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An IB World School The Franconian International School Accredited by CIS and NEASC

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Faculty and Staff

Mrs. Alice Astorino - is from the United States where she earned her Masters in Education and Special Education. She is the Middle School Social Studies teacher in Grades 5-8. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming and going for walks with her greyhound. Mrs. Astorino is in her first year at the FIS.

Mrs Michelle Ang - is from the United States, and is in her fourth year at the FIS. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education for English and French from the University of Wisconsin - Madison (1999), has TESL certification (2002), and completed her Masters Degree in Counseling at the University of Queensland in Australia (2004). Mrs. Ang is the Guidance Counselor and teaches Ethics. Her interests include exploring new places, experimenting with new recipes, hiking, running, diving, and rock climbing.

Ms Tara Allen - is in her fourth year at the FIS, hailing from the Kamloops area of western Canada. Ms Allen received her Bachelor of Ed. degree in 2002 and is one of our Grade One teachers. She enjoys swimming, traveling and playing the piano.

Dr. Liam Browne - is in his third year at the FIS as the High School Principal and IB Coordinator and this year is the Grade Eleven homeroom teacher. Mr. Browne teaches History in the High School. He has a BA in History and Sociology, a Higher diploma in Secondary Education, an MA in History, and has recently completed his doctorate. Mr Browne has taught for eleven years, including seven at the International School of Stuttgart.

Ms Tara Cole - is in her second year at the FIS after spending two years at teh Bavarian International School in Munich. She has a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree (1999) and Bachelors in Education (2000). This year she is teaching Grade Four Math and Language Arts, High School Physics and a Grade 10 Math group Her hobbies are traveling, running, water skiing and learning German.

Miss Darcy Dufresne - is in her fifth year at the FIS and teaches one of our Grade One classes. Miss Dufresne is from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, and received her BA from the University of Alberta in 1997. In her spare time she enjoys jogging, skiing, volleyball, tennis, traveling and eating.

Mrs Mila Fischer comes from Novi Sad in Serbia, has a Masters Degree in Sports Science and she teaches Physical Education at FIS. Mrs. Fischer has been in Herzogenaurach and teaching at the FIS since September of 2000. Her interests include coaching and playing basketball, tennis, squash, volleyball, skiing and scuba diving. She is completing her Ph.D. in the area of Sport Pedagogy at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg.

Mrs. Elizabeth Galloway - has a Masters Degree in Elementary Education. She is in her first year at the FIS, and is one of our Grade Three homeroom teachers. Mrs. Galloway comes from the United States, and has a husband as well as a dog. In her spare time, she enjoys outdoor sports such as biking and jogging, and also traveling throughout Europe.

Mr. Adrian Haug - is from Canada, and in his fourth year at the FIS. He received his Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia and teaches Sports . Mr Haug enjoys any and every sport as well as theatre, film, astronomy, history, music (guitar) travel and reading.

Mrs. Evelyn Hempel - is in her ninth year at the FIS, and teaches German as a Second Language in Grades 1 and 2, German as a First Language in Grade 3, as well as Art to Grade 3. Frau Hempel has completed the second Staatsexamen for Grund and Hauptschule, and has taught in both Germany and Guadalajara, Mexico. She enjoys going to the theater, movies, art galleries, as well as arts and crafts of all kinds.

Mrs. Jane Jäger - is teaching our Four Year olds class, after having helped found the Kindergarten in January of 2000. Mrs. Jäger has a B.Ed. (Hons), and has taught in Japan as well as Germany. She enjoys biking, swimming, reading, and learning foreign languages.

Mrs. Mary Jewell - has a doctorate in education from the University of San Diego and San Diego State University on top of her BA and MA. She joined the FIS in the fall of 2007 as an ESL and Spanish teacher following 14 years in the American schools in her native California. She enjoys traveling, playing games and cycling with her husband and son, as well as reading, exercising and listening to music in her spare time.

Mrs. Nina Kaiser - is in her first year at the FIS. She is a Diplom Germanistin, and teaches German in all areas of the school. Mrs. Kaiser's hobbies include basketball (both playing and watching), reading, swimming, and spending time with her family and friends.

Ms Yuki Koyama - is in her 3^rd year at the FIS. She was born in Tokyo, Japan and raised there and in Honolulu in the United States. Ms Koyama has a Bachelor’s of Music from Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts and a Master’s in Special Education – Cambridge College, Cambridge, Massachusetts. She has taught in the US, Paraguay, Japan, Mongolia prior to coming to the FIS. Her hobbies are playing the piano, going to concerts, writing, choir, cooking, and traveling.

Ms Ruth Kraus - is in her second year at the FIS, teaching German throughout the school. Ms Kraus has a Magister from the University of Wurzburg, and enjoys cycling, swimming and the theatre. She comes from Freiburg and has been teaching German, as well as Spanish and French since 1999.

Miss Friederike Kuboth - is currently on maternity leave. Miss Kuboth received her master's degree in 1994, and comes to the FIS from the Japanese International School in Munich. She is teaching German both as a second and as a second language. Miss Kuboth enjoys nature and the outdoors, especially hiking, cycling and going into the mountains. She is also an avid reader.

Mr. Bryan Landmann - hails from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. Her received his BS in Mathematics in 1997, and his BA in Education in 2001. This is Mr. Landmann's fifth year at the FIS, and he is our Grade 8 homeroom teacher as well as teaching Math in our Middle School and High School. In his spare time, Mr. Landmann is interested in music, especially the guitar and improving his German.

Mrs. Kathy Larsen - is from the United States, and this is her first year at the FIS. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science, and a Master of Arts degree in Education from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Mrs. Larsen taught second and third grades in California for four years. She then went into the business world where she was a sales and training manager. She has taught fourth grade for the last five years in New Hampshire. Her husband, Soren, is from Denmark, and she loves to travel and to sail. She also enjoys interior decorating, landscape design, and gardening.

Ms Sabine Lang - is in her ninth year at the FIS. Ms Lang has completed her 2nd German Staatsexamen for Elementary School Teaching and teaches ESL, and coordinates the Special Needs area. She enjoys traveling, reading crime novels, aerobics and going to the cinema and theatre.

Mr. Rene Löhnert - ninth year at the FIS. Mr. Löhnert has the 2nd German Staatsexamen for Elementary School Teaching, is the IT Specialist. His hobbies include photography, biking, mountain walking and of course, computers.

Mr. Franco Manna - is a teacher of Italian, Japanese, Spanish and ESL and is in his second year at the FIS. Mr. Manna is Italian, and has a BA (Hons) in Japanese and Political Science from Oriental University in Naples as well as an MA and a post graduate diploma in secondary teaching from Auckland University. He has taught four years in Japan where he set up a language school, ten years in Auckland, New Zealand, and one term at Vatican University in Rome. Mr. Manna teaches Spanish and ESL at the FIS, and in his free time loves traveling, cooking and spending time with his family.

Ms. Hanna Müller - has a Bachelors of Fine Art and a Bachelors of Education from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. She is a native Canadian, and has also taught in Egypt as well as in Canada. Ms Müller has 13 years of teaching experience, is our art specialist and in her second year at the FIS. In her spare time she enjoys running and cycling.

Mr. Peter Nagler - earned his B.Sc. (Hons) from Carleton University in Ottawa in his native Canada and is in his second year at the FIS. When not in the classroom teaching Science to our Middle and High School students, he can be found cycling the roads and trails of Middle Franconia.

Ms Petra Niemczyk - is in her tenth year at the FIS, and is the Head of Administration. Ms Niemczyk received the 2nd Staatsexamen for German elementary schools. She has been at the FIS since its inception in 1998 and was the school's founding director.. Ms Niemczyk has taught in the German public school system as an elementary school and sports teacher and her favorite activities include skiing, traveling to Italy, and reading historical fiction.

Mrs Deborah Obermanns - is in her second year at the FIS following 15 years of teaching both in the US and internationally. She has a BA in Special Education and an MS in Educational Administration as well as an ESL certification. Mrs. Obermanns enjoys photography, traveling, cooking, kayaking and learning new languages. She is the FIS Student Support Services Coordinator.

Mrs. Laura Pontones - is in her fourth year at the FIS, teaching Spanish and German. Prior to coming to the FIS, she has been teaching in several schools in Erlangen. Mrs. Pontones comes from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she received her university degree as a primary school teacher in 1985. As she has a large family, she doesn't have much free time, and so enjoys spending the time she has with them or playing tennis.

Ms Susanne Potrykus - a native German in her seventh year at FIS as our Administrative Assistant. Ms Potrykus has a degree in educational science and has lived in Egypt from 1986 to 1999, working at the German School in Cairo. She has published photographs and articles in a French magazine as well as various calendars. She formed part of a dancing group in a well known morning-fitness format on television. After her return to Germany in the summer of 1999 she gained experience with globally focused companies by assisting the management board. In her spare time she enjoys photography, tennis, fitness, flamenco, and plays the traverse flute. Together with her son Karim she loves to explore nature around the "Fränkische Schweiz".

Ms Carrie Quinn-Thorpe - has a BA in Psychology from the University of Alberta. Ms Quinn is in her sixth year at the FIS, having worked as the Grade 4 teacher's aid and Middle School Administrative Assistant prior to taking up her current position as the Admissions Officer. Ms Quinn enjoys traveling, jogging, cycling, reading, and comes from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada.

Miss Tanja Rathgeb - is in her ninth year at the FIS, and teaches Kindergarten. She has a degree as a Dipl. Sozialpädagogin, and enjoys swimming and reading in her spare time.

Mr. Fred Runkel - is in his eighth year as Director at the FIS after eleven years of teaching and administration at the International School of Stuttgart. Mr. Runkel has a BA in Education and a BS in Mathematics from Concordia University Nebraska in the United States. His favorite activities include biking, hiking, watching good movies, traveling and spending time with his family..

Mr. Andreas Sayer - is a teacher of Mathematics and Science and is in his first year at the FIS. After studying Mathematics and Physics he received a Masters degree in Educational Science in 1996 and a Postgraduate Certificate of Education in Mathematics in 2006. Having returned from England he would like to add traveling through Europe to his list of interests which includes windsurfing, playing the jazz guitar, IT and, above all, spending time with his family.

Ms Corina Stickforth - is currently on maternity leave . Ms Stickforth hails from Argentina, where she obtained her university degree as a primary school teacher in both Spanish and German. Ms Stickforth likes to travel and also enjoys photography, cooking, taking care of her plants, and oil painting (when she has time). She enjoys sports as well (jogging, biking, squash) as well as spending time with her husband, family and friends.

Mrs. Anit Tate - has been a librarian for 17 years in the United States. She received her BA and MA from the University of Illinois and her library certification from the University of Texas. She is in her second year at the FIS as our librarian. When not digging in one of our two libraries, she enjoys theatre, classical music, movies, reading (of course), and singing.

Mr. Darryn Thomas is in his eighth year at the FIS. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Education (Honors), and is currently teaching our Grade Three class after having taught in Kiev in the Ukraine. Mr. Thomas enjoys traveling, swimming, reading, walking, and learning new languages.

Mr. Peter Thorpe - is in his seventh year at the FIS. Mr. Thorpe comes from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada and received his education degree in 1993. He was teaching in Alberta for six years before coming to the FIS, and is one of our Grade 5 homeroom teachers as well as the Middle School Principal. Mr. Thorpe is also the school's Music Director and enjoys listening to all types of music as well as playing the piano, guitar and trumpet. He is also active in several sports including hockey, skiing, curling, cycling and racquetball.

Ms Maureen Wells - is beginning her third year at the FIS as the Grade Two teacher. She has a Bachelor of Educaiton degree from the University of Glasgow in her native Scotland, and 19 years of teaching experience. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing, listening to good music, and watching good movies.

Miss Angela Wild - arrived at the FIS in January of 2003 and is teaching our Kindergarten ( 5 yr old ) students. Miss Wild has a BA (Hons) in English with a Qualified Teacher Status. She enjoys reading, sports, socializing and spending time with her family.