This is Rhandy’s second year at XHIS where he continues to serve as mathematics teacher and Head of Upper School.

Rhandy was educated in the Philippines where, in his bachelor’s work, he was on the Dean’s List and awarded Best Teacher in Mathematics.  He went on to earn his master’s in mathematics education and is currently working towards his Ph.D. in Developmental Research and Administration.

Rhandy has been teaching for ten years (Philippines, Thailand, China) and brings with him an excitement about educating young people.  He is well-known for making math accessible to and practical for all students, and is deeply involved in student development outside the classroom.  He takes it upon himself to sponsor numerous clubs and activities, always producing impressive results.

Course Outline Link:

Mr. Blissett is from the United States.  He has over 15 years of experience in the all facets of education.  His personal education has taken him from public and private Catholic schools to Brigham Young University on academic scholarship where he double-majored with honors in Philosophy and Spanish, the University of Louisville, again on full scholarship, for his master’s in Foreign Language Education (Spanish) and Applied Linguistics, and also to Vanderbilt University where he studied law.

In Mr. Blissett’s professional life he has served as a classroom teacher (Spanish, Humanities, History, Language Arts, ESL), department chairman, curriculum coordinator, dean and principal.  Moreover, his love of and experience in sports made it natural for him to be a high school football (American) and track coach.

In short, Mr. Blissett is enthusiastic about education—be it as a student, a teacher, a parent, a coach or an administrator.

Mr. Blissett is married to Chelly Blissett, our IT teacher, and has two children living with him here in Xi’an, one of whom is a student here at XHIS and a 2.5-year-old who will be a student in the near future.

Course Outline Link:
English (Year 11)
Philosophy (Year 13)

The 2008-9 school year begins Chelly’s fourth year at XHIS. She has classroom experience from Kindergarten through Grade 12. Aside from teaching Information Technology she’s also our ICT Manager and designed and developed our school website as well as publishes the school’s official newspaper and yearbook.

Prior to her employment at XHIS, she had extensive experience in the Information Technology field. She served at well known companies as web projects administrator and creative director for more than eight years.  She was also a trainer to newly hired IT personnel and gave lessons to mature employees for their IT enrichment. She’s also worked offshore for her personal business with clients located in California, U.S.A. 

She and her husband Kevin have enjoyed their time so far at XHIS and look forward continuing to educate the children here for another year. She also feels grateful for the wonderful opportunity their children have had to experience China.

Course Outline Link:
Information Technology 1 (Year 9)
Information Techonology 2 (Year 11)
Journalism (Year 12-13)

Mr Paul Commons is a teacher of English and history from Australia. He completed university in Melbourne before commencing teaching in 1992. He has taught in a variety of schools including two years in Africa and more recently independent schools in Australia as a Senior English Teacher, where he has gained considerable experience developing and delivering innovative curriculum.  Mr Commons is also interested in promoting the value of sport and physical fitness in young people, coaching a variety of sports, including football, athletics and hockey. His wife, Delwyn Oliver also teaches at XHIS and his two boys 6 and 8 years attend the Primary School.

Ms Delwyn Oliver is a mathematics and physics teacher from Australia who has been teaching for almost 20 years. She attended university in Melbourne and has had extensive experience teaching in independent schools in Australia where she has been the Head of Mathematics. In this role, Ms Oliver has researched, written and implemented mathematics curriculum across Year 5 to Year 13, along with supporting and mentoring young teachers. As a Senior Mathematics and Physics Teacher, Ms Oliver enjoys the excitement and enthusiasm students have for their involvement in these subjects.  Ms Oliver is in Xi’an with her husband, Paul Commons and her two boys who are at also at XHIS.

Natalie is from California, Missouri and Illinois in the United States.

During her teen years, she lived one year in Quebec, Canada and four years in Burkina Faso, French-speaking West Africa.  Thus, she had the opportunity to learn French and adapt to different cultures at an early age. 

After graduating from college, she taught high school French in Missouri for six years and both middle and high school social science courses in Honduras for two years. 

Her love of travel has taken her to five continents, including Africa, Europe, Australia, Latin America as well as extensive travel in Canada and the United States.  These experiences have proven to be invaluable resources to interest and motivate her students.  Furthermore, her background has taught her to enjoy and appreciate cultural diversity.  Consequently, she desires to pass on this appreciation of the world to her students. 

Richard has classroom teaching experience on the grade 6 to 11 level, in both Singapore and Brunei schools. During his Master's studies in Canada, he conducted tutorials and laboratory sessions as a teaching assistant for students ranging from first to fourth year.

He was nominated for the national Outstanding Science Teacher Award in 2003. His voluntary involvement with a prison school created an opportunity to work with mature students. This experience allowed him to reflect on his strategies with students in the mainstream school, especially "at risk" teenagers.

In 2005, he designed and implemented the standard of procedure for managing CCA involvement in the new data management system, which also covered students' community work and character development. He was awarded the school Outstanding Contribution Award (Individual and Team) in 2005.

Richard believes strongly in cultivating good character and sound national education values through community involvement programs.

It is Richard’s goal to combine his range of experience with his ability to be a compassionate and enthusiastic educator, one who will make a positive contribution to XHIS.