Dr. Andreas Tsokos is the director of the IB and AP programs and Division Chair of Mathematics. Dr. Tsokos was born in Cyprus. He attended the University of Birmingham in the U.K with a full scholarship and was awarded a double Honors degree in Physics and Mathematics. At Birmingham, he received the Nora Calderwood Prize for highest achievement in the final examinations. He obtained a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University in the USA.

Dr. Tsokos has served as Assistant, Deputy and Chief Examiner for IB Physics. He is the author of Physics for the IB Diploma, Series and Differential Equations, IB Physics in a nutshell and about 20 research papers dealing, mainly, with Quantum Chromodynamics. In one paper he showed how the high temperature limit of chiral gauge theories leads to the appearance of topological mass terms for the associated gauge fields. His main interests are Physics, Mathematics and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

He has been a faculty of ACS Athens since 1995.

email: tsokosa@acs.gr

Ms. Athanatou earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Business Administration from Texas A&M International University in Texas, USA, where she graduated with Honors. She completed a Master of Business Administration in International Trade and a Master of Business Administration in Management from Texas A&M International University in Texas, USA.

Ms. Athanatou has completed an online workshop with IBO specializing on Counseling for the IB Diploma and she has been assisting in the Youth to Youth Programs for the past three years. She is currently a CAS Adviser.

Ms. Athanatou was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She is a resident of Kropia, Attiki and has been elected to the Municipality council where she has served as a member in the Economic Commission and as a Chair for the Committee of Tax Revenue.

email: athanatoue@acs.gr

Ms. Arnold earned a Bachelor's Degree in German Linguistics and Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2007, where she graduated with honors. Ms. Arnold also obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Education and Media from the University of Rostock in Germany in 2014.

She specializes in teaching German as a foreign language. In addition to German and English, she also speaks Greek and French.

A member of the ACS Athens faculty since 2010, she participated in our educational i2Flex program in 2013 and developed a specific Blended-Learning concept for her German classes, adapting our ACS Moodle template accordingly. Using the i2Flex model, she teaches the Middle School and High School students German, as well as develops e-learning concepts for foreign languages in general, which will be applied to her academic research.

Ms. Arnold co-authored a chapter in the 2016 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i2Flex Classroom Model." In addition, she provides professional development (presentations, workshops, and webinars) to other foreign language teachers in Greece and abroad.

Since 2017 Ms. Arnold has been working as an accredited TestDaf examiner. TestDaf is one of the mandatory language proficiency tests for foreign students who want to enter a German university. Also, she has been an IB Group 1 Examiner for German A Language and Literature HL since 2018.

Ms. Arnold was born and raised in Germany and moved to Athens in 1996.

email: arnoldh@acs.gr

Born in Montreal Canada and raised in Athens Greece, Angela E. Chamosfakidis graduated from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, with a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy, Pedagogy, Psychology (concentration in Psychology). For her graduate studies she attended McGill University in Canada where she received a Masters degree in Educational Psychology with a research focus on teachers' expectations of children of divorce. She also taught in primary and secondary schools in the wider area of Montreal for several years. Upon her return to Greece in 2003, Ms. Chamosfakidis accepted a position at KETHEA where she provided educational and counseling services to adolescents and young adults with substance abuse problems, for over 10 years. As part of her professional development in the field of addiction, she received a post graduate certificate of specialization in the "Administration and Social Planning in the field of Drug Addiction" by the Athens School of Public Health in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.

Since joining ACS Athens, in 2014, Ms. Chamosfakidis has been teaching IB Psychology and Theory of Knowledge. She also serves as an Advisor for the Model United Nations (MUN) program and has held the position of the Curriculum Coordinator of the Youth to Youth (Y2Y) project, an ACS Athens initiative to attend to unaccompanied refugee minors' learning, social, and emotional needs. Ms. Chamosfakidis is passionate about teaching and learning and committed to supporting students and their individual needs.  She has twenty years of hands-on teaching experience and her mandate lies in Learning by Doing. She holds a teaching certification by the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) and the Greek Ministry of Education and she is a certified IB Psychology examiner.

email: chamosfakidisa@acs.gr

• B.A. Psychology & Minor in History (type 1197), 1997, DePaul University Chicago
• M.A. Education, 2000, St. Xavier University Chicago
• Teacher Certification, 2000, State of Illinois
• University of Indianapolis, 2009-, M.B.A., in Progress

Ms. Coklas was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She received her B.A in Psychology from DePaul University of Chicago with a minor in History (1197), M.A in Education (specializing in Curriculum and Design) from St. Xavier University of Chicago (2000), and her Teaching Certification from the State of Illinois. Ms. Coklas has also studied at the University of Indianapolis (Athens campus): which has brought her closer to earning an M.B.A.

Ms. Coklas has been in education since 2000. Back in Chicago, Ms. Coklas was the co- founder and co-creator of the Oak Lawn/ Hometown school district's Mentor program. She was invited to speak/ present workshops at several Tri-State area Conferences on the importance of Mentor Programs for beginning teachers and Classroom Management. She has been an active administrator and faculty member of ACS Athens since 2008. Her first position was the Assistant Director of the IB program for 2 years. She then moved to the Elementary School where she taught 5th grade for 7 years. In 2017, she took the challenging position of being a shared educator in both the Middle School Social Studies and Academy Combo History courses. She is currently teaching IB Psychology Year 1 and the 10th grade Combo (History/Literature) course.

Ms. Coklas has traveled to London, Vienna, and the United States as a representative of ACS Athens in order to establish affiliations for our graduating students to various universities (including but not limited to Oxford University, New York University, University of Chicago, etc.). She deeply appreciates and respects the superb level of education our school provides and will support our students (at any grade level) to achieve their goals and future endeavors.

email: coklasm@acs.gr

Academic Credentials

• MSc in Management, 2000, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, London, UK.
• MBA, 1998, University of Macedonia Economic and Social Sciences, Thessaloniki, Greece.
• BSc in Economics, 1996, Department of Economics, University of Macedonia Economic and Social Sciences, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Working/ Teaching experience

• Theory of Knowledge Honors, since 2019.
• IB Economics and IB Business Management teacher at ACS Athens, since 2017.
• Zeda SA, BoD member, since 2012.
• Partner at Tecvocate Inc., IT Consulting Services, since 2005.
• Project Manager, Budgeting and Planning, Athens 2004 - Olympic Games Organising Committee, IT Department. 2003-2004.
• ZEUS Securities and Investment Services SA, Financial Analyst, 1999-2001.

Ms. Dadidou was honored to receive the "Teacher of the Year" certificate of recognition and the Academy Yearbook dedication 2019, by the students of the ACS Athens Academy. She has written the novel: "Abacus, ένα παιχνίδι απληστίας", Kedros publishers, 2012, ("Abacus, a game of greed"). It is a financial thriller, about the greed games that fed the latest international economic crisis. She has also published short fiction stories as well as economic commentaries and articles. She enjoys long distance running and reading literature. Creative writing and playing the piano is what relaxes her the most. She is a passionate mom of two boys, and a blessed individual that discovered the beauty of being a teacher.

email: dadidoun@acs.gr

Ms. Drogaris is originally from New York, NY. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College in Oberlin Ohio, a Master of Science from the Athens University of Economics and Business, where she graduated with honors and Master of Science in Educational Theory and Practice from the Arkansas State University.

Before coming to teach at ACS Athens, Ms. Drogaris was a teacher at William E. Grady High School in New York. Upon moving to Greece, she held various positions in international business including Manager of Sales and Marketing for an American multinational for the Middle East and African regions. She decided to return to her true love which is teaching and is very happy to be back in the exciting and fulfilling field of education. This is her 11th year at ACS.  She is teaching two sections of IB Economics HL and two sections of  IB Business Management HL. Ms. Drogaris is an IB Examiner and coaches 2 Forensics teams.

email: drogarise@acs.gr

Leonidas (Leo) Gontzes is a historian and a political analyst born in New Jersey and raised both in the U.S. and Athens, Greece. Mr. Gontzes has a Bachelor's degree in History from Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia, USA), and two graduate degrees in European History from University College Cork (Cork, Republic of Ireland) and Diplomacy, with an international conflict management concentration, from Norwich University (Northfield, Vermont, USA). He has been teaching History, Government and Politics, and International Relations at several international institutions in the Greek capital and abroad since 1999 at secondary school level as well as on the graduate and undergraduate levels. He has taught at New York College since 2001 and at Empire State College (State University of New York) since 2007. Moreover, he held the office of Associate Dean heading New York College's International Relations Department from 2008 to 2018. His responsibilities have also included the office of Academic Director of Graduate Studies at the New York College Educational Group in Athens, Greece, for a total of ten years (2006-2016).

His papers include: "Re-Examining the 1925 Bulgarian Incident", "To what extent has the United States used the international economic system in order to exert power in global politics?", "Evaluating peacekeeping, peacemaking, and peace enforcement in Kosovo", "Security and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Kosovo", "Organizing and conducting a future military intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina". He has co-authored articles for CNN Greece on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and has appeared several times on Greek and Arab television, as well as Radio France International, as a political analyst vis à- vis U.S. and Greek political developments.

In 2017-2018, Mr. Gontzes taught Sociology and IB Theory of Knowledge in the Academy at ACS Athens. In 2018-2019 he taught Grade 7 Social Studies. Last year he taught IB History Years I and II, American Studies Combo Grade 10, and Social Studies: Psychology and Sociology (Grades 11 & 12). This year he will be teaching IB History Years I and II, American Studies Combo Grade 10, and Topics in Modern History (Grades 11 & 12).

e-mail: gontzesl@acs.gr

Ms. Falidas earned her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the City University of New York at Queens College. She earned her Master's degree in Mathematics from the City University of New York at Queens College and her Master's degree in Mathematics Education from the City University of New York at Hunter College.

Ms. Falidas holds a permanent New York State teaching license and she has worked in New York City public and private schools .In addition she worked as lecturer for the Mathematics Department at LaGuardia Community College in New York. Ms. Falidas has been a teacher of Mathematics at ACS Athens since 2007.

At ACS Athens she is member of the National Honors Society committee and an advisor for the Mathematics Literature Club. She is currently a member of Thales and Friends.

email: falidasm@acs.gr

Dr. Fyrigou is a foreign Language Teacher (French and Greek). She earned a Bachelor's in French Literature from the Greek Capodistrian University of Athens and in 2008 she received her master's degree in the History of French Civilization again from the Capodistrian University of Athens. Dr. Fyrigou defended successfully her doctorate thesis in History of French Civilization on July 2012 and received her doctoral degree. The thesis title was "Antonin Proust et son voyage en Grece".

She has been working in the ACS faculty community since 1999 and has taught both in Middle School and High School. She is an IB teacher and an IB examiner in French language. Currently, she is an Adjunct Professor at the Hellenic American University in Athens, teaching undergraduate students in the department of interdisciplinary and intercultural studies.

She has established different educational collaborations between ACS Athens and other institutions worldwide. Dr. Fyrigou was one of the first faculty who participated and completed successfully the pilot program at ACS Athens, which started in 2013-2014 academic year. She has designed, developed and implemented a course in French language and culture based on the i2flex methodology and innovative teaching and learning approaches.

She recently authored a chapter in the 2016 publication "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through i 2 Flex Classroom Model." The title of her chapter is "Evaluating the i2flex educational experience via the Community of Inquiry (CoI 2000)" Tonia Fyrigou has also presented her work in different colloquiums and conferences.

Dr. Tonia Fyrigou is a life-long learner, an open mind person with ethos and values with innovative ideas who always strives for excellence in education.

email: firigout@acs.gr

Dr. Hristakos completed his B.Sc. in physics at the University of Lancaster in the UK. He then continued his graduate studies in experimental physics (M.S) at the University of New Hampshire in the USA. Following this he successfully defended his Ph.D. in experimental low temperature physics at the University of Bayreuth in Germany. Dr. Hristakos worked as a post-doc research scientist at the Centre des etudes atomiques in Saclay-France and at the University of Tuebingen in Germany.

He has taught IB physics at ACS for a decade and he has also worked as an AP physics teacher at the American School of Dubai. He is currently the Division Chair of Science & Technology at ACS Athens.

email: hristakosl@acs.gr

Mr. Lianos holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Maryland, University College and an M.A. in Mass Communications from the University of Leicester.

Prior to joining the ACS Athens faculty he was an editor at Macmillan Hellas and the weekly English language newspaper The Hellenic Star.

He has been a member of the faculty since 2014 and will be teaching American Literature Combo 10. Mr. Lianos has been an advisor for the Media Club, Literary Arts Magazine  and Oral Interpretation of Literature.  He has also held a position at the ACS Athens Writing Studio where he guided students to become more effective, confident and independent writers.

Mr. Lianos was raised in both New York and Athens. 

email: lianosh@acs.gr

Born and raised in Mexico, Ms. Dennisse Legorreta has been a faculty member at ACS Athens since 2008. She is the school's Modern Language Coordinator and the IB/ AP Spanish teacher in the Academy. She holds a Bachelor degree in Communications and Spanish Linguistics and Literature. She also has a Master's degree in teaching Spanish as a foreign language including special training for both AP and IB programs.

Ms. Legorreta is convinced of the importance of using student's likes such as the use of technology, online and non online games, acting, singing, dancing, debating and playing in the development of language skills and language acquisition. Therefore, she utilizes different techniques using the I2Flex methodology to create fun activities in order to achieve the program learning outcomes helping students develop critical thinking and retain knowledge.

Outside of school, Ms. Legorreta enjoys being with family and friends, dancing, playing sports, watching movies, listening to music, traveling and reading.

email: legorretad@acs.gr

Dr. Antonios Karampelas holds a B.Sc. in Physics, an M.Sc. in Astrophysics, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). He has been a post-graduate researcher at NKUA and the National Observatory of Athens, and he has participated in European Space Agency’s (ESA) research programs in Astrophysics, Data Mining, and Machine Learning, mainly as a member of the Data Processing and Analysis Consortium of the Gaia Space Mission.

Dr. Karampelas has been in education since his early academic years teaching Science and Mathematics at all levels, and he is active in introducing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning into K12. This is his fifth year at ACS Athens where he will be teaching high school Physics and S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) - a course developed by him, and will be serving as the Artificial Intelligence Framework Coordinator. Additionally, he will continue to lead the ACS Athens team of students and faculty who designed scientific experiments that were autonomously conducted in space inside the Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule (May & December 2019).

Dr. Antonios Karampelas is a co-author of more than 60 publications (peer-reviewed articles, contributions to conference proceedings, etc.), a reviewer of scientific and educational articles, a member of the International Astronomical Union, the International Astrostatistics Association, and the Hellenic Education Society of S.T.E.M., as well as a fellow of the Institute of ACS Athens. 

email: karampelasa@acs.gr

Ms. Sana Kassem has been a chemistry and biology teacher at ACS Athens since 2004. She earned a B.Sc. Science (Biology/Chemistry) from the American University of Beirut and a M.Ed. from the University of LaVerne, Athens.

She taught biology and chemistry for IGCSE, A level, AP, French Baccalaureate and IB classes in many international schools in Beirut, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Athens. In addition to teaching she has worked as an academic advisor for curriculum development of science at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi, as Head of Science in International Schools in Abu Dhabi and Athens and has been an IB Biology examiner since 2000 and an AP Biology examiner since 2014. In 2015, Sana was selected by the IBO to be a team leader for IB biology examinations. In 2015, she took the challenging task of teaching science in the elementary school, servicing grades JK to grade 5. She has developed an inquiry-based science curriculum, the goal of which is to provide plenty of opportunities for the children to experience things in a hands-on way in order to encourage and increase their curiosity and to instill in them the lifelong love for science.

At ACS Athens Colloquium she presented the approaches and methods applied during inquiry- based lessons and had two demonstration sessions with elementary school students doing different science activities. In addition to this, she published the article "What Are We Doing Today" in the Ethos Magazine of Winter 2015.

She co-authored with Dr. Stefanos Gialamas and professors from 3 different institutions two articles that were published in Journal of Education and Practice, "Which Sweetener Is Best for Yeast? An Inquiry-Based Learning for Conceptual Change", (www.iiste.org, Vol.8, No.2, 2017) and "Where Have the Beans Been? Student-Driven Laboratory Learning Activities with Legumes for Conceptual Change." Where Have the Beans Been The two articles were published in Journal of Education and Practice (www.iiste.org, Vol.9, No.11, 2018).

In March 2017 Sana presented her work in the advancement of science in the ACS Athens Elementary School's Science Program at NESA conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Ms. Kassem shared her curriculum design, vision & methods to colleagues from international schools in the region in her workshop entitled, "The Mother of All Methods: A Unified Vision for Teaching Sciences".

In June 2017 the first online IGCSE Biology book that was published by www.Kognity.com where Ms. Kassem has co-authored five chapters of the book.

email: kassems@acs.gr

Academic credentials

• Degree in Mathematics, 2003, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
• Master of Science in Economic Mathematics, June 2006, National Technological University of Athens, Greece

Working/Teaching experience

• IB MATH TEACHER - MATH INSTRUCTOR/TEACHER, 2005 - Present, American Community Schools of Athens
• Math Instructor - Private Educational Institutions: Metehmio, Epignosi
• Senior Supervisor - Athens 2004, Olympic & Paralympic Games
• SAT Math Instructor for High School students - American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens)
• Instructor for Middle School & High School students for the “Gateway Program” - American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens)
• Computer science instructor for the Summer Camp program - American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens)

Ms. Katsiyianni is a student-centered Math Teacher with 10 years of experience, delivering teaching expertise, as well as optimizing student success, progress, and learning outcomes for 6th -12th graders. Qualifications include a Degree in Mathematics and MSc in Economic Mathematics. Creative and resourceful in adapting instructional strategies to meet unique student needs. Passion for education and an unwavering commitment to optimizing student and school success.

Open-minded in order to implement the best practices in class and always seeking the best professional development opportunities for the benefit of her students. She possesses several technical skills, including MS Office Suite, Moodle classes, Skyward, Google classroom, use of Interactive whiteboards, Geogebra, MATLAB, MathType, SPSS, Minitab, E-Views, C, and FORTRAN. Ms. Katsiyianni has also participated in many educational conferences and workshops. Among them the NESA conference in Instabul in 2015, where she presented her work: “Hooked on Mathematics”.

Ms. Katsiyianni has also participated in ACS Athens initiative to publish a book on its revolutionary blended teaching methodology titled Revolutionising K-12 Blended Learning through the i2flex Classroom Model (Avgerinou, Maria D., and Stefanos Gialamas, 2016).

Publications

• Avgerinou, Maria D., and Stefanos Gialamas. Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i2flex Classroom Model. Information Science Reference, 2016. Co-Author for the Chapter: “Hooked on Mathematics”

Educational Licences

• QUALIFIED TEACHER STATUS (QTS) for the United Kingdom
• Teaching license in Secondary Education of Mathematics in the EU under the Council Directive 2005/36/EC

Presentations

• MoodleMoot Conference in National Technological University of Athens Designing, implementing and evaluating K12 Blended Learning through the Quality Matters Framework: A Step-by-Step Approach (Nov 29-30, 2018)
• 9th International Conference in Open and Distance Learning Conference’s main subject: “Learning Design”
• Conference organized by “Ellinogermaniki Agogi” in Athens, Greece Conference’s main subject: “Innovation and Research in ODL and in ICT”
• NESA Conference, Istanbul, Turkey - Presentation title: “Hooked on Mathematics (Mar 20-23, 2015)

email: katsiyiannim@acs.gr

Dr. Kerkines received his B.Sc. in Chemistry (1997) and his M.Sc.(1999) and Ph.D.(2003) in Physical Chemistry from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) under the direction of Aristides Mavridis.

He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the NKUA (2004-2006) with Aristides Mavridis, at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, USA (2006-2008) with Keiji Morokuma, and at the National Hellenic Research Foundation (2008-2011, 2013-2015) with Ioannis Petsalakis and Nektarios Lathiotakis. His research focus has been the application of Quantum Chemistry to novel main-group and transition-metal chemistry, as well as to the study of the interaction of materials with light for modern energy applications.

Dr. Kerkines has been teaching Chemistry since 2000. Before joining the ACS family in 2017, he had worked in the private sector as a content creator for e-learning courses and phone support for students from 4th to 12th grade (Chemistry, Physics, Math, Geography, Biology) as well as in a tutoring center for Panhellenic examinations. He also worked as a quality control head in a cosmetics company, being responsible for ISO and ΕΟΦ accreditations. At ACS, he has taught IB Chemistry HL/SL and IB Environmental Systems & Societies SL. He is excited to bring to the classroom his mix of experiences.

Dr. Kerkines has been author or co-author of over 30 research papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has presented his work in scientific conferences in 12 countries. He has received scholarships from the Association of Hellenes from Egypt, the Hellenic State Scholarships Foundation, and the Marie Curie Foundation (twice). He is the recepient of the 2008 Atlanta Area Chemical Physics award for his postdoctoral research, and he has briefly worked at CERN (Switzerland) and Karlsruhe University (Germany) as a visiting scientist. A firm supporter of the communication of science to the public, he received the honor to give invited talks at the Athens Science Festival/Cafe Scientifique Athens (2016), as well as at the inaugural Pint of Science Greece (2018).

Dr. Kerkines was born and grew up near the center of Athens, Greece. In his spare time (which he has almost none), he enjoys lifting weights and engaging with website design and development.

email: kerkinesi@acs.gr

• BS Social Studies Education Saint Cloud State University 2016
• MS World History Saint Cloud State University 2013
• BA History Saint Cloud State University 2008
• AA Anoka Ramsey Community College 2008

Mr. Barret Nikodym pursued a college education within the humanities. During his practicum, he was fortunate enough to teach at Munich International School, gaining valuable experience within the MYP/IB curriculum, while also reaffirming his strong belief that international schools serve as exemplars in world education. After obtaining his teaching license, he spent one year with Teachers on Call, gaining new perspectives across a variety of disciplines. His position at ACS Athens is the culmination of a lifelong dream come true, much hard work, and his unbridled love for the humanities. It is within schools such as ACS Athens, he truly believes, that humanity cooperates at its best, displays for the world a richness of diversity, a uniqueness of perspective, as well as a blueprint toward a better future.

Mr. Nikodym grew up in Mora, Minnesota.

email: nikodymb@acs.gr

Mr. Pakos was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from University of Ioannina and a Master of Science degree in Computer Communications And Networks from Leeds Metropolitan University.

He worked for major IT companies for several years, before he decided to officially enter into the field of education.

He believes in motivating and inspiring students not only to achieve academic goals but also personal ones.

His interests include trekking, reading, movies, traveling, and woodcarving.

email: pakosc@acs.gr

Evelyn Pittas earned her B.A. in English Literature, from Gwynedd-Mercy College and her M.A. in English Literature, from Kutztown University and Lehigh University. She has also earned her Teaching Certificate from the state of Pennsylvania and attended numerous workshops and conferences in IB, Learning Differences, Writing for teachers, and Leadership for the 21st Century. Currently, Ms. Pittas is studying to earn her Doctorate of Education from the University of Nicosia.

Ms. Pittas’ commitment to her teaching is mirrored through her highly energetic and enthusiastic personality.  She specializes in teaching Group 1 in the International Baccalaureate Program. As a Group 1 and Extended Essay Examiner since the late 1990s, she has experienced first-hand 4 consecutive changes of the Group 1 curriculum for the IB.  As the English Department Coordinator and the English Language and Literature educator at ACS, Athens, both at the Higher and Standard levels since 1998, her dedication, aptitude and finesse to inspire, motivate, and lead diverse students while consistently maintaining a solid history of very high achievement is her pride and joy. Conscious citizenship and empathy are at the center of her teaching and learning which promote ethos, morfosis, critical thinking and problem solving skills and encourages her students to make intentional choices and assume responsibility for their own actions. As a mentor teacher since 2014, she successfully interacts and productively leads her colleagues into the professional requirements and expectations of the English Department. Her areas of expertise include building and maintaining excellent relations with students, parents, faculty, and administrators; she is self-motivated with excellent planning abilities, organizational skills and implementation strategies in curriculum. Ms. Pittas upholds her professional skill and growth through attendance and presentation at a variety of professional development events and conferences.

In addition to her responsibilities as teacher, Ms. Pittas has been involved in a variety of positions at ACS Athens, including Forensics Oratory Coach, Coordinator and Judge at Pan-Hellenic Tournaments, 10th and 12th grade Student Council Advisor, Blue and Gold School Newspaper Advisor, Model United Nations Advisor, Activities Coordinator, Bonding Day Coordinator, Graduation Coordinator Assistant and is a member of the National Honor Society committee. She also served on the ACSTA Executive Council as President and the Federation Executive Council as Vice President.

Her mission as a teacher is to develop confidence in each and every student so that they will seek knowledge, question answers, and believe in their own abilities to become life-long learners. She supports her students, listens willingly, and provides a loving environment so they can understand the bliss in learning and take pride in their accomplishments.

email: pittase@acs.gr

Ms. Pisanias, has been teaching in the Modern Language Department at ACS Athens since January 1995. While at ACS Athens she has taughtboth Greek Language B classes and Greek Language & Literature classes. She has taught Modern Greek for the IB Diploma for more than 20 years and currently she is teaching Modern Greek IB Language A: Language and Literature.

Ms. Pisanias holds a Bachelor of Arts in Greek and French Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a Masters in Translation from Universite de Mons-Hainaut & Universite Libre de Bruxelles, in Belgium and a Masters in Education from the Hellenic Open University. The post graduate courses she has taken are in the areas of Child Development, Cross-cultural Education, School Administration and Distance Learning. The subject of her thesis was "Communication and Interaction between students in Distance Education". She has represented the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges as a member of an accreditation Validation Team.

While at ACS Athens she has been advisor of the Greek Literary Magazine, the Greek Club and several class Councils. Since September 2017 she is the Coordinator of the Greek Language Department.

email: pisaniask@acs.gr

Dr. Prodromidi earned a B.Sc. in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Essex, UK. She then continued her graduate studies at Imperial College London, UK, where she obtained a M.Sc. in Immunology and a Ph.D. with a full scholarship in Renal Medicine and Stem Cell Biology. She has worked in research and her scientific work has been presented in conferences world-wide, and has been acknowledged numerous times with international awards, such as the Best New Scientist (2006, UK). She has also published articles in scientific journals and co-authored books.

After the completion of her post-graduate studies and since her return in Greece, Dr. Prodromidi has worked both as a research scientist and an educator. To her, teaching means inspiration, creativity, and even challenge to pass on knowledge and ethos to every student. Her teaching experience ranges from middle school students through university students. Recently, she co-authored the book entitled "Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i²Flex Classroom Model" contributing to this novel pedagogical approach introduced by ACS Athens.

email: prodromidie@acs.gr

Academic Credentials 

• Bachelor Degree of Fine Arts (BA FINE ARTS), 1986 - 1991
  University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
• Master in Creative Writing (for Education), 2014 - 2017|
  University of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece
  Thesis topic: Short Stories Inspired from the Paintings of Nikolaos Gyzis and Nikiforos Lyrtas

Working/Teaching experience

• ACS Athens - K-12 Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator, 2013-2020
• ACS Athens - IB Visual Arts Instructor, 2015-2020 (DP IB Visual Arts I and II)
• ACS Athens - High School Art Teacher, 2015-2020 (Drawing and Painting I and II, Design, Graphic Art, Digital Photography)
• ACS Athens - Middle School Art Teacher, 2012-2015 [Art studio-Drawing and Painting, Design 8]
• Dasoupolis school in Nicosia Cyprus, Zakaki and Tsirio schools in Limassol, Middle school and High school Art Teacher in Cyprus, 2010-2012
• Leading Designer - decoration and everyday special sets for ANT1 TV productions in Athens Greece, 1997 to 2010
• Leading Set Designer for ANT1 TV station, Cyprus, 1996-2007(Designer of the News Broadcast set, Election sets, Sports set etc)
• Interior Designer for numerous companies and offices, 1997-2010
• Costume and Stage Designer for several theatrical productions in Johannesburg and Athens from 1993-2014

Personal Accomplishments

• ART EXHIBITIONS:

  Solo and group exhibitions in Johannesburg, South Africa, 1992 -1995

  Participate in group exhibitions in Nicosia, Cyprus, 1995-2007

  Participate in group exhibitions or paint on commission for companies, shops, or commercial productions 1995-present

• PUBLICATIONS:

  Her short stories are published in two books. The Road to Creative Writing 3 - Short Stories, 2013, Oselotos publication and Anthology of Short Stories, 2014, Graphomihani publication.

Sophia Stella Soseilos is currently the Arts Division Chair of the school as well as the High school Art Teacher and the IB Visual Arts Instructor. She is a Greek Cypriot who was born in Germany, lived in Cyprus, studied in South Africa and moved to Greece in 1995. Sophia Stella Soseilos has a passion for teaching Art. She embraces diversity, and has a great way of motivating and introducing creativity and design thinking into the education space. She is able to connect and communicate with her students. She defines targets and strategies and has the ability to convert vision to execution.

email: soseiloss@acs.gr

Dr. Evangelos Syropoulos holds a BA in English Language and Literature (1995), an MA in English Literature and Culture (1999), and a PhD in Musical Theatre (2008) from the School of English of Aristotle University, Greece. He conducted postdoctoral research and/ or taught drama/ theatre courses at Aristotle University, Ghent University (Belgium), and Goldsmiths College (University of London). His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals in Greece, Belgium, and the UK. He is also a College Board-certified AP Capstone teacher, receiving his training at McBride High School, Long Beach CA, in 2017.

This is his fifth year at ACS Athens. For the last four years, he worked as Writing/ Research Studio Coordinator and additionally taught IB English A: Literature, IB English A: Language and Literature, IB Theory of Knowledge Senior Seminar, and Film Writing/ Production. He also co-coached the ACS Athens Academy Duet Acting team for the Panhellenic Forensics Association Tournament and participated in the Mentor Program and the New Colleagues Mentor Program.

This year, he teaches IB English A: Literature Year 1 and Year 2 and IB English A: Language and Literature Year 1 and Year 2.

Dr. Syropoulos also joined the ACS Athens Institute as Fellow, designing and teaching an online course in English Literature for ACS Athens Virtual.

email: syropoulose@acs.gr

Ms. Thanopoulou received her degree in Theater Studies from the National University of Athens and a Master of Arts in Physical Theater from the universities of Surrey & Royal Holloway University of London.

She is a trained dancer in classical ballet and contemporary dance and has performed in numerous venues since 2001, including the Athens Concert Hall, Michael Cacoyannis Foundation and the Opening Ceremony for the Athens Olympics 2004. She has also worked in numerous Theater productions in Athens in a variety of capacities: assistant director, dramaturg, communications officer and more, before discovering her love for teaching in 2004.

Ms. Thanopoulou gained Qualified Teacher Status in the UK, where she started teaching the A Level and BTEC programs for Drama & Performing Arts in 3 different inner city schools of East London. She started teaching at ACS Athens in 2007, where she developed the syllabi for IB Theater and Drama. Since then she has directed over 18 full scale student productions; she has been coaching the Duet Acting team for the Panhellenic Forensics Tournaments; she has offered a variety of extra curricular activities such as Drama, Dance and Talent Show Clubs; she has presented in Conferences like ECIS 2016 and Learning Differences Conference 2015 and does everything she can to propagate her life's passion for Arts in Education.

email: thanopoulous@acs.gr

Dr. Toumpakari was born and raised in Athens and attended the University of Athens where she studied Mathematics. She obtained a M.Sc. in Applied Statistics from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago on a full scholarship from the University, while being an honorary scholar of the Onassis Foundation.

Dr Toumpakari has made presentations in several mathematics conferences in the US. Recently she presented at the 1st Congress of Greek Mathematicians on a statistical project she participated in at the Childhood Cancer Research group at Oxford. Her teaching experience includes a variety of undergraduate classes at the University of Chicago, mentoring gifted teenagers at a math-themed summer camp and teaching under privileged students in the Chicago Public Schools as well as teaching A-levels in the UK. Since June 2019 she has been a Senior Fellow of the Institute at ACS Athens.

Dr. Toumpakari has been a teacher of mathematics at ACS Athens since 2012 and this year is teaching IB Higher Level Math Applications and Interpretation and Pre-Calculus.

email: toumpakarie@acs.gr

Dr. Liana Tsigaridi holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics, from the University of Patras, with the highest grade of the graduation year and award from the State Scholarships Foundation, a M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics, from the Technical University of Athens, a second M.Sc. in Astrophysics, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and a Ph.D. in Astronomy and Applied Mathematics, from the NKUA, in the field of Galactic Dynamics on a full scholarship from the Leventis Foundation.

Dr. Tsigaridi has participated in many Research Programs funded by the Academy of Athens in collaboration with the Research Center for Astronomy and Applied Mathematics (RCAAM), with publications in peer reviewed scientific journals and presence in numerous conferences. She has also participated as a visiting researcher in the project "Galactic Potential Extraction" at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Munich, Germany.

Dr. Tsigaridi has been teaching Mathematics for over 14 years. This is her fourth year at ACS Athens. The last three years she has taught Geometry with Algebraic Topics Regular/Honors, Algebra 2 and Trigonometry Regular/Honors, IB Mathematical Studies, IB Mathematics AA SL Year 1 and also had the position of the Math/Science Studio Coordinator. This year she will be teaching IB2 SL Mathematics AA, Geometry with Algebraic Topics and Heart of Mathematics in the Academy. Dr. Tsigaridi will also serve as Fellow of the Institute of ACS Athens.

In parallel with her academic studies Dr. Tsigaridi has also completed degrees in Music and Dance. She plays the Piano and the Viola and has been a member of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Athens since 1991. She is also a member of the Hellenic Astronomical Society (Hel.A.S.) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

email: tsigaridil@acs.gr

Ms. Wang is originally from Taiwan. She obtained her Bachelors Degree from National Taipei Institute of the Arts, where she studied Piano Performance, Violin Performance as well as Chinese Language and Literature. She has won the 2^nd prize in Taiwan Piano competition. Ms. Wang also trained at Luebeck Musikhochschule in Germany, and obtained her Masters Degree in Piano Performance.

Each summer Ms. Wang travels to Taiwan and participates in the seminar “Chinese Language Research”. In the summer of 2009, she obtained a certification following 2 month course “Teaching Chinese as Foreign Language” from Tunghai University.

In Taiwan and Germany, she worked as teacher, teaching Chinese Language and Piano Performance. She has 11 years of experience teaching Chinese and 25 years of experience teaching Piano Performance.

email: wangy@acs.gr

Ms. Zavacopoulou was born in London, but was raised in Athens and attended a British international school. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in European Social and Political Studies, a four-year course with majors in History, French and Italian from University College London, and a Masters degree in Journalism from University of Westminster, London.

A qualified secondary school teacher, she taught French and Spanish in an inner city London school through Teach First, a ground-breaking graduate training program that combines two years teaching in challenging London schools with business and leadership training. She also worked as a substitute teacher in over 20 different London schools in long-term and short-term placements for a further two years.

She joined the ACS Athens team in 2010 and started working in the Writing Center, where she helped and advised students on a variety of written assignments. She has since been involved in many aspects of school life: she coaches the ACS Athens Academy debate team, has participated in the Mentorship Program and has co-presented a workshop at the NESA Conference. In 2016 she co-presented a paper at the ICODL Conference and also co-authored an article, "Humanities Program: An Innovative Classic," that was published in the book Revolutionizing K - 12 Blended Learning Through the i2Flex Classroom Model. This year she is teaching IB TOK Senior Seminar, team-teaching Humanities and Grade 9 Europe and the World, as well as serving as Division Chair for Humanities and Physical Education.

email: zavacopouloua@acs.gr