leading education system in the region. She also had the initiative and experience in organizing STEM activities when teaching math to 3rd-grade students, granted her a certificate by the Hanoi Department of Science and Technology. For her, education is one of the most important professions because it is related to human development. If a person undergoes a good education, it is more likely that they will have a bright future ahead of them. As a teacher of HTS, she will create an environment that encourages learning, helping students develop advanced knowledge and social skills, including personality development and leadership. In addition to teaching, Ms. Trang also enjoys outdoor activities, participating in sports such as football, badminton, and shuttlecock. In particular, she is very fond of planting trees and has a hobby of photographing landscapes.

“When Duyen was a student at primary school, she really liked English. Her English teacher was a very nice woman with a beautiful voice. Every day, watching the teacher gently teaching students new vocabulary and grammar structures, she manifested a dream of becoming an English teacher one day. When Duyen was in high school, she studied very hard; as a result, she passed the entrance exam into Hanoi University - one of the most famous universities for languages in Vietnam. After graduating from university, she studied for an international English Teacher license (Tesol) and successfully completed the course. Duyen was an English teacher for 2 years before becoming an assistant teacher at an international school in Hanoi for 4 years. Now she is very happy and proud to be a qualified assistant teacher at the Hanoi Toronto school. She will bring all the knowledge and experience that she has accumulated to teach and take care of her students. Duyen loves traveling, watching English films, reading books, and listening to music. This does not only make her feel relaxed but also helps her to improve her English skills. Besides, she has a habit of listening to English podcasts before going to bed and in the morning to gain more knowledge and practice her listening skills every day.”

After graduating from Hanoi Capital University, Ms. Huong started her teaching career in primary schools. More than 6 years of experience in teaching at Alaska Academy, Lomonoxop, etc., has helped her accumulate many skills and educational methods for students. As a teacher, she always remembers and loves William Arthur Ward's quote: "The average teacher only knows how to talk, the good teacher only knows how to explain, the outstanding teacher only knows how to illustrate, the great teacher knows how to teach. get inspired.” Ms. Huong always wants to impart her knowledge, skills, and above all, an endless source of inspiration for the subject to her students. The educational process of developing children is not only about grades and class time, it is about creating a learning environment that helps children become better people and have an understanding of the world around them. She is willing to learn, always up to date with the latest in expertise and teaching methods, and finding novel approaches to deliver education to students. Huong loves children very much. Each child is on a separate educational journey that requires teachers to not only use their knowledge but also to convey their sincere feelings to accompany. Outside of work, Ms. Huong enjoys taking pictures, learning the piano, and participating in experiential activities

Ms. Nguyen Thi Dong graduated with honors in Mathematics from the University of Natural Sciences - Hanoi National University and completed her Master's program in 2014. She started her career as a lecturer in Advanced Mathematics for 5 years. After that, she participated in teaching Mathematics in high school and with her team developed Math programs for a number of private schools. To date, she has more than 10 years of teaching experience. She has helped many students win high prizes in international math competitions such as IKMC, ASMO, and AMO, ... With "student-centered" as her teaching motto, she is always focused on helping children experience, and actively promote their own creativity, they are always empowered and can express independent thinking. In each lesson, she has helped her students gain confidence, and courage and have many good academic achievements. "Teaching is not an easy job, but every day I find joy in the profession," she said. Outside of school hours, she enjoys meeting up with friends, shopping, reading with her children, and taking care of her family.

Ms. Minh Anh is a Vietnamese Language & Literature teacher. She holds a Master's degree in Theory and Methods of Teaching literature, and previously graduated with an Excellence BA's degree from a high-quality training program at Hanoi National University of Education. She was also the valedictorian of her specialized school and later her university. During her time as a university student, she received the Excellent Merit-based Award alongside many prizes in Pedagogical Skills competitions. In addition to her outstanding academic achievements, she also has abundant teaching experience as she has been working at top private schools in Hanoi, training many excellent students. With professional knowledge, practical experience, open-mindedness, and modern teaching methods, Ms. Minh Anh always tries to create for her students an educational environment that is liberal, proactive, focus on helping students develop essential language skills, critical and creative thinking, and letting them have literacy practice during her lessons. As a friendly teacher, her favorite "job" is spending time talking and listening to her students' confessions. Besides, in her free time, she enjoys reading books, watching movies, visiting art workshops and learning new things.

Ms Hoang Anh has been working in international educational environments for the past 5 years. She obtained a Diploma in Pre-School and Primary School Training, as well as a Certificate of Professional Training in Pedagogy. Ms Hoang Anh enjoys working with younger students and believes that every child is unique. When she is not working, Ms Hoang Anh enjoys spending time with her family and swimming.

Minh is a graduate of the University of Otago in Otago, New Zealand. His educational background is rooted in the Social Sciences with a special focus on personal and interpersonal development. His Bachelor of Arts – majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology – only emphasizes his own personal interest in the nurturing of individuals and the creation of sustainable social environments. Before coming to Hanoi Toronto School as an Admissions Support Staff and now, Teaching Assistant cum School Counselor; Minh has worked for a number of educational institutions such as the British Council and Curiookids Vietnam. There is much to learn for Minh in the field, and he is determined to make the best of the amazing opportunity that Hanoi Toronto School has given him. A “Student-centered” approach is what he is confident in delivering to each learner that walks through the doors at Hanoi Toronto School. Minh is a firm believer in nurturing individual students and helping them exceed their own expectations for development, guiding them towards Amazing Learning. As a colleague, Minh is an even-tempered person with an open mind who is always willing to help. In his spare time, he enjoys café hangouts with his friends and family, playing the occasional football game, and volunteering.

In 2019, after graduating with a dual degree in Linguistics and English from Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Nguyet Minh (Min) decided to pursue an educational path and started her career as a language teacher for many different learners from many different countries, especially teaching Vietnamese to foreigners. Being exposed to various cultures and languages, Min gained more experience and acquired a new language, Korean. Besides teaching, Min has also participated in the study of Phonetics Researching organized by Cambridge University and much other compilation and translation programs. Lucky to work in international environments, Min has the opportunity to expose to the curriculum of developed countries such as the UK, USA, Canada, etc. She always desires to make a contribution to the education of the future generations. Hanoi Toronto School is the school that helps Min to do that. In the future, Min wishes to become an exemplary teacher, and an educational manager, inspiring the younger generation with the motto "Immerse yourself in teaching and discover the capacity of each student so that no one is left behind". Besides working as a teacher, Min is very fond of art: painting and music.

Ms. Huyen holds a Hanoi National University Bachelor of Arts in English. She had worked at Singapore International School where English is the primary language for more than 9 years. She enjoys supporting and assisting individual students or smaller groups to help them better understand the content and help them to complete assignments. She has distinguished herself in the classroom, proactively managing student discipline during the transition and in class. Ms. Huyen regularly attended professional development meetings at schools and did not hesitate to take part in school activities. She ran some afterschool activities clubs, in particular, the Arts and Crafts club while she was working at Singapore International School. While working at the school, she participated in Certificate III in Children’s Services @ Pegasus Unicenter and acquired the Cambridge International Certificate in Teaching with Digital Technologies. She also took part in the Outward bound program from which she gained a greater understanding of working as a team through tackling various physical challenges. She could walk through a forest then sand dunes with a heavy package - about fifteen kilograms - all day long and she experienced that “when we do our best, we could go beyond the limits that we have defined for ourselves.” Ms. Huyen is a big fan of traveling, reading, football and spending time with her family.