Secondary Staff

Anke studied at the University of Twente, got her teaching degrees in Economics and Business Studies and recently finished a Masters degree at TIAS Business School of Tilburg University. She teaches Economics and Humanities at IST. Anke feels that teaching is about giving students a broad and deep understanding of the world in which we live, and Economics gives us a good view on what people, firms and governments do. Anke is married and has two children. Her hobbies are textiles, arts and crafts, gardening and reading.

Carmen joined the IST team in July 2019 after previously teaching at several Dutch schools. She grew up in the International School Community in Germany and Poland and has always seen the benefits in social wellbeing and cultural awareness that international education provides. Since then, she’s wanted to be a part of an international team to pay these benefits forward. To her, teaching students to the best of their and her ability, and getting to know students and seeing them grow into respectful, global citizens is the best part of her day.

Carola is an Educational Psychologist and International School Twente’s Spanish teacher. She is from Lima in Peru and came to Enschede to obtain a master’s degree at the University of Twente. She has a wide experience in teaching children and adults. Carola is married and has two daughters. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and baking. She loves to share her language and culture with her students.

Chris joined IST in July 2019 after living abroad as an international educator. He has worked at international schools in China and Malaysia as a history teacher and head of the humanities department. He is committed to increasing the quality of education by implementing the latest knowledge on learning, to fostering international mindedness, and to the growth of IST. Chris and his family greatly value being part of an international community. Chris’ wife comes from Thailand and he originates from The Netherlands. They have two children, one of whom is born in Malaysia and the other in the Netherlands.

Diana teaches Dutch A and B. She studied Dutch Language and Literature and Comparative Literature at the University of Groningen, focusing on Language Philosophy for her thesis. After her studies at the University, she followed a professional education to become a teacher of Dutch as a first and as a second language. Diana has taught Dutch for twenty years to a variety of audiences; from refugees to staff members of the University of Twente. She has also written several articles about cultural diversity which She is passionate about wandering along the seaside, listening to the seagulls and the sound of breaking waves.

Dorothee Kellner teaches German from year  7 to DP2. She also supports Mother tongue learners and students who choose to study additional subjects online. Dorothee grew up in Erfurt and attended the Universities of Jena, Göttingen and Groningen. She has a Master’s degree in European Culture and German Literature and Language as well as a Teaching Degree for Secondary Education. Before joining IST, she worked as a copywriter, translator and as a recruiter for a university. She also develops teaching material for an educational publishing house.

Dorothee very much likes the concept of thinking out of the box: within an international community you constantly are amazed how things and assumptions that are so natural to you aren’t that for the other. Making students aware of this and making them learn from each other is her passion.

Edwin joined the team at IST in 2017 as a teacher of Economics but also as a mentor. Edwin studied International Marketing and he started his career as an Investment Advisor at a bank. After ten years, he switched careers and started teaching Economics and Management & Organization at Saxion university of applied sciences. Edwin is excited about helping students to see connections between theory learned in class and experience Economics and Business in ‘real life’.

Esther is our Community Coordinator. She makes sure that IST stays connected with her tight knit international community through events, the parent and student council, community projects and other extra curricular activities. She is also our CAS coordinator and Career / University Counsellor.
Esther is very enthusiastic about working with international students since she can explore and create local and global opportunities for her students to develop not only academically but also personally. Esther lives, along with her husband and her two sons, in Rijssen, a small town in the Twente Region. Her hobbies include travelling and listening to music.

Gerard was born in Enschede about 60 years ago and grew up in Lonneker. After military service he started working at Polaroid in Enschede and there he also completed his studies as a chemical analyst. He worked for 29 years at Polaroid in the analytical laboratory and research lab and started in 2008 as a technical teaching assistant in chemistry at college Zuid. He is interested in students who are curious about how things work and what you can do with them. His hobbies are playing baritone saxophone in an orchestra and in a big band, camping, cycling, walking the dog and reading a book. He is married and has two daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter.

Gonny Sikkes teaches Biologie IGCSE and DP and is the mentor of year 10. She grew up in Friesland, the north of the Netherlands. She studied Biology and received her Teaching degree at RUG in Groningen. After that she moved to Enschede where she taught Biology and biology-related subjects in different Dutch schools in Dutch and in English. The last four years she worked in the Dutch part of Het Stedelijk Lyceum (College Zuid). A few years ago she also taught Biology IGCSE and DP for one year at another International School in the Netherlands.

Gonny likes to help the students to develop themselves and to find their own way in learning. She challenges them to get more out of themselves then they thought they could.

Iris was born in Hardenberg and raised in Coevorden, both small towns north of Enschede. She moved to Enschede in 2008 to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Twente. After graduating, Iris obtained her teacher’s degree at the same university. She has worked at Het Stedelijk Lyceum and IST ever since. Iris takes a great interest in Science as a whole and enjoys teaching curious students at a personal and individual level. In her free time she enjoys horseback riding, playing the guitar, painting, reading a book or going to a rock concert.

Marjolein is International School Twente’s (IST) enthusiastic Physical Education teacher. She feels that her PE lessons easily connect students from all over the world because they have to team up, coach and respect each other. Marjolein is a mentor teacher and she ensures that IST is able to offer many interesting sports clinics. Marjolein and her partner have two little boys and her hobbies are playing tennis, running, cycling and reading.

Nienke teaches English language and literature. In addition, she has taken on the role of group 1 & 2 curriculum leader. Nienke obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Culture and a Master’s degree in English Literature from Radboud University. Pursuing her interest in education, she completed a teaching degree in international and bilingual education at Utrecht University. She lived in the UK as a student attending Sheffield University through the Erasmus programme, and as a pre-service teacher in Wales. She is passionate about the IB programme and its holistic approach to learning. In her spare time, Nienke loves to read and watch films and series. She is looking forward to making more time for painting and drawing.

Noel was born in the Irish language speaking area in the West Of Ireland known as Connemara. He studied at Limerick University and moved to the Nederlands in 1997.  Noel has worked as a teacher in Ireland and as a teacher in Het Stedelijk Lyceum since the year 2000, most of that in the Bilingual Department (TTO) in College Zuid. He was the Maths teacher in the IST when it opened in 2011.

Sports has always played a large role in his life, rugby, Irish football and now in his later years he can be found on the golf course trying to hit a small white ball. He takes this sporting attitude into the classroom as he likes his students to enter as many competitions as possible. He has had considerable success in the past with students from both TTO and IST aspiring to the highest of levels.

Onno received his degrees from Groningen University and teaches there as well. He joined International School Twente last year and made sure the science lab practicals were intensified.

Patrick is the Physics teacher and teacher of experimental sciences at IST. He finished Electrical Engineering and his MSc in teaching Physics at the University of Twente and worked in Indonesia for nine years at an international school near the capital.

Patrick has a strong passion for his profession and believes one has never finished learning. He likes to show his students the wonders that nature has to offer and – through a ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’ manner – scrutinise a myriad of these wonders.

In his spare time, Patrick does his utmost to enjoy the wonders of nature himself, while hanging off rock walls (bouldering), or exploring the sea (SCUBA diving). He also spends his time on the mat doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Petra comes from Limburg, the most southern part of the Netherlands where she studied teacher education for primary schools and worked for 15 years at several primary schools. After she met her husband on a round trip to Thailand, she moved to Twente.

Petra likes to travel and meet people from different cultures. She did voluntary service at a school in India for underprivileged children and she participated in an exchange program at the University in Belarus. After her study to become a teacher of Dutch, Petra taught Dutch to refugees at the ROC and secondary school. She enjoys her work at IST because communication connects people and learning the language of the country where you live is a part of feeling at home. Besides traveling Petra also likes camping and walking with her dog.

Remko obtained his degree in Physical Geography and has been teaching Geography, History, Humanities and TOK at IST for many years. He is also a mentor teacher. He would like his students to learn to be polite and considerate to others and respect the differences between people. In his lessons, he encourages students to be inquisitive with respect to events in the world but also to be critical. ‘Your actions at school shape your future.’

Sharon Stegeman is class and education assistant at International School Twente as well as Exams officer, EAL teacher and DAL (Dutch Additional language) teacher. Sharon supports students and staff  to ensure that they have all the facilities to make teaching and learning easier. Sharon is Dutch and was born in the Twente region.

Stacey Roos is the Mathematics Teacher for the IGCSE and DP years. She coordinates Computer Science for the junior grades and is the teacher liaison for the Student Council. Stacey has a Masters degree in Applied Mathematics and taught in a top South African secondary school before moving to the Netherlands. Stacey believes that mathematical literacy is an essential tool to understand our modern data-rich world, and strives to give every student a comprehensive understanding of the mathematical concepts necessary to be well-informed, proactive global citizens. She loves board games and genuinely thinks that algebra is as much fun as Candy Crush!

Tom was born in Enschede and studied Chemistry at the University of Twente. After his graduation he also obtaining his teacher’s degree and started teaching Chemistry at our Dutch partner school.

Tom joined the ranks of IST not long after and enjoys teaching and working with students from all over the world. He is intrigued by Chemistry as it leads to a better understanding of the world around us as atoms and their interactions are at the base of everything.

In his spare time Tom enjoys listening to music and watching tv-shows.

Vincent’s love and passion for music started at a young age when LP’s would be played in his household. His musical taste varies from Bach to Rage Against The Machine. He loves teaching the next generation music because music itself is a universal language that connects and unifies people. He could not imagine a world without music.

Willem comes from Friesland, a northern province of The Netherlands which has its own language. He has been a passionate Arts teacher for over 40 years to students of all ages in a bi-lingual Dutch school. He enjoys the challenge of teaching international students at IST and is enjoying the new approaches to Arts required by the IGCSE and IB Diploma Programme.

Dr. Yamini Jain is an urban and mobility planner and has two decades of experience working in the corporate, government and research sectors. She studied and worked in India and moved to the Netherlands a decade ago. After completing her PhD, she continued her work here on sustainable urban development, delivered TEDx talks and also authored a book. She loves to work with young adults who are our future and believes that they have amazing ideas and solutions to world problems. She is excited and looking forward to a great year of learning and growing with IST students. You can find more information about her on www.yaminijsingh.com.