Primary School

Melissa started her career as a professional actress and gained a Post Graduate in Musical Theatre from the prestigious 'Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts' in London, which led her naturally in to teaching the art of acting to all ages, After becoming a mother to three children, she became more aware of the increasing pressures placed on young children today and became a qualified Yoga and Mindfulness coach, running her own business in schools and preschools in the UK. Melissa has been working internationally for 7 years in Abu Dhabi and Hangzhou, China, teaching drama, literacy, mindfulness and Early Years. After completing her Post Graduate Certificate in International Education, Melissa is now in the final stages of her Masters in Inclusive Education from University of Dundee. Academics are naturally important but, in the Early Years of education, children need to develop the social and emotional skills they need to support them through the rest of their lives, and that is why these skills are such a large focus of everyday life in the nursery class.

Mrs. Gibbs is from the US, where she has taught and had experience working with children in various capacities for over 20 years. She has received her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from University of Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. One of Mrs. Gibbs’ greatest joys in life is working with young children. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 teenagers, as well as being outdoors and exploring nature.

Mrs. Dowdy is a highly qualified classroom teacher who started her teaching career in 2004. She has her Bachelor of Science in Education and is licensed to teach all General Education subjects in primary levels and English as another Language from primary to adult. She has experience teaching all grade levels from Year 1 to MYP. She comes from the Eastern United States where most of her teaching experience has been. She has been teaching in China since 2017. She lives with her husband and 5 children, all of which happily attend Hanova International School. She and her husband are excited to be able to raise children with a global mindset educated in an IB International School. For fun, Mrs. Dowdy loves spending time with her family exploring the amazing city of Xi'an, learning the Chinese language, and doing various arts and crafts. Mrs. Dowdy also plays piano, guitar, and sings with her husband and children.

Mr. Noble is a fully qualified teacher from the United Kingdom. He has a Master of Arts and a Master of Education degree from two leading Universities in Scotland. He is licensed in his home country to teach children aged 3 to 12. Mr. Noble has been teaching for almost ten years and has spent more than three years teaching in a fully authorised IB International School prior to joining Hanova. He is passionate about teaching inquiry and loves teaching literacy - especially a bookmaking approach to writing. Mr. Noble has been living in China for nine years and currently lives in Xi'an with his wife and young son. In his spare time he loves filmmaking, photography and eating local food from Xi'an.

Emma Tidmarsh was born in Surrey, England but spent most of her childhood growing up in South Australia, where her family still live. She has a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Special Education, and a Master of Education. Emma decided to pursue a career of teaching after spending some time working and volunteering in local schools, South Australian Variety Club and supporting children with learning differences. She is an advocate for inclusion and has presented on the topic at various conferences and workshops for teachers. Emma has really enjoyed settling into her new life in China, where she has lived in Suzhou, Guangzhou and excited to begin her time in Xian at Hanova. In her spare time, Emma enjoys spending time with friends, cooking and travel.

Ms. Andrea is a qualified educator with 20 years of experience teaching in elementary, middle and high schools, as well as language programs for children and adults. She has lived in Colombia, Mexico and the U.S, where she had the privilege to work in bilingual, American and immersion schools.

She majored in Foreign languages Teaching in English and French from Universidad de Antioquia (Colombia), and holds a Master's Degree in TESOL from Greensboro College (USA).

My name is Emma Colling. I was born and raised in a beautiful city beside a beach in New Zealand. I studied a Degree in Photography and Graphic Design and a Post Graduate Diploma in Primary Education in New Zealand. I am extremely passionate about both my areas of study and am so fortunate to be able to combine them as an International Teacher.

I taught for five years in NZ prior to moving overseas where I taught for two years in Jordan in the Middle East and have now taught in two International Schools in Suzhou and Chengdu over the last 4 years. I believe with my experience teaching a variety of different curricula, that I have formed an enthusiastic, creative and adaptable teaching style with a focus on my students achieving their very best.

Something I really value is building relationships, be it with families, the community, colleagues or my students. Relationships, I believe are integral to safe environments that promote risk taking among my students, along with developing a sense of being successful, internationally minded, independent, lifelong learners.

I look forward to getting to know and working with the Hanova Community here in Xi’an.

Mr. Knibloe is a qualified educator with over ten years of experience teaching at elementary to university level, as well as, different language programmes for both children and adults. Before living in China, he has lived and taught in Peru and South Korea; where he had the privilege to teach at one of South Korea’s most reputable private elementary schools.

With an Associates Degree in Interpersonal Communications, and a Bachelor's Degree from Western Michigan in Sociology, Mr. Knibloe also holds a Master’s degree from Framingham State University in Education, is a licensed teacher in the United States, as well as holding a TEFL qualification from the Universidad de San Paulo, Peru.

Mr. MacGregor is from Toronto, Canada. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Radio and Television from Ryerson University. He has Bachelor of Education degree from University of Windsor. He has a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics with a focus on teaching English as a foreign Language. Mr. MacGregor has taught in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Finland. He was first trained in PYP and MYP in 2003, has taught PYP for 7 years and he enjoys the Inquiry Approach to Education.

Mrs Rice hails from USA, but lives in Xi’an with her husband and four children. She gained her BSc in Elementary Education from Northland International University, WI (USA). She has taught children from 2 to 18 years old for more than 15 years in various community programmes, focusing on the full primary programme for five of those years as a trained PYP teacher. She returned to Hanova in January 2015 and was originally one of the founding teachers.