New Leaders at Canadian International School (CIS)

By ITS Education Asia

CIS Lakeside Primary principal

CIS’ new Lakeside Primary principal, Dr Colleen Drisner, is already a familiar face in the community—she served as the school’s Head of Student Support and Wellbeing since joining CIS over three years ago. Colleen has recently completed a doctorate in educational leadership and is a highly respected educator with 27 years of experience in international education, having spent 16 years in China as a teacher, IB coordinator, and principal at an international school and university in Beijing.

Colleen believes that student wellbeing is at the core of learning and is well-versed in helping students “learn how to learn”. She says: “At CIS, we develop creators, innovators and leaders equipped with skills to navigate the future that awaits them. Students are at the centre of everything we do. We see each student as an individual and are committed to helping them grow. We are dedicated to unleashing a child’s potential to become an innovative, successful global citizen”.

CIS Lakeside Primary vice-principals

Meet Dr Xiomara Cruz and Mr Joel Bevans, who were recently appointed as primary vice-principals at CIS Lakeside. Xiomara originally hails from Puerto Rico via the US, while Joel is from the UK via schools in Panama and Luxembourg. Both have worked extensively within the international school arena—Xiomara was most recently the elementary deputy principal at Stamford American International School in Singapore, and Joel was the elementary curriculum coordinator for the International School of Panama.

Joel is excited about this brand new chapter of his career. “Every single member of our community has an opportunity to be their best self, to try something new, to learn something exciting and to meet and learn from and with others. Being new to CIS and Singapore, this is only amplified more. There are new systems and structures to learn, new colleagues to meet and work alongside, and, most importantly, a whole school of children to get to know,” he says.

For Xiomara, interacting with the students and seeing them learn in an interactive manner is what she looks forward to in her new role. She also hopes to forge connections with the CIS community. “Being new to CIS this year, my biggest goal is to get to know the community and build relationships [here],” she shares.

For further information on CIS and updates at the school, click on this link: https://mosaic.cis.edu.sg/