The primary team
The primary team
Hélène Nabokoff
Headmistress
“It’s not success that makes you happy, it is happiness that makes you succeed.”
I am not Montaigne and to me, this quote has a value and a meaning in both ways.
I have combined my 2 years of training with my family life (I have a husband and 3 children), and at last I am at the final step of my dream: opening in autumn 2015 a bilingual English/French nursery school called Stepping Stones.
I designed painted furniture for children, and animal frescoes for diverse floors of a children’s hospital, to brighten there long stay. I also painted landscapes in creches, such as the optical illusion of an open window, to widen their space and horizons.
Common to my private and professional lives is that I am a mother and I want to bring balance from an early age to everyone.
I taught French to young English-speaking children, and that gave me the motivation to open my own school: a customised school, a real welcoming place, a transition to primary school to be done respecting the well-being of everybody.
Stepping Stones wants to make of those 3 years (3-6 y/o) a time during which, step by step, the child will experience socialisation, education, learning languages, autonomy, self-esteem – all useful skills in preparation of primary school. The setting is bright and aerated inside, and with plants and trees outside, in the intimacy of a family house.
Children are attended by a strong bilingual team of young teachers that will train their knowledge, harmony and balance necessary for a good start in life.
This dedication will be inspired by each child’s individual needs, with a direct collaboration with parents so that strong links can be drawn between the family world and the educational and pedagogical framework of each individual.
My aim is to lead new generations to have solid moral and intellectual basis, to allow stability, peace, serenity, reflection and not aspire to a race towards power.
This might seem ambitious, but childhood traumas, as well as joys, lead to what the adult will become. It’s therefore better to build a monument, rather than vainly trying to restore a broken construction!
“The one who wants to succeed finds the means” Like in this proverb, I have deployed all the necessary means to achieve my dream for a childhood as fair as possible.
I believe my present and future willingness will help me succeed.
Claudie Chassat
French Teacher
Coming soon
Michael Christensen
English Teacher
Coming soon
Minet Bottagisio
French Teacher
After 6 years of working at the Lycée français in Brussels as an individual student assistant (AVSi) helping kids with special needs during class, I’m very excited to be one of the English teachers at Stepping Stones Primary School.
I was born and grew up in Colombia and have French and Italian parents, so was raised in a blend of cultures. I try to pass this multiculturalism on to my own children, through teaching them about different countries, their beliefs, food/arts and the people. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in the Arts from Marymount University in the Washington DC area, and lived in many different countries before moving to Brussels in 2008.
I believe every child is unique and deserves a caring, inspiring, and engaging atmosphere in which to grow emotionally, intellectually, and socially. As an educator, I want to help students meet their fullest potential in these areas by providing a safe, challenging, and collaborative environment.
Cindy Zang
English Teacher
Trained originally in Commercial Art / Design with a BFA degree from New York, I have travelled and lived in too many countries to mention and have worked in various positions. Arriving with two young children in Belgium, I started to work as an after-school Arts & Crafts instructor at their primary school in 2015 after completing a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate course.
In September 2019 I was thrilled join the dynamic and international team at Stepping Stones as an Art Teacher. I have continued my professional development with an introductory training course in Montessori theory and practice, and am currently completing a full Montessori certification course through the North American Montessori Center.
Having been an actively volunteering parent at 5 different international schools in 4 countries in the last 13 years, I was able to see the needs of young children as well as looking at things from the educator’s perspective. My goal as a teacher at Stepping Stones is to instill the joy of learning to set them on the right path for the future with a positive attitude towards school life. In art, we say that there is no right or wrong, only a freedom of personal expression. Through art and language, I will help our little students to express themselves and to celebrate individuality.
It is a tremendous responsibility as a teacher to make an impact during these tender years of preschool and primary. I thank you for trusting us to guide your precious children through this first step of learning and hope that they will enjoy their time with me and my colleagues at Stepping Stones.
Thomas Azam
French Teacher
Coming soon
Ahmed Azam Daimoussi
Physical Education Teacher
I have learned a lot from experience, which has allowed me to develop targeted skills.
For over 25 years, I’ve taught Physical Education at BEPS, at Kid’s Computer Club (Spoken), and at the European School, as well as working with individuals as a personal sports trainer.
I develop my own programmes, tailored to the specific needs of young pre-schoolers, primary school students, and teenagers in secondary school. I am quite enthusiastic, and I encourage my students to develop their self-confidence and to express themselves through sports.
I make a point of helping them learn discipline through sports, while making sure it’s always fun and pleasurable.
As I see it, this is perfectly attuned to the philosophy of Stepping Stones Primary School!
Chiara Bryan
Music Teacher
Coming soon
Adela Ball
Language Coordinator
Every teaching experience can offer the teacher something to learn as well, and I have always learned the most from my youngest students, who gobble up knowledge and react so genuinely, so earnestly, to everything one might present for them to discover. As we strive to refine and develop our teaching methods, tools and approach, hoping to help make available every possible advantage for each child, the Stepping Stones project is the closest I’ve found to an ideal setting.
Though I was born in New York, I’ve lived, studied and worked in various parts of the world, and there were always two or three different languages being spoken simultaneously in the background. I’ve taught adults and children of all ages in many different settings, most recently at the Preschool section (Maternelle) of the Lycée français in Brussels, before coming to Stepping Stones. The possibility of immersing young children in a fully bilingual environment, while proposing a programme that is rich, diverse, flexible, and tailored to the needs of each child, is truly a privilege, and the results are bound to be rewarding.
Krystina Bychkovskaya
School Assistant
Coming soon