Elementary School Teachers
Aymara Gil has been part of the CIPC family for over 20 years. She has taught all the ECE grades and Grade 1, which is her favorite. Ms. Gil has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a ECE endorsement from Eastern Michigan University, she also completed a Master’s of Education in 2014 from the SUNY Buffalo New York. Ms. Gil had the opportunity to travel and work in Shenzhen, China for three years, it was an amazing experience. She has a daughter, who went to CIPLC since she was 6 years old and graduated from this high school in 2009. Her daughter and her son in law Andrew currently live in Sapporo, Japan. Ms. Gil’s hobbies are watching movies, Facetiming with family and friends all over the globe, reading, baking and playing word games.
Email: aymara.gil@ciplc.org
Pamela Hoyer grew up in the United States. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, as well as teaching credentials in secondary science and elementary education. She has been in education for 25 years, both in the United States and abroad. Pamela has taught grades 2-6 in elementary, and grades 7-12 in science. Her most recent teaching assignment was in Myanmar where she taught grades 2 and 3 for the past five years. In her free time she enjoys cycling, kayaking, and making Kombucha. She is looking forward to her new adventure at CIPLC.
Email: pamela.hoyer@ciplc.org
Alejandra Arocha was born in Maracaibo but has lived most of her life in Barcelona. Since she was a kid, she knew she wanted to learn different languages. She graduated from IUTSO (Instituto Universitario Tecnologico Superior de Oriente) with an Associate Degree on Modern Languages, majoring in English. She also speaks French, and loves teaching both languages to children. She has worked with 2nd-6th grade classes throughout her teaching career. On her free time she enjoys painting mandalas, dancing, reading books and playing board games with her family and friends. Currently, she loves being a CIPLC gecko!
Email: alejandra.arocha@ciplc.org
Jennie Thompson, an American educator, brings over two decades of teaching experience to CIPLC in South America. With a Bachelor’s in English from Villanova University and a Master’s in Education of Reading from West Chester University, she’s taught students from Kindergarten to 8th grade and served in various roles, including as a reading specialist and coach. Having taught in Asia for nine years, Jennie is eager to share her passion for literacy and global perspectives with her 3rd grade students. Beyond the classroom, she enjoys design, art, photography, and travel, especially to destinations with beach and ocean vibes. Excited for her new adventure, Jennie looks forward to embracing the rich culture of Venezuela and sharing her experiences with loved ones worldwide.
Email: jennie.thompson@ciplc.org
Diana Guevara was born in PLC and raised in Lechería, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the Universidad Santa Maria. Diana is a theater actress, she belonged for five years to the theater group of her alma mater, she was also for three years the co director and the vocalization teacher of the Grupo Estable de Teatro Usemista. This is Diana’s first work, and she’s excited to improve in a whole new experience. Diana is Disney fan, she loves to take pictures, to act and dance, listening to music, writing and watching movies.
Email: diana.guevara@ciplc.org
Michele Hussey grew up in eight US states. She earned a BS in Biological Sciences and her Teaching Certification at UC Davis, married David Carlson, and became a bilingual teacher in California. During the ten years that followed, they had two sons, Michele earned her MA in Bilingual/Crosscultural education from CSU Sacramento, and taught ESL methods and Spanish courses for teachers through the San Joaquin County Office of Education. In 2001, Michele and her family set off for international schools in Thailand, Venezuela, Doha, and China. While overseas, Michele has taught ESL (Sheltered Immersion Model) for grades KG-4, and has been a classroom teacher for grades KG-4. Her hobbies include reading, writing, piano, yoga, snorkeling, and running. She is proud to have been a CIPLC Gecko for more than six years!
Email: michele.hussey@ciplc.org
Miss Kenyemi is originally from El Tigre, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education with special mention in English from ‘’Universidad de Oriente’’. She has been working within the teaching field since 2015 in English institutes, elementary schools, ACCESS micro-scholarship and afterschool programs. In her free time she likes crafting with polymer clay, doing crossfit, watching Youtube and especially traveling. This is Kenyemi’s first experience with an international school and she’s excited about it.
Email: kenyemi.bravo@ciplc.org
Mr. John is very excited about joining the CIPLC community as Grade 5 teacher and is looking forward to meeting his new students and parents, and living in Venezuela. Mr. John has three grown children; Sean, Jody and Jack. He is originally from the UK and has taught and worked in the USA, Canada, UK, China, Indonesia, Russia, Myanmar, Kazakhstan and Singapore. Travel has always been an interest and has included trips to South America visiting: Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru. He is an experienced elementary and middle school teacher who firmly believes that teaching is one of the most important jobs a person can do. Mr. John encourages high levels of student participation and agency in his classes, and he understands that students who look forward to attending school, who smile and laugh a lot, and who are active in their learning, will learn best. He is passionate about being outdoors and active. He enjoys all water sports and cycling, badminton, football, pickle ball and tennis. You may see him playing and watching local football in the Lecheria-Barcelona area. He is an avid reader and loves motorcycles, movies, pizza, landscapes, spicy food, dogs, ice cream, Led Zeppelin, and Leo Messi.
Email: john.campbell@ciplc.org
Jeanilde Laforgue, our 5th grade assistant, has lived in Cumaná most of her life, but now has moved to Barcelona to happily work at CIPLC. She graduated with honors in Education with a major in English from Universidad de Oriente (UDO) in Cumaná, Sucre. Since before that, she has taught English as a Second Language to kids, teens, and adults. First as a Teaching Assistant at UDO, and also as an English Teacher with 3 year olds and up to elementary schoolers. Then she worked at an English academy teaching people of all ages. She is very interested in languages, culture, art, music, dance, especially belly dancing, which she has practiced since 2007 and taught for years to girls and women. She loves learning, reading, sharing knowledge, helping others, watching short and feature-length films, and Mafalda!