Horizon Japan International School Yokohama: Faculty

Mr. Kara	Principal Mr. Kara is the principal of Horizon Japan International School. During his professional educational career in various international schools, he has taken positions of teacher, international biology olympics lecturer, head teacher since 1993, and he has been in administrative positions at various schools in different countries since 1998. Mr. Kara, who did his MA in Quality of Education and Parent Satisfaction, was also the initiator and the coordinator of an international university project which he organized in cooperation with Connecticut State University. The project involved a student exchange of some 50 students every year. He is married with three children. His hobbies are driving, watching soap opera, watching movies, traveling, playing tennis and soccer, and he is very excited to be in HJIS.
Mr. Mclennan	Curriculum Coordinator / Years 4&5 Mr. McLennan is from Sydney, Australia. He graduated from Wollongong University in Wollongong, Australia with a Bachelor of Education in primary education. He has taught grades Pre-school to Year 6 in both the UK and Australia. He also has secondary school qualifications in technology education. He recently taught English to children, university students and adults. His hobbies include reading, listening to music, sports and motor-sports.
Mr. Basak	School Planning Coordinator Mr. Basak holds a degree in education and has been a teacher trainer since 2004. He has been in Turkey, England and Poland previously. He was the head of the ELT Department of a group of 25 elementary schools before he came to Japan in August 2006. Between 2004 and 2006, he took an active role in a Comenius project which included four European countries. Trained in drama by the British Council, he took roles in several plays and sang in choirs. He is also an ICT specialist and a semi-pro graphics designer. His hobbies include listening to music, video editing, watching movies and playing table tennis. He likes Japan and its people, and is very excited to be at Horizon Japan International School.
Ms. Ishikawa	Preschool 3 Anne Ishikawa is from the United States of America. She graduated from Illinois State University, USA with a Bachelor's Degree in Education. She received her CELTA certification from Amsterdam, The Netherlands and recently worked on the last paper for her Master's of Education course from England. She taught for more than a dozen years with many of those years teaching preschool children. She is excited to work with the students and parents at HJIS.
Ms. Songul	Preschool 3 Team Teacher Ms. Songul has a wealth of experience in teaching a wide range of levels from preschool through secondary level. As the PS3 team teacher, she will be working with Ms. Anne, and help the students to grow into responsible persons. Her hobbies include reading, cooking and watching movies. She is excited to be working with the students and families of Horizon Japan International School.
Ms. Toruno	Preschool 4 Ms. Toruno is from Ontario Canada. She has a degree in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario with a focus on Child Development and Education. She received her Education Certificate from D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York. She has experience teaching children in Canada and in South Korea. She is interested in reading, traveling, learning about different cultures and yoga. She enjoys teaching and learning from her staff and students. She is excited to be here in Japan, teaching at Horizon. She is looking forward to the upcoming school year.
Ms. Clark	Kindergarten Ms. Clark is from New Jersey, USA. She has a BA in English and Education and a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. She is excited to be teaching Kindergarten students and working with families at Horizon Japan International School.
Ms. Aynur	Kindergarten Team Teacher Ms. Aynur is the kindergarten team teacher. She has lived in Japan for four years and has been a teacher since 2002. She has taught a wide range of students from primary through high school in her past experience, and is now enjoying to be working with the kindergarteners. Married with one child, Ms. Aynur likes to travel and listen to music in her free time. She is delighted to work with Horizon students and parents.
Mr. Grant	Year 1 Mr. Grant is from Scotland, in the UK. He has a PGCE in Primary Education and has taught in Scotland in the past. He previously taught English in Nagasaki, Kyushu and really enjoyed his time there, so much so that he decided to come back to Japan as a Primary Teacher. He also has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sport Science and has a passion for many sports and has a level 2 Coaching Award in Basketball. He also enjoys running, reading, photography and watching films in his free time.
Mr. Abis	PE / Library Mr. Abis is our PE teacher. He is also responsible for the library. He has a bachelor of teaching degree. He has teaching experience from preschool to junior high school. He has taught computer technologies, PE, library, EAL. He enjoys playing soccer, watching movies and photography.
Ms. Wolfe	Year 2 Ms. Wolfe is originally from Alabama, United States. After university she worked in Grahamstown, South Africa, and then returned to the U.S. to complete her Master's degree. She completed her Master's of Education degree at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia, where she lived for two years before moving to Japan.
Ms. Miyoshi	Japanese Ms. Miyoshi is our Japanese teacher. She used to live in Singapore when she was younger. She received her degree from Aoyama-Gakuin University and taught for several years. She moved to Canada where she got training in teaching Japanese to foreigners and taught Japanese. She is very excited to teach Japanese at HJIS.
Mr. Tash	Year 3 Mr. Tash’s home town is Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He graduated from Temple University with a bachelor in Elementary Education. Since then he has worked with Eckerd Youth Alternative, education and personal growth through outdoor living and experiences, Eastside Elementary School, Walker Grant Middle school, and Amity here in Japan. He has also been a leader in such activities as Cub Scouts, Science club, and a lifeguard for the Clewiston City Pool. He finds teaching to be both rewarding and exciting, and knows the future will bring new challenges and adventures.
Mr. Aman	ICT Mr. Aman hails from the steppes of Mongolia. He holds a bachelor of education at Computer and Educational Technologies. During his past teaching experience, he participated in projects on educational software development. Interested in foreign languages, he can speak six languages. Besides doing sports, his favourites include travelling and surfing. Mr. Aman is excited to be with the Horizon family.
Mr. Doymaz	Science Mr. Doymaz is our Science teacher. He loves children and working with them. He also studied Japanese for 1 year at a Japanese language school in Japan. He enjoys using computers, programming on computers, internet surfing, playing soccer, reading poems, and cooking.
Ms. Shinada	Music / Year 6 Miss Shinada was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Geography and a Bachelor of Education in elementary education. She has been playing the piano since age 5 and has obtained the Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT) diploma in piano performance. Miss Shinada is thrilled to be teaching music at HJIS and looks forward to the upcoming year.
Ms. Ferrer	Year 7 Ms. Ferrer joins the Horizon family all the way from Mississauga, Ontario in Canada! She is a graduate of York University with Ontario certification in Junior/ Intermediate education, along with an Honours B.A. major in English and minor in Religious Studies. She has various teaching experiences with multiple age groups and abilities (including ESL students), ranging from pre-school all the way through university. She recently participated in scoring Gr. 6 Language Arts tests for Ontario’s province-wide standardized testing. Her passions include learning new languages, trying new foods, shopping, writing, reading, and playing video games. She is very excited to teach at Horizon and to live in Japan with her husband!
Ms. Gaye	Maths Ms. Gaye is our Maths teacher. She received her BA in Maths teaching and has student teaching experience in various schools. Her hobbies are listening music and playing volleyball. She is very glad to be with the children at HJIS.
Mr. Sahin	Maths Mr. Sahin has a BA in Maths Education. Before Horizon, he taught Mathematics in Albania, the USA and Turkey. He was the Mathematics Olympics coordinator prior to coming to Japan. His hobbies include cycling, playing soccer and listening to Blues and he is excited to be teaching at Horizon.
Ms. Sirin	Art / Years 8&9 Ms. Sirin is our art teacher. She was born in Bulgaria. She holds a bachelors and masters degree in teaching. She has teaching experience in different schools in Japan as well as overseas. Her hobbies are traveling and photography. She loves children and working with them is a pleasure for her.