Julie Estacion, Senior Junior Kindergarten Teacher

Bachelor of Special Education, West Visayas State University, Philippines

Julie has been in Vietnam for 24 years, working at several International Kindergartens throughout this time. Julie joined AIS in 2007 to work in the Early Childhood Department, bringing with her 14 years’ experience as a classroom teacher. Prior to joining AIS, Julie was a member of the ‘DYNOTOTS’ pre-school which was situated in the Lotus Campus site in 1995.

Outside of school, Julie enjoys spending time with her friends and family, such as her son who is in his final year of schooling at AIS. She also enjoys cooking, watching movies, playing volleyball and travelling. Julie believes that learning should be fun and interesting. Believing that young learners thrive in a safe and nurturing environment.

Julie believes that providing young learners with a learning space where they feel secure and also encourages exploration, sparks curiosity and motivates resourcefulness and creativity has always been one of her primary goals.

Julie envisions that by providing students with this environment encourages them to become enthusiastic in their learning, leading them to become inquirers and communicators as well as enhancing their social prowess by becoming caring and empathetic towards their peers.

Naomi Reidy - Junior Kindergarten Teacher

Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Sunderland, England  Bachelors of Science (Hons) in Health and Leisure from Tralee Institute of Technology, Ireland

Naomi is originally from Ireland but has been living in Vietnam for over 4 years. After finishing her degree in Ireland Naomi spent some time traveling to new and exciting places before falling in love with Vietnam. Noami has spent the last 3 years working in a Kindergarten in HCMC. She thoroughly enjoys working with this age group and embraces a philosophy which nurtures the whole child. Besides Naomi's passion for teaching she is an advocate for health and well-being. Since arriving in Vietnam, she has joined many different sports teams and is captain of the AFL ladies’ team in HCMC and captained the GAA team to victory last year in the South Asian Gaelic games. Naomi is eager to get involved with the sports in the school this year. Naomi is passionate about everything she does and she believes that motivation, encouragement and being open minded is the key to success.

Oonagh Groves, Primary Teacher Year 2

Bachelor of Education (Primary) Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland

Oonagh is an Irish teacher and has 9 years teaching experience in Primary Education. Before joining AIS, Oonagh taught in Ireland for one year after qualifying and then moved to the UAE where she taught in 2 different international schools over a four year period. Oonagh is currently in her fifth year here at AIS and had taught a variety of year groups across two campuses, senior kindergarten, year 3 and currently year 2. Watching young children grow In confidence is something very special to Oonagh.

In her free time, Oonagh likes to stay active by exercising daily and is very passionate about travel and learning about different cultures.

David Phelps, Primary Teacher Year 2

Bachelor of Journalism (with Distinction) and a Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary), University of Wollongong, Australia.

David thoroughly enjoys living and working in Vietnam. He has experience working with a diverse range of students from Kindergarten through to Year 6. David’s most recent experiences include teaching a Year 5/6 Gifted and Talented class, and Year 6 at AIS. With a background in journalism, he is passionate about Literacy, helping children develop a love for writing through an inquiry-based approach. David looks forward to developing a sustainable garden for students as part of an environmental initiative at the Cherry Blossom campus.

Peter O’Rance, Primary Teacher Year 3

Bachelor of Education, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia

Peter is a primary trained teacher with over 25 years of experience teaching students (aged from 7 to 11 years) from diverse cultural backgrounds in Sydney, Australia. He has a passion for focusing on student needs and learning outcomes. Peter enjoys living and working in Vietnam. He is fond of singing and playing the acoustic guitar as well as being a regular player in the local table tennis scene. Peter supports the West Tigers NRL team.

Elisa Carroll, Primary Teacher Year 4 & Year 4 Team leader

Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) - Federation University, Australia

Graduate Diploma of Teaching - Deakin University, Australia

Graduate Certificate Teaching Children with Autism, Autism Institute, Australia

Professional Certificate of Instructional Leadership - University of Melbourne, Australia

Elisa joined AIS from Melbourne, Australia in 2020. She is a passionate teacher who has taught in government and independent schools, across a variety of primary year levels. Elisa enjoys providing authentic and personalised learning opportunities, where students sense of wonder and curiosity are at the heart of learning. With experience in the PYP, Elisa has also held various curriculum and team leadership roles. In her leisure time, she enjoys all aspects of digital technologies, travel, reading, and music. Elisa and her husband are both at AIS and have three adult children. She is moving from Thu Thiem and joining the Thao Dien campus this year.

Elisa Carroll, Primary Teacher Year 4

Ben Mansell, Primary Teacher Year 5

BSC (Honours) English literature. PGCE in KS1 and KS2 Newman University College, England. 

This is Ben’s sixth year teaching at AIS. Before that he taught in upper primary school in England. Whilst working in Vietnam Ben has worked in various year groups with experience in years 2, 3, 5 and 6. Ben is the school’s literacy coordinator and has a love of literacy, helping foster confidence in his student’s abilities through developing reading, writing and speaking and listening strategies. Ben thoroughly enjoys teaching the PYP curriculum and supporting children to explore the concepts and disciplines that help them to become open minded, knowledgeable and caring members of our society.

Jordan Goulding, Primary Teacher Year 6

Master of Education, University of Melbourne
B2 Level Diploma of Spanish

Jordan is a primary school teacher from Australia who has many years of experience working with amazing students in Thailand, England, Spain and his homeland. He has a Master of Education from the University of Melbourne and studied hard to receive a B2 Level Diploma of Spanish during his time there. Jordan takes pride in getting to know every student in his class as an individual, including their hobbies and how they learn.

Rachel White, Physical Education Teacher

Bachelor of Human Movement, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia Graduate Diploma in Primary Education, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Rachael has over 10 years teaching experience in both primary and secondary schools. She has taught in the UK, Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Rachael is passionate about engaging children in physical activity. She enjoys fitness, swimming and netball. Rachael is looking forward to returning to HCMC with her family and exploring more of the country and enjoying fresh delicious Vietnamese food.

Emer Taheny, Music Teacher

Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland. (2012-2016) Achieved a 2:1 Degree.
Grade 8 Certificate in Piano with the Royal Irish Academy of Music (2011)

Emer Taheny comes from Co. Mayo on the west coast of Ireland! She will be teaching Primary Music and Dance at the Cherry Blossom Campus at AIS Thao Dien! Emer is looking forward to teaching Music & Dance to the wonderful children in Kindergarten and primary along with getting to know all of their parents. She is also looking forward to travelling around some more parts of Vietnam this year (if I can), and of course, sampling even more of it’s delicious food!

Phuong Le -Vietnamese Language and Culture Teacher

Bachelor of Art (Russian/ English), HCM Pedagogy University
Bachelor of Education Primary, HCM Pedagogy University
Graduate Certificate TESOL, Thailand
Certificate Teaching Vietnamese for foreigner

Phuong Le was a teacher at an Elementary school in HCM City for 4 years. She also has 12 years of teaching experience in Early Childhood. She joined AIS in 2007 as a Teaching Assistant. She teaches the Vietnamese National Curriculum to Vietnamese students from Year 1 to Year 6.

She enjoys cooking with her two daughters.

Nguyen Pham - Vietnamese Language and Culture Teacher

Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (The University of Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Bachelor of Primary Education (The University of Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Certificate of Teaching Vietnamese as a foreign language (HCM Department of Education and Training)

Nguyen teaches Vietnamese Language and Culture to non-Vietnamese students from Kindergarten to year 6 at AIS Thao Dien. She has been with AIS since 2007. Prior to joining AIS, she taught at both local and international schools in Long An province and Ho Chi Minh City. During this time, she worked with students from multi-cultural backgrounds and of mixed abilities as a language teacher. Nguyen is interested in learning beyond the classroom and has organised several highly successful school events which relate to Vietnamese culture. Nguyen loves all forms of art, enjoys spending time with her two sons and reading books. 

Jetro Asis - Swim teachers

Bachelor of Science in Inter-Disciplinary Business Studies (Major in Marketing Management) – De La Salle University - Manila, Philippines

Swimming Certifications: World Swimming Coaches Association Level 1, 2 and 3; AUSTSWIM, SWIMAUSTRALIA and Red Cross

Currently Undertaking Third Year in Bachelor of Science in Physical Education - University of Nueva Caceres - Naga, Philippines

Jet has been with AIS for 9 years teaching swimming from Kindergarten, Primary to Secondary students in all campuses. Prior to joining AIS, Jet has been coaching and managing competitive swimming clubs and organising summer learn-to-swim programmes in the Philippines. He has also been involved with skills and development activities of the national and international level swimmers of the Philippine’s National Swimming Team. He has been a competitive swimmer since he was 7 years old and was a member of the Philippine Age-Group Swimming team represented his country in national and international events for 8 years. Since then, he has focused on full-time coaching and managing swimming clubs. Jet still trains as a competitive athlete in Running, Swimming and Triathlon events. 

Leanne Raeside - Art Teacher

Masters in IB Education through Melbourne University, Melbourne, Victoria

Leanne has just completed a Masters in IB Education through Melbourne University, Melbourne, Victoria. This is her fifth year working at AIS Saigon. Previously Leanne was a Year 4 teacher and Literacy Coordinator at Thu Thiem campus and is now in her 2nd year as the PYP Coordinator. Leanne enjoys the academic and personal challenges that the PYP Programme provide the learning community and she is deeply passionate about the environment, especially in reducing plastic waste and creating opportunities for authentic, sustainable actions to make our world a better place for our future. As the child’s learning begins in the home, Leanne is interested in holding workshops for parents to help our parent community understand the PYP programme in more detail, in order to make connections between home and school. Prior to working at AIS Saigon, she spent twelve years working in international schools in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she taught various Primary classes as well as being in leadership positions. Leanne continues to enjoy living and working in Vietnam and she is excited for future challenges and experiences.

Do Thi Nhu Anh - Support Teacher

Bachelor of Education and Teaching French 2007 from Sai Gon University HCM city

Bachelor of Education and Teaching English 2012 from University of Social Sciences and Humanities HCM city

Anh had worked at SSIS since 2007 then she has been teaching at AIS since 2011. She is passionate about working with the students to help them develop their Phonics, Reading and Maths skills. Besides, she is interested in UOI. She is a hardworking, responsible and she loves seeing students get better everyday.

Duong Phuong Dung - Support Teacher

Bachelor of English Language Teaching- from Hanoi National University, Vietnam

Master of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Victoria University, Australia

Dung has been teaching at AIS since 2007. She is passionate about working with the students to help them develop their English and Maths skills. Besides, she is interested in Inquiry learning. In her leisure time, she enjoys music and books.

Ngo Thi Dieu Loan - Support Teacher

Bachelor of English Language studies from Ton Duc Thang University

Graduated Diploma in TESOL Program Loan has been teaching at AIS since 2013

She loves reading books, doing arts and having a lot of moving energy. She loves PYP Curriculum and has 3 years of experience in supporting year 6 students with their PYP Exhibition. She lives in HCMC with her husband and three lovely children. She enjoys doing sports and reading books in her free time! She is flexible and be ready for any challenge!

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Nhi - Support Teacher

Le Thi Ngoc Pho - Support Teacher