Ms Shamsiah’s teaching experience spans over 28 years, in Hong Kong and Malaysia. In her career as an educator, she has taught the international and national curricula. She joined Sri KDU Primary School in 2004 as a Science and Mathematics teacher before she was promoted to the post of Head of Academic & Assessment for Lower Primary in 2009. She was appointed as the Deputy Principal in 2013 and currently serves as the Principal of the National Primary School. She holds a degree in English Language (Hons) majoring in English Literature, and a Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

In her role as the Principal of the school, she leads and supports the teachers closely in Teaching and Learning and is responsible in encouraging their growth and development through the school’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme throughout the year. Fortunately, her team of dedicated senior leadership staff and the teachers share the same value of enriching the lives of children for a better world.

Ms Shamsiah’s vast experience in education has afforded her opportunities to foster classroom community, design curriculum and mentor the team of teachers. With her genial personality, she establishes meaningful relationships with the teachers, children and parents of the school. She is committed to ensuring that all children have equal opportunities to develop their skills, shine in their areas of interest and reach their true potential in a safe and caring environment. She is proud to be part of the Sri KDU Primary School community, and hopes to lead the school to further achievements.

Ms Shairina Begum began her career in teaching as a secondary school teacher in Singapore for 4 years before joining Sri KDU Primary School in September 2003. She has always been passionate about working with young children and setting a strong foundation for them to learn and excel in a safe and supportive environment. She teaches English Language to the lower primary children and has been working with these younger age groups in the school ever since.

Ms Shairina Begum was appointed as the Head of Subject for the English Language panel in 2010 before becoming the Head of Academic and Assessment (HOAA) for the lower primary in 2013, and Deputy Principal in 2021. In her role as the Deputy Principal, she leads, inspires, monitors, and supports the teaching staff in implementing the curriculum and assessing pupils’ mastery of concepts taught through formative and summative assessments. She advocates strong collaboration amongst the teaching faculty in realising the school’s mission and vision. She also assists the Principal in developing and implementing policies and practices for academic and assessment matters which involve monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching and learning in the school.

Ms Shairina Begum is enthusiastic about coaching teachers to create a welcoming and nurturing classroom environment that supports young children to develop into thinkers and problem-solvers. She holds integrity, professionalism in discharging responsibilities in an open, reliable, and consistent manner, and mutual trust and respect in high regard as core values that should be rightfully possessed and displayed by leaders. She is committed in upholding these values and working with the school community to steer the school to greater heights. 

Vincent Yap Wei Teck

Head of Academic and Assessment (Upper Primary)

Ms Rachel joined the Sri KDU Primary School family in November 2014, as an Upper Primary English Teacher. Prior to her onboarding, Ms. Rachel discovered her passion for teaching and mentoring the next generation during her stint as a leader with the world-class development program, the Royal Rangers. There, she developed leadership, training and mentoring skills for children aged 6-18 years old. This ultimately led her to forge a path in education..

In the years that she has been here at Sri KDU, Ms Rachel had the opportunity to helm several school projects and events. She was responsible for coordinating, assisting and leading numerous Annual School Productions, namely – Wonderland (2017), The King and I (2018) and Suatu Masa Dahulu (2019). Via these leadership opportunities, Ms. Rachel’s love for the creative arts was revived. Together with her team of teachers, they developed and nurtured the young talents and witnessed their blossoming skills on stage. Ms. Rachel strongly believes that children should be allowed a safe space to hone their own ‘voices’ and own their unique skills and talents both academically and creatively.  

Ms Rachel has been a part of the Discipline Board since 2017 as the Upper Primary Discipline Coordinator and more recently as Secretary of the Discipline Board and CCA Committee. She believes that teaching is a calling and it takes an army of teachers to raise a student. Together, she hopes to forge ahead to raise and develop young, vibrant and confident children. In the years that she has served, led and taught in the classroom, Ms Rachel considers it a great privilege to witness the growth and success of each individual student and collectively as a school community. Her passion continues to propel her to inspire her students to look beyond the classroom, to explore and leverage on their curiosities.

Ms Willie Yip Siew Yee, the Head of Student Affairs, is a graduate of Bachelor of Early Childhood from University of Western Sydney, Australia. Her two-year experience as a stand-in teacher with various educational centres in Sydney has helped her gain more valuable knowledge in the educating of the young before she returned to Malaysia. Upon her return, she used her new-found understanding at a reputable kindergarten in Kuala Lumpur. She assisted in the initial start-up of its day care centre by personally modelling and fine-tuning the curriculum and designing its learning spaces. 

Ms Yip then joined Sri KDU Primary School in June 2006, where she has been teaching English for the past 15 years. She has worked herself progressively up rank and file and has played very significant key roles during her time with the school. A professional who is very dedicated to her craft, she does her best in all her duties discharged to her. With her new found role, Ms Yip will continue to build and enhance the progress she has made with matters relating to the wellbeing of the students in the school. She definitely brings a wealth of experience to lead the Student Affairs Department effectively.

Mr Elamchelian started teaching in 2007 as an ICT and Mathematics teacher in a national public school before joining Sri KDU Primary School in 2013 as an ICT teacher for the Lower Primary. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Education Mathematics with Honours. Besides teaching, he was also the Head Teacher Advisor for the school ICT Club and Football team. He was responsible in chaperoning and motivating the young talents under his charge in MSSD tournaments and friendly matches. 

In 2020, he was appointed as one of the school's e-learning coordinators. In his role as a coordinator, he plays an active role in supporting and guiding teachers to become confident and capable online educators and improve the quality of online teaching and learning in Sri KDU Primary School. His passion and drive in sports and resilience in overcoming barriers to learning during unprecedented times leads to his appointment as the Head of CCA and Sports in 2021. 

As a dynamic educator, he is consistently committed to upgrade himself and to never stop learning. He strongly believes as educators, we should always strive towards making a difference in the lives of our young charges. He looks forward to work alongside teachers in identifying young talents, standing by them and guiding them towards success in their areas of expertise. 

FOO MEI KAY

HEAD OF STRUCTURED PERFORMING ARTS (SPA)