Grace McCallum HEAD OF SCHOOL [email protected] Olá! My name is Grace McCallum and I am thrilled to be joining EAB as Head of School! PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES My family and I are from New Brunswick, Canada. My husband and I started our careers in education in • Lower School Principal at Frankfurt New Brunswick before embarking on our international International School journey in education. While we haven’t lived in Canada • Lower School Principal at the Canadian in over 16 years, we still call Canada home. International School of Beijing • Interim Director of CISB DRC Campus After living and teaching in Canada, our family lived • K-12 Literacy Curriculum leader and coach at in Beijing, China for 11 years. While working at the the Canadian International School of Beijing Canadian International School of Beijing, I served as • Teacher of grades 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11 and 12 a teacher, a literacy curriculum leader and literacy coach as well as a school principal. During this time in Beijing, I also had the wonderful opportunity to lead and oversee the construction of our new campus as the interim director. This was a transformational ACADEMIC BACKGROUND experience and one that led me to understand that my passion for school leadership was one I wanted to dedicate my career to. • Masters Of Education in School Leadership After our time in China, we moved to Frankfurt, and Administration (M.Ed) Germany where we are currently living. I am the • Bachelors of Education (B.Ed) lower school principal at Frankfurt International • Bachelors of Arts (B.A) School. We have loved our time in Germany as a • International Education Researcher and author. family. While we are sad to leave such a wonderful school and community, we are looking forward to joining the EAB community! Our family loves paddleboarding, kayaking, hiking, movie nights at home, tobogganing in the Canadian snowy hills and travelling all over the world. We can’t wait to get to Brasilia and learn more about Brazilian culture! We have already started taking Portuguese classes and are looking forward to learning more about the language and culture when we arrive in July. EAB FACULTY Margit Heinrichs LOWER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL [email protected] Margit Heinrichs was born and raised in Curitiba, Paraná in the southern part of Brazil. Even though PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES German was her first language, Portuguese became the language of instruction once she joined school. She developed an appreciation for the English • LS Principal at the International Community School of Abidjan language and North American educational system • Elementary Principal at the Modern American while living in Canada. School of Jordan International teaching has been her passion for • Elementary Principal at the International School of Curitiba the past twenty-six years. Her educational career • Elementary Principal at Dasman Bilingual outlines fifteen years of elementary teaching and School in Kuwait eleven years of administrative work where she had the privilege of leading the elementary department at four international schools. Margit believes that every staff member and every ACADEMIC BACKGROUND child should feel safe, encouraged and inspired on a daily basis. The school learning environment should be a place where trust and cooperation prevail. She • Master of Education in Administrative believes that to teach is to touch a life forever. Leadership: Endicott College – Boston • Graduate Studies - Children’s Literacy As a transformational leader, Margit believes that Focus: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do being mindful and appreciative of the work that has Paraná – PUC already been done, while at the same time being • Bachelor of Arts in Portuguese and English: open to new ways of improving and enhancing Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná – PUC existing practices is key. Finding solutions and creative ways to foster innovation and sustainability will certainly extend students’ learning opportunities. Margit is excited to continuously pursue EAB’s mission “to inspire learners to be inquisitive in life, principled in character and bold in vision.” EAB FACULTY Thomas Stephenson US ECONOMICS TEACHER [email protected] I was born and raised in the United States but I have had a passion for foreign endeavors since a young age. My PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES college education simply enhanced that feeling and soon after graduating, I was gone to study languages and cultures in Central America. International teaching was the • Teacher for Rogers Public Schools logical next step for me. • Part-time Associate Professor at NWACC Personally and professionally, I strive to make a positive • High School Teacher at Escola Graduada difference. I really enjoy working with young people, de São Paulo especially because of their inquisitive nature. Within them is a true yearning to know. My goal is to assist them in HOW to obtain that knowledge and also HOW TO USE that knowledge once it is obtained. Also, I am inspired when a student takes a risk, endures the pressures and ACADEMIC BACKGROUND demands that come with trying to accomplish that goal and then comes away from that experience having grown to the point that the next step for them is to take • M.A. in TESOL from Arkansas Tech University on another new, challenging, and risky vision. • B.A. in International Studies with an emphasis In order to make a positive difference, I must also be on Latin American Affairs from Rhodes one of the primary positive influences in the school life College of my students and this community. It does not matter the ethnicity of the person, their social class, previous accolades or actions, I want each of the people in my life to see me as person that allows for, recognizes, and appreciates positive change. I do what I can to show them that all peoples deserve to appreciated and commended for the things they do well. I also try to model for them that people should be helped whenever they are having trouble accomplishing something. Finally, I encourage them to make a positive difference in their own life, the life of their families, and in society. My family and I are looking forward being a part of this community that is especially principled in character. We believe that this ideal brings about an environment of decency and trust which we feel essential to allowing us and our fellow community members to grow and flourish. EAB FACULTY Jenna Alderman US MUSIC TEACHER [email protected] Hello EAB, PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES What a pleasure it is to join your school community! • Music Teacher (band, choir, general music), Lackawanna Trail School District (2014-2019) As a student in middle and high school, • Assistant Director of Bands, Keystone College two of my favorite parts of the day were (2016-2018) band and choir. Now, I have the pleasure of • English Language and Literature Teacher, sharing that passion with current students! Music Teacher, Drama Teacher, Bourofaye Christian School (2019-2020) There is something inherently inclusive about • Drama Teacher, Classroom Teacher Long- participating in music, perhaps because it Term Substitute, Hope Christian Academy transcends spoken and written language. And (2020-2021) it is so fun! Besides singing and playing instruments, I also enjoy dancing (I hope to improve my samba ACADEMIC BACKGROUND in Brazil), painting, reading, playing volleyball, and game nights with friends. Coffee is one of my favorite things, and I have heard that Brazil • Master of Arts in Music Education, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2017-2020) has the best coffee in the world. • Bachelor of Music in Music Education, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania (2009- Living in France for a semester of university and 2014) in Senegal during the 2019-2020 school year has • Bachelor of Arts in French, Mansfield taught me a lot about people: even with all of our University of Pennsylvania (2009-2014) differences, most people want to belong and to be liked for who they are. I enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories, and I look forward to getting to know the people of EAB. EAB FACULTY Beth Lopez 5TH GRADE TEACHER [email protected] First, let me say that it is wonderful to be back at EAB. The moment I arrived back in Brasilia, it felt like PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES I was home. I am originally from Michigan, though I left to live and teach in Colombia after graduating from college. Later, as a family, we moved to Brasilia. • Colegio Panamericano, Colombia, Grade 2 teacher After leaving EAB in 2013, I spent 8 years teaching • The Columbus School, Colombia, Grade 5 in Mumbai, India. What a terrific experience it was to teacher work there! Living and working in the financial capital • American School of Brasilia, Brazil, Grade of India was amazing, as I was surrounded by the 4-6 teacher hustle and bustle that Mumbai offers. I also traveled • American School of Brasilia, Brazil, Lower to the Taj Mahal (I went four times), through the School Principal state of Rajasthan and to the beaches of Goa, which • American School of Bombay, India, Grade made my time in India that much more fulfilling. 1, 3 teacher In relation to my approach to pedagogy, I believe education should address learners’ academic, social and emotional needs, while preparing students to become responsible global citizens. Learning, as ACADEMIC BACKGROUND such, is a process unique to each individual. Thus, I feel strongly that it is important to give children the opportunity to make their own choices, so they • Bachelor of Arts, University of Michigan can set goals, reflect, and take ownership of their • Masters in Bilingual Education, Eastern learning. By allowing students’ voices to be heard, Michigan University empowering them to make choices in their learning • Masters of Education, Framingham University and building their social-emotional skills, I am able to incorporate a sense of ‘play’ into our learning • Master of Science, Framingham University day, which helps make school fun for us all! Raising my family here in Brasilia was the best decision I could have made.