Staff | About Us | DIA Emirates Hills | Dubai, U.A.E

Staff

Primary, Secondary, & General Staff

Dubai International Academy has a well qualified faculty with international teaching credentials from over 30 different countries. The student/teacher ratio is 12:1.

Through dynamic cycles of inquiry, action and reflection teachers enable and support students as they develop the approaches to learning they need – for both academic and personal success.

They support sensitively to the needs of the students through fully differentiated lesson plans, stimulating learning environments and a variety of teaching strategies.

In addition to the detailed school reports each semester, parents are updated through regular PTC and on-line communication.

IB teachers are given access to:

  1. High quality professional development that encourages critical thinking, self- reflection and dedication to lifelong learning and continuous improvement
  2. Innovative and diverse education frameworks, unit planners, teaching resources and evaluation tools
  3. Certification and degree programmes offered by highly respected universities worldwide
  4. A pedagogy known to produce students who are motivated to continue inquiry and lifelong learning, beyond school study.
  5. Centres on learners
  6. Develops effective approaches to teaching and learning
  7. Works within global contexts, helping students understand different languages and cultures
  8. Explores significant content, developing disciplinary and interdisciplinary understanding that meets rigorous international standards.

Staff

Senior Management
  • Poonam Bhojani - CEO, Innoventures Education
  • Michael Stephen - Director Finance and Administration, Innoventures Education
  • James Roberts - Director of Standards and Head of School Development Unit
  • Hitesh Bhagat - Principal, Dubai International Academy
Primary School
  • Tom Collar - Head of Primary
  • James Heard - Deputy Head of Primary - Academic (KG1 - Year 2)
  • Stephanie Trueman - Deputy Head of Primary - Academic (Year 3 - 6)
  • Manuela Watfa - Deputy Head of Primary - Pastoral
  • Jayda Keer - Head of Inclusion, Primary
  • Ruchika Sachdev - Primary Years Programme Coordinator
Secondary School
  • Michelle Puxty - Head of Secondary
  • Claire Inglis - Deputy Head of Secondary - Academic (Year 12 - 13)
  • Jonathon Dunn - Deputy Head of Secondary - Academic (Year 7 - 11)
  • Colin Leacy - Deputy Head of Secondary - Pastoral (Year 7 - 13)
  • Daniel Murphy - Assistant Head - Pastoral
  • Gerhard Van der Wal - Assistant Head (Year 10 - 13)
  • Nemanja Dordevic - Assistant Head (Year 7 - 9)
  • Mona Khreis - Diploma Programme Coordinator
  • Kanshi Das - Careers Related Programme Coordinator
  • Ruba Jeshi - Middle Years Programme Coordinator
  • Asha Karam - Head of Inclusion
Whole School
  • Mihail Kouzev - Director of Sports & Activities
Primary School 
Year 1 Teachers
  • YR1A: Yogita Amonkar, Yellaine Macasiray (CRA).
  • YR1B: Aimee Hinksman, Cherry Leene Apad Melgar (CRA).
  • YR1C: Ashleigh Claire Watson, Kimmi Joy Alcazar Verzola (CRA).
  • YR1D: Eimear Brophy, Jenicel Obacan Flores (CRA).
  • YR1E: Natalia Bodo, Maria Cecilia Pascual (CRA).
  • YR1F: Conor Slattery, Jennifer Balidio (CRA).
  • YR1G: Jodie Harries (Year Leader), Udeni Mala Kapuwatta (LSA).
Year 2 Teachers
  • YR2A: Dianne Williams (Math Co YR3-6), Katherine Shyne Garcia Yu (CRA).
  • YR2B: Ellen Kehoe, Maria Corazon Salonga (CRA).
  • YR2C: Talita Grobbelaar Samuel, Rosemarie Alfonso Alamer (CRA).
  • YR2D: Sudhata Maharaj (Year Leader), Elizabeth Gurrea Sible (CRA).
  • YR2E: Katie Marie Cahill, Shienna Mae Leal Marquez (CRA).
  • YR2F: Nicholas Taylor (Community & Service Leader), Kriss Navarro Albun (CRA).
  • YR2G: Barbara Lynham (Math Co KG1-YR2), Mikee Lauren Maliao (CRA).
Year 3 Teachers
  • YR3A: Tommi-Lee Henry.
  • YR3B: Amy Marie Kelly (Science Co KG1-YR2).
  • YR3C: Amanda McLean.
  • YR3D: Sinead O'Grady (Year Leader).
  • YR3E: Karlien Stephan.
  • YR3F: Natalie Paisley (House Leader).
  • YR3G: Emer Grace Kelly.
Year 4 Teachers
  • YR4A: Kopal Bansal (Teaching & Learning Lower Primary).
  • YR4B: Louise McDonald.
  • YR4C: Sarah McKeogh.
  • YR4D: Anita Das.
  • YR4E: Aida El Jeries (English Co YR3-6).
  • YR4F: Venisha O'Gilvie (Year Leader).
  • YR4G: Sean Taylor (Well Being Leader).
Year 5 Teachers
  • YR5A: David Duggan.
  • YR5B: Sara McDermott.
  • YR5C: Damien Summlar (Year Leader).
  • YR5D: Natalie Broderick.
  • YR5E: James Brunton.
  • YR5F: Aliyah Sutton (Teaching & Learning Upper Primary).
  • YR5G: Lyndsey Hardy.
Year 6 Teachers
  • YR6A: James McLean.
  • YR6B: Debony Leitch.
  • YR6C: Conor Kavanagh (Year Leader).
  • YR6D: Megan Archer.
  • YR6E: Phillip Lydon (Science Co Yr3-6).
  • YR6F: Shona Wills.
  • YR6G: Caralynne Fowler.
LSA Pool (TAs)
  • Dhanya Deepesh (PS 012).
  • Saria Abu Harb (PS 012).
  • Razan Al-Moshasha (PS 012).
Student Support
  • Jayda Keer: Head of Inclusion.
  • Shivani Talwar.
  • Monica Nanda.
  • Kanika Kalra.
  • Zoe Jacob Khawaja.
  • Melita D'Souza (Social Counselor).
Secondary School
English teachers
  • Claire Inglis.
  • Ciara Gillespie.
  • Mina Lukovic.
  • Susan McMechan.
  • Alex Sims.
  • Kanchi Das.
  • Naveen Tyagi.
  • Renda Kayali.
  • Srishti Jain.
  • Karla Bou Serhal.
  • Amanda Quartey.
  • Michael Norton.
  • Peter Williams.
  • Katy Dolan.
  • Shannon Meehan.
Modern Foreign Languages Teachers
  • Jessica Mammone.
  • Valerie Labedan.
  • Andreea Constandache.
  • Ouaiba Belahcene.
  • Daniel Gonzalez Munoz.
  • Camila Trevino.
  • Sabine N. Buschen.
  • Roberto Garcia.
Individual & Societies Teachers
  • Glen Doyle.
  • Amy Dowling.
  • Mai El Bahar.
  • Mukta Mundra.
  • Andrei Fedenev.
  • Saira Nazir.
  • Mahrukh Zubin Sutaria.
  • Laura Cunniffe.
  • Palak Mathur.
  • Jennifer Agacy.
  • Amanda Luman.
  • Sangeeta Handa.
  • Aahan Shaikh.
  • Chaitra Pargaonkar.
  • Peter Stoddard (BTEC).
Science teachers
  • Akshyta Tandon.
  • Gerard Finnegan.
  • Liam Cronin.
  • Insha Arabi.
  • Maeve McKeogh.
  • Amy Sharp.
  • Marishka D'Souza.
  • Mithra Daniels.
  • Julie McGuigan.
  • Lama Chami.
  • Vijaya Vatkar.
  • Mark Smyth.
  • Mona Khreis.
  • Shirley Dai Hui.
  • TR Saraswathy.
  • CB Sivakumar.
  • Lisa Aynes.
  • Kathryn Keiller.
Math Teachers
  • Annie Stafford.
  • Stephen Cleary.
  • Colin Leacy.
  • Dollour Toma.
  • Edgar Hambly.
  • John Aboaja.
  • Manmohan Singh.
  • Rohanna Hymers.
  • Amira Abouelezz.
  • Mark Smyth.
  • Katherine Beswick.
  • Izel Joubert.
  • Gerhard Van Der Wal.
  • Amy Cunningham.
  • Huneza Usman.
  • Vinayak Sharma.
  • Dheera Pant.
Technology teachers
  • Peter Stoddard (Head of Technology).
  • Megan Carter.
  • Chris Green.
  • Jason Smith.
  • Angela Jones.
  • David Grayson.
  • Hamza Ahmed.
  • Faiza Khalid.
  • Jamie Carter.
Art teachers
  • Amy Richardson (Head of Arts).
  • Catherine Marshall (Drama).
  • Sean Murray (Drama).
  • Melissa Anne Croft (Music).
  • Bethany Saunders (Music).
  • Francesca Conti (Visual Arts).
  • Gregor Stokes (Visual Arts).
  • Sarah Hammond (Visual Arts).
Arabic & Islamic Studies teachers
  • Aliyah Raza (Head of Arabic).
  • Fatima Al-Hashemi.
  • Mariam Abdulla.
  • Ahmed Al Qasimi.
  • Nadia Khalifa.
  • Zainab Ali.
  • Rami Haddad.
  • Samar Al Saadi.
  • Abdulrahman Khatib.
  • Sara Almashri.
  • Layla Othman.
  • Huda Bint Saleh.
  • Munira Al Ghamdi.
Physical Education Teachers
  • Daniel Forbes (Head of PE).
  • Jessica Peters.
  • Thomas Blake.
  • Chloe Anderson.
  • Rajesh Kumar.
  • Aisha Mahmood.
  • Brian Connolly.
  • Jason Barrett.
  • Maria Smith.
Counseling & Inclusion Team
  • Head of Inclusion: Lydia Matthews.
  • Nina Patel (Career Counselor).
  • Heather Bain (Wellness Counselor).
  • Ramesh Krishnan (Learning Support).
  • Danielle French (Learning Support).
  • Yasmin Mahmood (Social Counselor).
  • Deepak Menon (Behavioral Support).

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