Please prepare yourself for a long email as it is time to share some of our plans relating to next year’s staffing with you.
But first we must say goodbye to a very dedicated secondary team leader and seven exceptional teachers who have given so much to the development and life of the school. Listed in order of how long they have served at ABIS:
- Leo Thompson
- Françoise Cerdan
- Tania Drower
- Michael Hurst-Mawasse
- Lina Hurst-Mawasse
- Suzanne Tomlinson
- Mina Znaidi
- Amira Hachem
As always, teachers are heading off to multiple locations. As I have already shared by Broadcaster several months back, Leo is heading back to Vienna, Austria with his family to take up the post of Head of Secondary at the Amadeus International School.
Tania is heading down under to Australia and Françoise, Michael & Lina are all going to China, Amira will be staying in the Middle East, Suzanne will be returning to the UK. Mina is planning a return to Europe so she can be nearer her son.
It is always difficult to say goodbye to great teachers and educators, and we do so with a tremendous sense of appreciation for what they have done.
Personally, I will miss all of them and am proud to have been able to have worked with each one of these teachers. We will be formally thanking them all for their hard work next week and, of course, in the last day assemblies. Please also say good bye if you get the opportunity.
New staff
From December through to May we invested huge amounts of effort to secure the very best teachers to join our team. This year, I travelled to recruiting events in Boston, London & Dubai and interviewed over a hundred candidates there. Added to this, we are doing more & more Skype interviews and face to face meetings where it is appropriate. All of this to find the right teachers for our special school. The result of all this work is a diverse team of committed, international educators who will be joining us next school year.
New classroom teachers who will join the Primary School next school year include:
Sharan Dhami comes from London (not far from where I grew up!) She is joining us from Vienna, Austria where she is currently working at the Danube IS.
Eric and Sarah Larsen are both from British Columbia, Canada. Although they have spent the last years teaching in BC, they previously worked at the UN school in Hanoi as PYP teachers. They will be coming with their 2 boys.
Luis Avila is joining us from the warmth of Southern California, USA and has been working internationally for 4 years.
Kirsty Lottkowitz is an Australian who has lots of teaching experience and has been a PYP Teacher in northern Italy for the last 4 years.
Nisreen Khalil will be teaching Arabic and Islamic Studies in our lower grades. Nisreen is Mr Barakat’s wife.
Staff joining the Secondary School include:
Ann Galliard will be joining us as the new Secondary Team Leader. She is currently in China where she has been working as the Principal of a large IB School. She will be with her husband, Sebastien (see below) and their 2 children.
Sebastien Galliard will be our new French Teacher for the upper end of the school. Both Sebastien and Ann worked with Jon Adams in Thailand… small world!
Matthew Taylor, a British national, will be join us a Maths & Science Teacher. He will be coming with his wife and their 3 children
John Mwita is from Kenya and will be our new IB Physics & General Science Teacher. He is currently working in Turkey and will be also bring his family, including two young children.
New staff with Whole School responsibilities:
Eletia Thomas is an Australian teacher who will be taking on a IT & Digital Learning role, as well as teaching some mathematics. She come to us from Abu Dhabi.
Caroline Fogiel will be our new, whole school curriculum coordinator. She is currently working in China although before that she worked with Leo at the Vienna International School.
It has been my pleasure to be able to recruit such a highly recommended and experienced group of educators and we very much look forward to introducing them to you in August. More details about our new staff will follow soon.