Welcome to our Grade 2 Learning Community
Ms. Theresa Rekawek: Ms. R believes in learning environments that cultivate curiosity and grow young people as confident, capable, and creative inquirers. Ms. R's learning journey has taken her around the world to the wondering minds of elementary and middle school students in Taiwan, Myanmar and Hungary. She has taught Grade 2 for 12 years and is looking forward to her 13th year teaching curious wonderers. Outside of the classroom, Miss R has been an Elementary Science Coordinator, Service Learning Coordinator, Student Council Advisor, Tennis Coach, Drama Assistant and sponsor of after school activities to help children develop a love for the outdoors through hiking, biking, and gardening.
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Mr. Peter Révfalvi: Mr. Péter Révfalvi is from Budapest, Hungary. He holds a BA in TEFL(Teaching English as a Foreign Language). In 2007 he enrolled for a postgraduate course named as TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in London, England. After that he came back to Hungary to teach English to children in elementary schools. He joined AISB in 2017 and started to work as an assistant teacher in Grade 2. He believes that inquiry based learning is a key for children to explore the world around them and to raise their curiosity. Out of the classroom he spends most of his time with his children, doing outdoor activities like calisthenics (bodyweight exercises), playing chess, doing sketching. He is also a marathonist.
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Mrs. Karen Ramirez: Mrs. Ramirez is from Portland, Tennessee in the United States. Karen completed her undergraduate studies in Nashville where she earned a B.Sc. degree in Political Science and History. Karen went on to complete her J.D. in law through St. Mary’s University. After law school, Karen completed another postgraduate M.Ed. degree in Curriculum and Instruction at George Mason University. Karen has been a teacher since 2000. She has taught in the USA, Germany, Portugal, and Hungary. Since 2012, Karen has worked at AISB where she has taught Grade Two, Grade Three, and Grade Five and held many leadership roles, including ES Associate Principal, ES Literacy Curriculum Lead, Team Leader, K-12 Head of Department in Social Studies, Academic Leadership Council member, and Accreditation Steering Committee member. Karen is an educator who truly believes in Gandhi’s profound statement, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” It is this passion for learning and zest for life that Karen seeks to foster at AISB. Through facilitating children’s academic, social, emotional, and cultural development, Karen strives to empower them to make a difference in the world. In her free time, Karen enjoys being a Girl Scout troop leader, reading, hiking in the mountains, camping, volunteering at the local animal shelter, watching movies, and spending quality time at home with her husband and son.
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Mrs. Zsofia Manner: Ms. Zsofi is from Hungary. She has a BA in Hungarian Literature, Grammar and History. She is also a certified EAL and LRC teacher. Zsofia has lived and worked in the USA for 10 years and was a teacher from Grade 2-6 in a private Hungarian/English school in Chicago. She has worked at AISB since 2008. Zsofia loves being with her family. She loves music, art, hiking and biking in her free time.
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Mr. Ian Connell: Mr. Connell enjoys working with children and finds teaching to be a hugely rewarding job. Mr. Connell believes that the key to great learning is enjoyment, coupled with a sense of challenge and mutual respect. Ian started teaching in a large state school in Ipswich, UK in 1990. He then moved to Germany to work for the British Forces Schools, before moving to the European School of Luxembourg in 1999. He has enjoyed working at AISB since 2009. In his spare time Ian enjoys birdwatching, photography and hiking.
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Mrs. Neha Bhandari: Ms. Neha was born and raised in India. She has worked for a number of years as a teacher in India. We are delighted that Ms. Neha has joined us this year at AISB. In her free time Neha enjoys cooking and music. |
Ms. Olivia Ma (LSS): Olivia was born and raised in San Jose, California. She attended Seattle Pacific University where she majored in Special Education and minored in Psychology. She furthered her professional skills by earning a Cross-cultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD) Certificate and an Autism Spectrum Disorders Authorization. After graduating in 2015, Olivia worked as an Elementary Resource Specialist in California. She began her career at Los Altos School District before moving to Cupertino Union School District. While at Cupertino, she was a member of the district’s Assessment Team.
Olivia focuses on working collaboratively with each student to discover their strengths, preferences, and learning style. She strives to foster student confidence, as she firmly believes that confidence is key to the growth and development of each student learner. In her free time, Olivia enjoys trip planning, traveling, watching drama, cooking and travel shows, sampling new regional cuisines (especially desserts), and going on walks. |
Mr. Will Porter (EAL): Will Porter is from Mississippi, U.S.A. and teaches Elementary EAL at AISB. He became a teacher because he enjoys working with children and helping them grow and succeed. Will Porter began his teaching career in the Czech Republic where he taught English for two years. He managed a children's home in Kenya for three years, overseeing the education and wellbeing of 30 children. He has been teaching EAL at AISB since 2013, including serving as a lead member of the accreditation steering committee at AISB in 2015-16. Will believes children learn best through strong relationships and support from teachers and families. For this reason, he invests time in and out of the classroom to facilitate learning opportunities, such as coaching softball and organizing ping pong after school. In his free time, Will enjoys cycling, traveling, drinking coffee, and spending time with his family.
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