Welcome to the ISR Kindergarten!

Kindergarten is an exciting time full of learning and fun! While kindergarten children are taught in English and have regular German classes, our bilingual/multilingual school environment offers our students the chance to be exposed to different cultures and languages, thus fostering cultural understanding and tolerance from an early age. We welcome you to be an active participant in your child’s classroom. We look forward to having a successful and productive kindergarten experience together.

We will learn many new songs and games together, put on our “working hats” during our reading and writing lessons, have fun developing our language and math skills, and be creative in our art lessons.

Our goal is to truly know your child well and use this knowledge to guide, support and motivate him or her. We believe that good teaching requires continual professional development, personal reflection and collaboration. We value parent involvement at every level and encourage you to partner with us to give your child the most powerful and joyous learning experience possible.

Good news! The ISR will open up another Kindergarten in Niederkassel, Düsseldorf at the beginning of 2020. See here for further information.

Meet Our Kindergarten Team

Ms. Andrada

KG1B Teaching Assistant

My name is Ms. Andrada. Many of the children know me as Ms. Dada.

I am the KG1 Classroom Assistant. I come from the Philippines and live in Schwelm with my husband. I love traveling and taking photos of my many adventures. I am also a qualified Nurse and attend to the children with my magic plasters when they need me. I really enjoy working in our wonderful kindergarten!

Ms. Burmeister

KG2A Teacher

I have a natural love for working with children and a strong academic background in pedagogy, combined with 15 years of professional work experience in the British and international education sector. In addition to delivering the UK curriculum to early years and primary students, I have also worked with the Montessori and Waldorf Steiner approach, as well as the IB program.

I am a bilingual English and German speaker, and was educated in Germany, the US and the UK. I am very passionate about working with young children and am looking forward to my first year at ISR Kindergarten!

Ms. Chan

KG1B Teaching Assistant

Hello, my name is Ms. Chan.

I live in Kranenburg, Kleve with my husband and our two children. I was born in Hong Kong. I have worked at ISR since January 2016. Before moving to Germany my family and I lived in Australia for 3 years. While living in Australia I worked as a Teaching Assistant / Inclusion Support Assistant in a Catholic Primary School for 2 years.

I love working in the Kindergarten at ISR. I enjoy interacting with the children and working alongside an amazing KG Team.

Ms. Davora

Ms. Dvorak

Ms. Feinstein

KG1 German Teacher

Hello, my name is Mrs. Christiane Feinstein (Gissi) and I am very happy to be teaching Kindergarten and Grade 2 this year at International School on the Rhine/ISR. I was born in Germany in Rheinland/Pfalz. I went to school and finished university in Munich to become a teacher. I taught German Language Arts for many years in Germany before I decided to have the adventure of living in Canada with my son and continue my teaching career there. We stayed for 20 years, both in the province of Alberta, in the city of Edmonton, and for the last year, my husband, our cat Sgt. Fluffy and I lived near Toronto. I learned of the chance to teach here at ISR, applied, and now I am very fortunate to teach the wonderful students here. My hobbies are skiing, hiking/walking, music and I love to both do and watch pantomime.

Ms. Frlic

Ms. Kim

KStarter Teacher

Hello parents, my name is Kim Küppenbender and I am excited to teach the new KStarter class. I was born and raised in Germany and I also spent some time abroad. I love traveling and getting to know new people and cultures. I have a BA in Early Childhood Education and Care as well as further training in psychomotoric and am now looking forward to my second year teaching at ISR!

Ms. Kirmse

K1M Teacher

Hi parents! Welcome to our incredible school, I hope everyone had a great summer. My name is Manuela Kirmse, I was born in a small village in Bolivia and raised in southern California. I received my BA in Psychology with main focus in Child Development. I have spent the majority of my career in early childhood education, ranging from preschools to kindergartens to special education. I am beyond looking forward to spending the next year with our amazing students.

Ms. Lambertz

Ms. Lenz

KG2B Teacher

Hello, my name is Ms Lenz. I am originally from sunny California but moved to Germany in 2011. My husband and I have a son named Freddie and he is almost 2 years old. I love to sing, play guitar, dance, cook, clean, hike, swim, and teach. I am thankful for the opportunity to be a teacher in kindergarten and I promise to guide your children to be healthy, happy, and independent in a positive environment.

KG1B Teacher

Hello Families! My name is Tanita Puchta. I joined ISR last year and am very excited to meet you and your children. I strongly believe that every child has the potential to become the best that they can be. I am German and I grew up near ISR, but went to get my BA and PGCE qualifications in England, and taught at a school near Brighton. I lived in England for five years and have recently moved back to Germany.

Ms. Rademacher

Ms. Ramirez

KG2C Teacher

Hello Parents! My name is Anna Ramirez. I’m excited to start a new year with our little ones. This is my fourth year here at ISR. I am from the United States, Maryland specifically. I am a fluent English and Spanish speaker. Before moving to Germany I was teaching in a private school in Washington D.C. Every child brings something unique to each classroom and I am excited to shine light on your children’s gifts!

Ms. Salvetti

Ms. Schneider

German Coordinator KG & Teacher

My name is Jutta Schneider and I live in Neuss with my husband and son.

I have worked as a teacher in several German Kindergartens and have specialized in language development. During my time as a Kindergarten teacher, I have worked with gifted and talented children whom I have challenged academically.

In February 2016, I began working at ISR as a German teacher. I love working with Kindergarten children and their parents, helping them find their way through this big thing we call “life” and guiding them as they evolve into a unique and special person.

I am very excited to work at ISR and to be part of such an awesome team. I look forward to meeting all of our Kindergarten families and teaching your children German.

Ms. Vrem-Ydstie

Head of Kindergarten

Hello Parents! I am thrilled to be a part of the ISR Kindergarten team! Originally from Washington DC, I first started teaching at ISR 15 years ago, as the first KG2 teacher! Since that first year in 2003, I have taught in the Primary and Middle school as well as served as Academic Quality Coordinator for Grades 5–8.

I love working in the Kindergarten, and I look forward to getting to know the children and to guiding them, along with our wonderful KG staff, to become knowledgeable, caring and thoughtful individuals.

Ms. Schütze-Wang

Ms. Zahri