Ella Healy joined HKIS in August 2017 as Aquatics Director.

Previously, she served as Aquatics Director and Physical Education teacher at the United Nations International School in Hanoi for eleven years. Prior to UNIS, Ella worked three years as a PhysEd teacher, Swimming Program coordinator, and Head Coach at the International School of Helsinki and for four years at the International School of Latvia. In addition to international school teaching, Ella served three years as Head Coach at the swim club Neptunes in Malta (EU) and as an age group swim coach in Latvia.

In the past, Ella was a national team swimmer and record holder in her home country, Latvia. She also competed in finswimming for several years. Ella enjoys an active lifestyle and spends her spare time exploring Hong Kong by hiking, practicing yoga, and doing other fitness activities.

She and her husband Brian have four children: the oldest pursues a political career in the EU, two sons study at university in the EU, and the youngest son recently graduated from high school in the USA, and is now doing his military service in Finland.

Hi, I’m Brian Healy and I’m from the United States. My wife Ella and I came to HKIS in 2017. Previously we were in Hanoi, Vietnam at the United Nations International School where for eleven years I taught Physical Education and Health, and coached swimming. This is my 29^th year of teaching internationally, having taught Phys Ed also in Helsinki, Finland and Budapest, Hungary.

I’m passionate about sport and physical activity. Fortunately I’ve had opportunities to do a wide variety of sports throughout the years and still enjoy playing many of them. A hobby I enjoy most is motorcycle riding!

Ella and I have four children: the oldest pursues a political career in the EU, two sons study at university in the EU, and the youngest son recently graduated from high school in the USA and is now doing his military service in Finland.

Hi, I’m Rita Lai and I’m from Hong Kong. I am very excited to join the HKIS community this year!

I have been teaching swimming for more than ten years in different international schools and local clubs. Swimming is a life skill. I am passionate to keep students motivated and participating during the learning process. Knowing that I taught them something that they’ll keep forever is really satisfying!

I have been a swimmer when I was young and now no longer competing. Spending most of the time in the pool training helps me to be resilient. There are always times where I didn’t want to get up for early morning practice, times where I feel horrible during warmup and struggle to remain positive. There are so many lifetime benefits that I gain from swimming.

Besides swimming, I have been playing the Japanese Taiko drum for 15+years and performing in various occasions like Hong Kong Sevens and Japan. I love the teamwork and how drumming connects me with different people.

Hello, my name is Vivian Chan. I am from Hong Kong and this is my third year working as a Swim Instructor at HKIS.

I learnt swimming from my mum when I was eight years old. The first stroke I learnt was breaststroke!

My dad liked to bring me and my brother to the beach when we were very little, so I am comfortable and confident in doing open water swimming. From there, my love for swimming has never stopped!

I enjoy teaching swimming lessons because I love to see the joy on kids faces when they accomplish a new skill for the first time and overcome their fear of water. Being around water should be a fun and enjoyable experience and I truly believe every child should know how to swim.

Learning never stops for a Swim Instructor! I'm excited to enrol in a lifeguarding course and I'm always interested in knowing more in the areas of Sports and Exercise Psychology through reading books, research articles and attending lectures.

Apart from swimming, I play tennis competitively and teach kids how to play. One of the youngest learners from the past is a three years old boy! This summer, I am back on my road bike again and every Sunday morning I enjoy a group ride on Lantau Island near Disneyland!

I hope to meet you at school soon when the pool is allowed to open safely!