Staying Connected Diana McGregor-Brown (1985-1988) and (1990-1996) It was a sad day for me when I left the HKIS 8th Grade Team in June 1996 to return to the U.K after 20 years in Hong Kong. In my 18 years, I have done only a few years of supply teaching in schools. I now only do private tutoring in my home. I cannot imagine life without young people in it. HKIS visitors to my home include Ken Rohrs and Scott Rhodewalt. I met up with Yukiko Hagiwara twice in London and Edinburgh. In Oxford, I had lunch with Swii Yii Lim. Travels have included a visit to Hong Kong for the HKIS 40th Reunion. Most of my interests lie in Europe as well as trips to my beloved Scotland. In Cyprus, I visited Pomos, my mother’s home village and met up with Janet and Bruce Taylor — a joy for me.
agers and families at the Jadis Blurton Family Development Center in Kennedy Town. In addition to counselling, I continue travel and research on families and mature women. Having completed interviews in Morocco and Jamaica and then later in Berlin, Prague and Myanmar, I look forward to the continued research and writing. A book on the active lives of older women will be ready for 2016. Family time is always best — on weekends and holidays you will find me with my three daughters, their husbands and the four grandchildren. Feel free to get in touch with me at Rosanninhk@yahoo.com.
The sailboat shot is current — a lake in Seattle.
My email address is dianamcgb1@sky.com. If any more ex-colleagues or students are visiting the U.K, I would love to see you.
Rosann Santora Kao, Ph.D. (2001-2011)
With my three daughters during my HKIS years.
I taught Senior Transitions and Family and Peer Relations which was part of Sophomore Health. My fondest memories are of the students and their questions. Basically, I taught sex education. Students asked honest questions. I miss classroom discussions. Never underestimate the quality of thinking of a 15 year old. After leaving HKIS I took a year sabbatical, travelled round the world catching up with friends and then designed the current research project on the achievements of mature women. As a counsellor I still am still seeing clients – teen48
DRAGONTALES WINTER 2016
Louise Weber (1984-1998) and Michael Weber (1982-1998) Throughout our sixteen years at HKIS, we served in various capacities in the Lower and Upper Primary schools. In 1998, we were called by the Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod to help start Concordia International School Shanghai...Louise as founding P-8 principal and Michael as technology director. We served in Shanghai until retirement in 2010. We relocated to Ft. Myers, FL where we are involved with various service opportunities at Zion Lutheran Church and with disaster services through the American Red Cross and Lee County Emergency Management Operations. Through much of the year, Michael also spends several days weekly, building houses for Habitat for Humanity in our area. Louise writes devotional material for a Creative Communications publication, “Hope-Full Living” Daily Devotions for Living Life to the Fullest. We caught the travel bug while living in Hong Kong and continue to find opportunities to visit new places around the world. Our son, Jason, graduated from HKIS in 1997, and is currently an ordained Lutheran pastor in McHenry, IL. His primary responsibility is for youth, grades 6-12. He’s also done disaster response work in the US as well as abroad.
to third grade and remember Urduja Rohrs as one of our paraprofessionals. When Lower and Upper Primary separated, I moved to the renovated Upper Primary to teach third grade. I “looped” with my class by moving to fourth grade for my last year of classroom teaching. In 1997, I was appointed as one of the Upper Primary Associate Principals. Matt Mills was the other Associate Principal and Mary Hoff was our Principal. I left HKIS in 2009 to take up a position at Early Childhood and Elementary Principal at Saigon South International School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was so rewarding to see SSIS grow as a school and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to provide the leadership I learned at HKIS to a younger school. I’ve recently decided to take a break from administration and education. I’m not yet calling it retirement and I know I need to keep busy, so it’s been a challenging decision. I plan to stay in Vietnam, moving to Nha Trang, and taking a bit of time off. In the future, I might like to stay active by doing interim administrative positions. As always, the opportunity to volunteer and help those in need in Vietnam will likely occupy a large portion of my time.
The Weber motto: Blessed to be a blessing!
Gary Woodford (1982-1984) and (1992-2009) With Mrs Elsie Tu on her 100th birthday.
During my first years at HKIS, I taught fourth grade with Mary Hoff and Sue Fritts. When I returned after a stint in Japan, I taught second grade, then moved to the four/five combo. At some point, I moved
I have so many fond memories of HKIS! Early morning rides from Pok Fu Lam with Stephen and Denise Carver-Gustin; helping Debbie Gibbs with photography for the musical “Pippin” when the high schoolers were all still on the Repulse Bay Campus (was Jin Yung Pippin?); sharing stories about students with