Welcome to GISA!

As the new school year begins, our team continues to grow – and we are delighted to welcome new staff members as well as committed interns. They bring a wide range of experience, perspectives and talents to our school community.

With Timo Adolphs, GISA gains an experienced teacher with a strong background in the natural sciences and eleven years of teaching experience; he will also take on the role of Class Teacher for Grade 8. Haitham Albeiruty brings many years of teaching experience, particular expertise in Science, Mathematics and Computer Science, as well as leadership experience from Germany, and will be the Class Teacher for Grade 9. Ivan Sena Klutse joins us as a qualified music educator who combines musical education with creativity, confidence-building and personal development.

Our Early Years team is also receiving strong support: Elizabeth Donkor brings 13 years of experience in early childhood education and places particular emphasis on creating a warm and playful learning environment. Amona Leipzig has 14 years of professional experience and focuses on each child’s individual development and personality. Gifty Ama Mensah brings eleven years of experience in early childhood education and a distinctly child-centred approach. She will work flexibly across both Nursery and Kindergarten.

We are especially happy to welcome back Franziska “Iska” Veit. She was already part of our school community as an intern, has since successfully completed her teacher training in Bavaria and is now returning to GISA as a teacher. This school year, she will take on the role of Class Teacher for Grade 3 – a very special return for us.

We are equally pleased to welcome our new interns. They bring a variety of academic and professional interests – ranging from primary and secondary education to sport, social work and digital education – and will spend the coming months getting to know, supporting and contributing to everyday life at GISA.

Our New Staff Members

Timo Adolphs

Timo Adolphs is 43 years old and comes from Waldbröl, a small town near Cologne. He studied Agricultural Sciences with a focus on crop production and later began a second degree in teacher education.

His professional career took him to a vocational college in Kleve in the Lower Rhine region, where he spent eleven years teaching crop production to future farmers. He therefore brings both strong scientific expertise and many years of teaching experience to GISA.

Over the past few years, he developed a growing desire to focus more strongly on teaching Biology while at the same time fulfilling a long-held ambition: to live and work in Africa. At GISA, these two goals now come together. This school year, Timo will be the Class Teacher for Grade 8 and will teach primarily in the natural sciences.

He is very much looking forward to his new role, to working with his colleagues and to learning together with his students.

Outside school, Timo has a wide range of interests. He enjoys sports including football, basketball, padel, cycling and running, and loves spending time in nature. He is also particularly interested in environmental and social issues as well as other cultures.

Haitham Albeiruty

Haitham Albeiruty studied at the University of Cologne and brings nine years of teaching experience from Germany. Most recently, he served as Deputy Head of a secondary school in Lower Saxony. At GISA, he will be the Class Teacher for Grade 9.

For Haitham, school is a place where children enjoy learning, feel comfortable and remain curious. He particularly values mutual respect, discovering new things together and creating a strong sense of school community.

He is especially passionate about Science, Mathematics and Computer Science. For him, these subjects help students understand natural phenomena, recognise connections and build bridges between nature, technology and our modern digital world.

Haitham has been living in Ghana since August 2026 and has already found a favourite Ghanaian dish: Omo Tuo. His favourite emoji is 🙂.

Elizabeth Donkor

Elizabeth Donkor is from Accra and is a proud mother of three. She has worked as an early years educator for 13 years, supporting young children during an especially important stage of their learning and development.

She particularly enjoys helping children learn through play, songs, hands-on activities and varied learning experiences. Creating a warm, caring and supportive environment in which children feel comfortable, develop confidence and enjoy learning is especially important to her.

At GISA, Elizabeth will work with the Elephant Group in Kindergarten. She looks forward to discovering, creating and learning together with the children and supporting each child in their individual development.

She is especially excited to get to know the children and their families and to share many happy and memorable experiences at GISA.

Ivan Sena Klutse

Ivan Sena Klutse is a musician and music educator who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education.

For Ivan, music is much more than just a school subject. He aims to help children develop creativity, confidence and a lifelong appreciation for music. He is particularly committed to creating a positive and encouraging learning environment in which every child can discover and develop their own musical abilities.

Ivan also places great value on working in partnership with parents to support each student’s musical and personal growth.

We are very pleased to welcome such a dedicated music educator to our team.

Amona Leipzig

Amona Leipzig is 37 years old and comes from Paderborn, Germany. Together with her two children, aged eight and six, she is beginning a new chapter of her life in Ghana this summer.

Before joining GISA, Amona worked for 14 years in municipal early years centres in the city of Paderborn and therefore brings extensive experience in working with young children.

At the heart of her educational approach is the creation of an appreciative and supportive environment in which children can develop freely, confidently and openly. She considers it particularly important to recognise each child’s individual needs and personality and to support them along their own developmental journey.

Amona is very much looking forward to getting to know the children and their families, sharing many wonderful experiences and becoming part of the GISA community.

Gifty Ama Mensah

Gifty Ama Mensah is from Accra and is a dedicated early years educator with a strong passion for early childhood education. She brings eleven years of professional experience supporting young children in their learning and development.

Gifty strongly believes in a child-centred approach to learning. She enjoys creating varied and engaging learning experiences that allow children to explore, have fun and develop a lifelong love of learning.

It is particularly important to her to help children become curious, open-minded, creative and confident learners while supporting their social, emotional, physical and cognitive development.

At GISA, Gifty will work flexibly across both Nursery and Kindergarten, providing care and support wherever it is most needed and helping to create a positive and stimulating learning environment for all children.

She looks forward to getting to know the children and their families, building trusting relationships and sharing many positive learning experiences together.

Franziska “Iska” Veit

Franziska “Iska” Veit will be the Class Teacher for Grade 3 this school year – and she is no stranger to GISA. During her studies, she was already part of our school community as an intern. After completing her university degree and teacher training in Bavaria, her journey has now brought her back to Accra.

Iska has very fond memories of GISA and its special school community from her first time in Ghana. It therefore quickly became clear to her that she wanted to return to our school.

In her teaching, Iska places great importance on creating a structured yet inspiring learning environment: a place where children feel safe, are encouraged to grow beyond their own expectations and never lose the joy of discovering and learning.

We are all the more delighted to welcome her back to the GISA team in this new role.

Our New Interns

Sarah Buhl

From September, Sarah Buhl will support our Kindergarten team as an intern. She is 23 years old and comes from Germany. After qualifying as an early years educator, she began studying Social Work in Nuremberg and will complete an internship at GISA as part of her degree.

Working with children has been a passion of hers since her professional training. She considers it especially important to be a positive role model and to create situations in which children can gain valuable experiences for life.

Sarah describes herself as cheerful, curious and open-minded. In her free time, she enjoys acting, going to the gym and trying out new recipes – and she especially enjoys cooking for other people.

During her time at GISA, Sarah hopes not only to learn more about educational work in our Kindergarten, but also to meet new people and discover more about Ghana and its culture. She looks forward to many new encounters and shared experiences with the children.

Benno Gergs

Benno Gergs is 25 years old, comes from near Berlin and is studying to become a teacher at the University of Potsdam. As part of his degree, he is completing his practical semester at GISA.

He is particularly looking forward to observing lessons, teaching himself and learning and working together with students and colleagues.

Sport also plays an important role in Benno’s life outside school. For him, sport offers far more than physical activity: it creates community, opens up opportunities for personal development and is therefore an important part of the education of children and young people.

During his practical semester, Benno hopes not only to gain valuable teaching experience, but also to learn more about Ghana, its people and its culture.

Hannah Laib

Hannah Laib is 24 years old and studied Secondary Education at the University of Education Ludwigsburg, specialising in English and Religious Education.

Before beginning her teacher training, she is completing an internship at GISA. She looks forward to getting to know our school and the people who learn and work here, gaining further insights into everyday school life and developing her practical experience.

In her free time, Hannah enjoys spending time with friends and reading. She especially enjoys being outdoors – whether hiking, running or swimming.

She is looking forward to her time at GISA and to many new impressions and encounters.

Lena Neuhaus

Lena Neuhaus is 24 years old and studied Primary Education with German and Physical Education at the University of Education Freiburg. She will begin her teacher training in February and is using the months beforehand to gain further practical experience at GISA.

She looks forward to getting to know our school, our students, teachers and staff, experiencing everyday school life and further developing her practical skills.

Sport is also an important part of Lena’s life outside school. She especially enjoys dancing and gymnastics, works out regularly at the gym and loves spending time outdoors. She can often be found cycling – or, when the opportunity arises, skiing or snowboarding.

Lena is looking forward to many wonderful encounters and new experiences during her time at GISA.

Maimon Thiems

From 26 August, Maimon Thiems will join our Secondary School team as an intern. He is studying to become a secondary school teacher at the University of Hamburg, specialising in Computer Science and English.

In addition, he works in the field of Computer Science Education, with a particular focus on digital education, AI Literacy and Data Literacy. He therefore brings exciting perspectives to an area that is becoming increasingly important for schools and teaching.

Maimon greatly enjoys working with children and young people. He considers it especially important to make learning accessible, practical and motivating while supporting students individually in their development.

We look forward to welcoming Maimon to GISA at the end of August.