Outstanding People

David left Australia 29 years ago, with the last over 20 years in Hong Kong, working in the financial industry. David has two children studying with West Island School.

The establishment of his own company has provided David with the flexibility to be more actively involved with his children. David joined the PTA in 2017 and took up the active role of serving as the Treasurer from 2022.

Away from work and schooling, the family orients itself to various beaches and hiking trails on the weekend. David has been a practitioner of yoga for over 20 years.

Irene has a Ph.D. in Engineering and had been working in research labs and consulting firms before relocating to Hong Kong. She has always been an active member of the school PTA, organising class and school events and hosting Lunar New Year celebrations.

Irene and her family joined West Island School in January 2021. Irene became a PTA committee member in January 2022.

Irene enjoys helping and contributing to the PTA’s efforts in making West Island School an even more welcoming and inclusive place for all the students and their families.

After spending the most wonderful seven years of her life in Seoul, Korea, Saman moved to Hong Kong in 2008. Saman has an MBA qualification holder and she had a short stint with a job at an Advertising agency making ads for “Coca-Cola” and “Times of India”.

Saman joined West Island School PTA in 2016 and has been contributing to many PTA events and field trips. She was also on the PTA committee of Bradbury School for three years. As a mother of three, Saman has two graduates from West Island School who are both now at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Her third child is still studying at West Island School.

Passionate about writing and baking, Saman loves spending time with her children.

Vicki Hallatt has lived internationally in the Netherlands, Dubai, Luxembourg, and Bermuda. At various stages of her career, she has taught History, Global Politics, and TOK. Vicki has served as both IBDP and IBCP Coordinator and has held a number of academic and pastoral roles. She is passionate about continually learning and developing herself, and she has presented at the IB conference in Europe on inquiry in the curriculum. Vicki spent three years working with Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education whilst she was in Dubai on an action research project into critical thinking. She has completed her National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) and holds a Master's Degree in Education.

Emma Goodwin is a teacher of languages and Theory of Knowledge as well as the Head of Year 10. She is originally from Leicester in the UK.

Emma has been teaching at West Island school for over 12 years after living and teaching previously in the UK, Egypt, Japan and Vietnam. Her daughter has graduated from West Island School, and her son is in the Class of 2025.

During her personal time, Emma loves enjoying the Hong Kong hills and sampling the varied cuisine in Hong Kong.

Fiona joined the PTA Committee in October 2021. She has been living in Hong Kong since 2017 and also lived in HK before, graduating with an MSc from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 2007.  Fiona is an experienced events manager for multi-national organisations and NGOs. 

Fiona started volunteering work with West Island School when her first child joined West Island School in 2018. Her second child joined in Year 7 in 2019 and her third child in 2024.

Fiona is a trained Nia dance instructor. She enjoys Pilates and singing in an African choir.

Pooja joined the PTA Committee in May 2023, with an aim to get the parent community together and to support the student community.

Pooja has experience working with finance and investment firms in the capacity of Human Resources and Learning and Development. She is a postgraduate in Human Resources and relishes opportunities to upgrade her professional skills. Pooja is a freelance corporate trainer in behavioral skills with organisations.

In her free time, she loves exploring Hong Kong, socialising with friends, cooking new cuisines and listening to music.