Vlastina Teachers

Alice received her bachelor’s degree in pre-school education at Charles University in Prague. After her studies she left for France to study French language. She lived one year in Lyon and Paris and holds DALF diploma in French. She taught two year in public pre-school for children with special educational needs and at the same time she was a part-time French teacher in various language schools in Prague. After she left for England to study English in London. Before she joined PBS in 2011, she worked as a teacher in English speaking pre-school in Prague. Away from school, Alice likes to practice Bikram yoga and takes ballet classes.

John qualified as a teacher (B.Ed. Hons) in 1989 at Lancaster University, Charlotte Mason College. After four years of teaching in Oldham, UK, he went to work in his first international school in Kuwait. He then moved to work in Shell Schools in Malaysia, Syria and Oman, being promoted to Deputy Head and then to Head of School. John joined PBS in September 2006 as Head of Primary Schools. He is also a qualified ISI inspector and member of the COBIS Executive Committee. John met his wife, Aimee while teaching in Malaysia. He has three children, all at PBS, who keep him and his wife very busy.

Tim was born in Chicago. He graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI in 2000 with a B.A. in Writing-Intensive English. He has been living and working in Prague since 2002. Prior to that, he worked for the Chicago Public Schools as a substitute teacher. He has a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate and an International House Certificate for Teaching Young Learners. He began working at PBS as a ceramics club teacher in 2003. He has been a Nursery and EAL teacher at the Modřany, Kamýk, and Vlastina sites. His wife is from Prague and they have two sons named Jonáš and Kryštof.

Elizabeth joined PBS in 2011. She studied Fine Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. After gaining her degree, she went on to qualify as a specialist Early Years teacher at Scarborough University. Elizabeth taught in the North of England for 3 years and then moved to Vietnam to work at an International school for 2 years. Away from school, Elizabeth enjoys photography, reading, playing netball and the gym.

Caroline has a diverse personal background similar to her students. The daughter of a Brazilian mother and English father, Caroline grew up bi-lingual and attended English based international schools in Brazil. She graduated in Education and Psychology from a university in the USA. She has taught in both the British and American international school systems. In her spare time she enjoys trips to the zoo and other activities with her son, Mickel.

Lenka comes from Frýdek-Místek, a town in Northern Moravia. She graduated at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Ostrava and at the same time studied sociology and media studies with journalism at Masaryk University in Brno. After her studies she then worked at the College of Economics and Management in Prague, where she was in charge of admissions. In her free time she enjoys sports, playing chess and reading. Travelling is another of her hobbies and she has visited Great Britain several times in order to improve her English and learn about the culture.

Zuzana is a qualified nursery teacher from Prague. Prior to joining PBS in 2008, she worked as a nursery school teacher in Czech and English speaking preschools in Prague and as a nanny in the UK. She spent five years studying English in the UK and USA. Zuzana has a five year old daughter Ema, who keeps her both entertained and busy. They enjoy art, long walks and reading together!

Martina is originally from Northern California, but lived for the last few years in sunny San Diego. She graduated Honours in Psychology at UC Irvine in 2005 and later received her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential at San Diego State University. Martina had already lived in Prague for 3 years teaching English, but decided to come back after qualifying as a teacher. In her spare time she enjoys playing volleyball, jogging, travelling, and cooking.

Anna joined the school in 2006. She enjoys travelling and spent seven years working in childcare around the world before settling back in her home-town of Prague. Anna is very artistic and enjoys playing the violin. Presently most of her free time is spent with her young son Jakub.

Magdalena originates from Prague. She is very fond of travelling and at the first opportunity she moved to the UK, where she spent almost two years working with children, which she found enriching. Later she fulfilled her wish to travel to more exotic locales such as New Zealand, South America and most of Asia. Magdalena feels that working with children and people with special needs is her calling, and so she is deepening her knowledge by further studies. She enjoys travelling and meeting people from different cultures, and is keen on visual art and music.

Gary McLaughlin qualified with a BA in Primary Education in 2002 and has worked all over the UK since. Originally from a small market town in Lincolnshire in eastern England, he spent his final three years working in an ‘excellence’ cluster school just outside of London, where he was head of maths. He joined PBS in September 2008 and although not the sporty type, he is a keen card player.

Martin joined PBS in 2008. He gained a BA (Hons) in Business Management at the University of Huddersfield and then completed his PGCE at St. Martin’s College, The University of Cumbria. Martin had been working in Special Needs Education in the UK before deciding to move to Prague. He enjoys sports and runs the Key Stage 1 sports club as well as coaching the KS1 football team. Besides teaching Martin enjoys learning Czech, playing guitar and travelling.

After teaching in the U.K. for 14 years, Carol decided to venture further afield and landed in Dubai one hot August day. The small arab town of Ras Al Khaimah became home, where she taught for three years in an english speaking school owned by a sheikh. She decided to move to europe to be closer to family. Having never been to Prague before, Carol is very happy to be living in such an awesome city. It is such a welcome change from the futuristic skyscrapers of Dubai and the heat of the desert! She is looking forward to enjoying culture, music and art, as well as exploring europe by train or bicycle.

Radka is from Sedlčany, a small town from the region around the river Vltava. In 1995 she completed her secondary education at the school of Art in Prague. After her studies Radka worked in the manufacture of ceramics. Between 2001 and 2003 she worked in the UK as an au-pair. During the last 5 years Radka has been working in the education sector. She taught at the Gymnasium of Christian Doppler in Prague, before joining PBS. Radka is interested in ecology and also enjoys cycling, swimming and petanque.

In 1993 Katerina completed her final exams in nursing in Prague and continued with her studies in psychiatry for one more year. Since then she has been working with children in a variety of settings. She joined PBS in 2007 as a nursery assistant, then worked in Year 1 for two school years before becoming Key Stage 2 assistant. She also teaches the Czech for Non-Czech program to Year 2 and 3. Katerina has two children of her own; a son and a daughter. She has many interests, for example nature, art and crafts.

Paul graduated from Staffordshire University where he studied Philosophy and Cultural studies. He then moved to Slovakia where he worked as a language teacher and later became a senior teacher. After two years in Slovakia he returned to England to study for a PGCE at Bishop Grosseteste teaching college in Lincoln. He then spent four years teaching in his hometown of Boston in England. Paul is currently the IPC coordinator for the Vlastina site. In his spare time he enjoys running and spending time with his family.

After completing a genetics degree at the University of Aberdeen, Kenneth decided to become involved in education and qualified to teach at Dundee University. He began his teaching career in Scotland before deciding that the international school system was for him and has been teaching at PBS since September 2007. Out of school he is enthusiastic about sport and is a keen follower of football. Cycling is a new passion while reading and situation comedies also hold his interest.

Darren qualified with a B.Ed in Primary Education in 2004 from the University of Gloucestershire. He started his teaching career in London, both inner and outer areas, and worked for over 4 years in the picturesque town of Christchurch, England. He has a huge passion for sport and has been PE subject leader at his previous schools. Darren likes to try his hand at any sport, however his particular favourites are basketball, rugby and football. Spare time is usually taken up with his baby boy and some reading. He is looking forward to the challenge of learning Czech, developing his ice-skating and for the first time going skiing.

PROFILE TO FOLLOW

Svetlana Lugovská (known as Ilana) has been living in the Czech Republic since 1999. She has a diploma for teaching English and German and worked for eight years as a teacher in Ukraine. Before moving to the Czech Republic, she lived with her family in Israel. She has more than twenty years experience working with children of all ages. Svetlana is thoroughly enjoying being part of a large international school team.

Jamie qualified as a teacher in 2002 at Hull University. Before coming to Prague he worked in an international school in the USA. and prior to that he taught at a local primary school in England. Jamie has been at PBS since September 2008. This is his first experience of living and working in Prague and he is enjoying both greatly. Away from school Jamie enjoys most sports and also plays the guitar.

Fiona is from a town called Sligo on the west coast of Ireland. She qualified as a teacher in 2008 after a degree in English Literature and spent the next three years in a large East London state school, where she was head of Art. She joined PBS in September 2011 and is very excited about the prospect of learning Czech. Outside of school, her interests include books, art and table quizzes.

Kirsty joined PBS in September 2005. She originates from Sheffield in South Yorkshire. Kirsty gained a BA (Hons.) in Primary Education at Bishop Grosseteste College, The University of Hull in 2002. She then taught Key Stage 2 in Sheffield for three years before deciding to move to Prague. Since moving to Prague she has taught across Key Stage One and Two. Kirsty is currently teaching Year 6 and is the Vlastina Assessment Co-ordinator. Aside from teaching, Kirsty enjoys travelling.

Gareth comes from Nottingham, England; also known as ‘Robin Hood’ country. He has a background in Health & Safety and previous experience with the Czech pre-school environment. Gareth has travelled as far as New Zealand and Fiji and also has an interest in travelling through European cities. Outside of the working environment Gareth spends his time watching films, listening to music and reading; whilst trying to acquire the Czech language and culture. He is also sharpening culinary skills with Jamie Oliver’s cooking and Czech bi fusion. He doesn’t like spiders.

Edward comes from Cape Town in South Africa. He graduated in 2005 with a B. Ed at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, majoring in physical education. After gaining his degree he moved to London in 2006 where he taught at two private schools as a Games and PE teacher. Edward is passionate about all sports especially cricket. He has played for Kew Cricket Club in London and was the 1st XI captain in 2008 and 2009. In his spare time, he enjoys running and playing golf. Edward is also a keen plane spotter.

Robbie graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2008 with a BEd Music (Hons). He worked as a secondary music teacher in Glasgow for a year, and then as a primary music specialist in Stirling. In 2009-10 he also worked part-time for a charity-funded special needs school in Glasgow. Robbie moved to Prague and started teaching in Vlastina in August 2010. He loves dogs, collecting unusual musical instruments and all things Scottish.

Sharon is from an old seaside town in the North of England. With parents of different nationalities (German and English) she knows what it is like being sent to school in a foreign country without having any knowledge of the language. She has a degree in business studies and foreign languages and is also a qualified EAL teacher. Sharon loves travelling and has lived and taught in Australia, China and Germany. She joined PBS in September 2008 and when not in school she can be found cruising around the Czech Republic on her motorbike.

Kamila spent part of her childhood in Africa and since then she has always been keen to study foreign languages and meet people from different cultures. Kamila completed her graduate (Translation and Interpreting) and postgraduate (Linguistics) studies at Charles University in Prague before going on to obtain her Masters in Education at Liverpool University. Kamila has teaching experience in Prague, Liverpool and Basel. Married and mother of two boys, she joined PBS on return to Prague in 2006. In her free time, she enjoys running and skiing with her family.

Adriana is from Argentina. As well as a degree in Art, Adriana has a BEd. She has taught English and Spanish as well as primary school education. Adriana has a Czech husband and they have a 9 year old daughter. With a multicultural background herself, she finds the diversity of cultures at PBS fascinating. As well as teaching, Adriana loves reading, writing and painting.

Moise was born in Normandy. At the age of nineteen he went to England to work as a baker. In 2008 he received a master’s degree in sociology (University of Rouen) after spending two semesters studying in Tallinn, Estonia. For the last eight years he has worked with children in several schools in France and in Prague. He has taught French for two private language schools and has obtained a degree in FFL and Linguistics. Currently, he is preparing for his MA in FFL. He loves travelling, music, sport (especially rugby) and reading.

Eva graduated with a Master’s Degree in Nursing and Pedagogy and completed a 31/2-year-course on Psychotherapy in Prague. She started her career as a psychology and nursing teacher in a nursing college where she worked for 12 years. Eva has been working in our international school for 13 years, is experienced and mainly focused on child’s health and developmental issues, including parenting. Eva has one grown up daughter and apart from her family she likes cycling, skiing and visiting cultural events.