MARIA POULIEZOU has graduated from the Department of Theatre Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She is a holder of a recognized diploma from Iasmos Drama School and is currently attending the postgraduate course of Theatre Didactics, in the Department of Theatre Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

She has completed her internship as a theatre teacher in primary schools in Athens. As an actress she has participated in various performances over the last ten years and has collaborated with the directors Alexandros Cohen and Petros Skarmeas.
In the Theatre Workshop, DES students will have the opportunity to discover theatrical techniques through hands-on experience with the body and voice as their main tools. Through theatrical play and dramatization, children will have the opportunity to interact, explore social issues, reflect, create, and understand themselves and the people around them. Our priorities are children’s dialectical communication, development of creative expression through play and improvisation, interpersonal development through the critical and reflective approach, empathy, and self-realization.

ROCKSCHOOL provides certified high level degrees recognized by the ACF for the basic rock musical instruments—piano, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, synthesizer but also for other fields of studies like music composition, music technology, vocals and musicals.

After completing the required educational material, participating in concerts and the annual summer exams, each registered student of art note Rockschool will receive the necessary certifications (grades). Grades help the children, depending on the College of their choice, to either receive a scholarship or a discount at English Universities.

MACHI DORIZA

Machi is the Director of the Music Department at DES and also the representative of “Rockschool” and “Trinity College of London” in Greece.

She studied piano at the Skalkota Music School, where she received her degree with honours, under the supervision of Natalia Michailidou and “Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris”. She participates in concerts in Greece and abroad and also Masterclass seminars of famous solists.

Machi has been teaching at the National Music School for 20 years and also all age groups at DES Primary School.

JOHN GALATIS, born May 19th, 1980, has been continually studying Chinese civilization and culture for over 25 years.

He studied at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), following intensive courses up to 2010. Since 2010, he continually teaches Chinese to Greek students and Greek to Chinese, working as an interpreter simultaneously, thus promoting the Chinese culture. John has much experience in teaching the Chinese language.

1,4 billion people speak Chinese, and it is getting prevalent all over the world. Greece and China have ex- cellent relationships; in the last few years, China is investing in Greece, so people of all ages are learning the language!

KOSTAS KONSTANTAS is a graduate of the Department of Physics of the University of Athens and the Department of Primary Education of the University of Thessaly. Utilizing both his degrees, he works at DES Primary School as a STEM teacher. His interests as an educator focus on experiential learning and the use of technology (information and communication) in modern education. In this context, he has participated in several educational seminars (i.e. 9th Panhellenic Convention on “Teaching Information Technology).

Through Stem Education, Kostas aspires to strengthen children’s team work, knowledge in new technologies, problem solving skills and to begin their first steps in computer programming.

LEE NIKOLAIDIS — Coach Lee, in addition to his UK and USA academic credentials, is a fully qualified youth soccer coach from the England Football Association. He has extensive experience, especially in the USA, where he works every summer at top American summer camp Towanda as their Head of Soccer and Athletic & Tournament Director, and has coached championship winning teams and ambitious individual players

In our football club, Lee will be focusing on skills and drills, as well as making our young players aware of positional play, tactical awareness and good sportsmanship with team mates and opponents. In a fun and safe environment, the aim will be to help our children become more confident, and grow as they get to know modern day soccer.

The lessons are conducted in English.

VASIA MICHALOPOULOU — Vasia is a graduate of Physical Education and Sports Science (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), specializing in tennis. She has many years of experience in teaching tennis and her teaching method is based on trust and respect in order to allow the children to develop their abilities. The system applied is established by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) and is called ‘’play & stay’’ (serve-rally- score). The “play & stay” campaign consists of a series of programmes according to the child’s age and level. With the help of the suitable ball (red level-orange level-green level) and the use of a smaller field, the game becomes easier and the child develops a very good technique and tactics, as well as love for the sport.

ELENA VALOPETROPOULOU is a senior at the School of Physical Education & Sport Science, specializing in gymnastics. She is involved in the training of gymnastics sports and was a gymnastics and acrobatic gymnastics athlete. Two sports that young children are very fond of.

Gymnastics suits young children as it can transfer the games they play at home onto the mats. It is the natural development of a child’s movements. They roll over, they run, jump, do sommersaults. Gymnastics is part of a child’s game and our training is completed in a playful way achieving the best possible results.
Both boys and girls participate in our groups and are separated according to their age. Training takes place once a week, for one hour, in the school’s indoor gym covered with special mats and with all the necessary equipment.

ATHANASIOS BEKAS is a graduate of the European Taekwondo Union’s Training School, a C class taekwondo trainer, and holds a black belt 4th DAN WT. Athanasios has attended seminars regarding nutrition, pedagogical approach and first aid (Lifeguard Hellas), champion’s techniques and competitive WT.

His love for this sport began at the age of 8 and with persistence he soon became a championship level athlete with many Panhellenic and International medals. His experience as a trainer began in 2007. He had the opportunity to build strong foundations as he worked with renowned taekwondo coaches and later moved on to create the Taekwondo Athletic Club of Vari in 2014, of which he is head coach.

Athanasios has worked with children for many years, he is aware of a child’s needs. His training sessions, especially for younger ages, combine play and exercise in order to be sure that the child is having a good time while training. Respect and obedience but also pleasure are the key concepts of his lesson and these are achieved through the reward of good behavior and effort. Children are split in groups according to their age and training sessions take place once a week, for one hour in the school’s new indoor gymnasium which will be prepared with special mats and all the necessary equipment.

ANTHI CHATZIGIAKOUMI is a professional basketball player for the team of Proteas Voulas and was a basketball coach at Proteas Voulas Basketball Club Academies from 2017 until 2019. She was a NCAA Division I Student Athlete and earned a full-time scholarship from Florida Gulf Coast University in the United States of America from 2011- 2015. She was also a member of the Greek National Team from 2007- 2014.

Goal: Apart from creating a safe and competitive environment for the players, they will learn about the fundamentals of the sport, and how to cooperate and communicate with teammates on and off the court.

The lessons are conducted in English.