Peilin Lee - Our Team

Peilin Lee

Vice Principal and Head of Chinese

Peilin Lee has been in language education in her native Taiwan as well as Canada and Hong Kong for over 25 years. She gained her Bachelor’s degree in French Language and Literature from Catholic Fu Jen University in Taiwan and then was an EFL/ESL teacher for 10 years. Peilin furthered her studies by obtaining a Master of Arts degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham (focusing on teacher training and curriculum development) followed by a PGCE in Chinese Education from Sunderland University, UK.

Peilin moved to Hong Kong more than 20 years ago and taught Putonghua and translation studies to students at different levels. She was the Founder and Managing Director of Jumpstart Mandarin Learning Centre where she taught Chinese to K-12 students and developed their Chinese curriculum and training workshops. Until recently, Peilin was an IB Middle Year Secondary school teacher at Victoria Shanghai Academy where she taught Chinese Language and Literature.

Student engagement is central to Peilin’s practice. She adopts a constructivist approach and aims to create lessons that encourage lively participation so that learners can build their own understanding of a topic. She often uses student-led discussions as a means to establish a sound 3 Chinese foundation. To foster a more personalized environment, she carefully analyzes students’ needs and incorporates storytelling and creative elements from a learner’s own life into her lessons. She works closely with her students to set learning outcomes and encourages individual exploration according to their interests.

Alongside teaching, Peilin continues to cultivate her passion in language as an award-winning poet. She recently published an anthology of short poems with a Taiwanese publishing house. Peilin is delighted to join Bloom and plans to lead the Chinese-medium team to develop a vibrant academic program and foster an appreciation of Chinese culture, both past and present.

OTHER BLOOM MEMBERS

Matthew Gibbs

Deputy Head of Pastoral Care and Head of PE

Matthew Gibbs was born and raised in Queensland, Australia, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science at Bond University. After gaining his TESOL Accreditation at the American TESOL Institute in Thailand he went on to obtain his Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Sunderland in England.

Matt began as an educator at Thewphaingarm Canadian Bilingual School in Bangkok, where he taught English and Social Studies in addition to Drama, Health and Art to Grades 7-12 students. Through teaching there and in Spain, he acquired a genuine understanding of the particular needs and expectations of students in multicultural schools.

It was while leading classroom learning at the Canadian International School after moving to Hong Kong that Matt developed his focus on physical training and the health sciences. As sports coach in rugby, football, and basketball, he led numerous ISSFHK sports teams in Hong Kong, and was heavily involved with Senior rugby and the National Age Group in the Hong Kong Rugby Union. He later served as Head of Physical Education at The Harbour School and also their After-School Activity Director where he taught skill acquisition and organized school-wide event planning and sports coaching.

Matt is a firm believer in a PE curriculum based on the tenets of physical literacy – mens sana in corpore sano (a sound body in a sound mind). He cultivates an enthusiasm for learning, trusting, and trying that helps young minds to search for true value in their personal development and well-being. His curriculum planning and trans-disciplinary teaching methods nurture resilience, compassion, sportsmanship, and collaboration. He succeeds by challenging and making physical health fun ... he’s even a licensed AntiGravity Fitness Instructor!

At Bloom KKCA Academy, Matt will help lay the foundations of a robust P.E. Program and build our inter-school sports teams.

Shu Chen

Primary Teacher

Shu Chen is an expert in several Chinese dialects. A native Mandarin speaker, she is also proficient in Shanghainese and Cantonese as well as English. Her skills and passion in language learning led her to a career in education where she can share the beauty of Chinese culture with non-Chinese as well as Chinese students.

After her Bachelor of Science degree in business at Benedictine College, Shu obtained her Post Graduate Diploma in Education and Master of Education from the Hong Kong Baptist University. She taught Mandarin for 8 years in local Hong Kong secondary and international schools, as well as Liberal Studies for secondary students. Well-trained in the IB teaching system, Shu was also a grade-level teacher who incorporated interdisciplinary learning across various subjects. She was most recently Year Level Head at the Singapore International School Hong Kong overseeing curriculum planning, designing assessments, and developing immersion programs in cultural studies.

Over her decade-long teaching career, Shu observed how a student’s l environment can impact their mental development. She believes that successful positive learning is best achieved by teaching students to be self-motivated to pursue knowledge and become inquisitive learners through asking questions. Shu’s students practice learning-by-doing to reinforce active recall of their knowledge and language in real-life situations and to acquire critical thinking skills to analyze different situations they might encounter.

Shu is currently working towards her Doctoral Degree in Education with research on the development of Chinese curriculum. She is excited to join Bloom to share her love for Chinese language, history, and rich cultural heritage.

May Chen

Primary Teacher

May Chen was born and raised in Ningbo, Zhejiang, with its lush sceneries and rich cultural heritage framing her interest in Chinese language and literature. She was first awarded a Bachelor of Arts in English followed by a Master of Arts degree in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language with Credit from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She then obtained a Professional Diploma in Teaching Putonghua with Merit from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is qualified professionally with a Certificate of Grade ONE Level B Putonghua Proficiency Test from the State Language Commission, a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and a Postgraduate Diploma in Primary Education from the Open University of Hong Kong. May was also recently selected as one of the judges for the 2nd Chinese Language Festival.

May has over 15 years’ experience teaching Mandarin Chinese to foreign and local students in bilingual kindergartens to international primary schools. She was most recently at Discovery Mind Primary School, where she was the Mandarin Chinese Teacher and Coordinator for Grades 1 to 6. She combines imaginative specialist methodologies with project-based learning in the classroom to enhance interactive teaching and engagement. To May, learning is not about comparing oneself to others, but to be a better version of yourself; even the smallest improvement each day makes a difference, each 1% change adding up to a long-term positive development that will allow students to grow and surpass themselves.

May’s son is starting his university education, while her daughter is entering her final years of secondary school. Besides enjoying quality parent-child time, May enjoys reading, cooking, swimming and traveling.