I have been working at IICS as the Trips & Events Coordinator since 2014, I am married and I have an 11-year-old son.

I am very happy to have had the opportunity to work with students as an assistant coach on MS Boys teams (football, basketball, and volleyball) over the past 4 years. We had very good experiences with all my previous teams in tournaments and training sessions. What I try to instill in every athlete during my Assistant Coaching is to be a team player and most importantly to enjoy the game played, whether we win or lose.

My name is Figen and I am Turkish, married to an Englishman. I’ve been working at IICS as an Executive Assistant to the Head of School for 23 years and Board Secretary for the last 4 years.

I am obsessed with football (particularly the English Premier League) and a big fan of Besiktas and Liverpool. I’ve been involved in the Secondary Co-Curricular Programme as an Assistant Coach since 2017. I have worked with the MS Girls Football Team and HS Girls Football Team since then. It was a great experience to participate in CEESA Tournaments in Helsinki, Riga and Belgrade with the girls. I also assisted the MS Girls Volleyball Team last year and will do it again this year.

My other passions are CATS!, music and acrylic painting." 

My husband, Paul, and I came to Istanbul just over three years ago, and we love living here.  Teaching at IICS is such a pleasure, and I really appreciate being part of such a close and supportive community.  I teach mathematics and I love learning, so becoming one of the Knowledge Bowl coaches seemed a natural fit.  In 2020, the CEESA tournament was online for the first time, and our HS Knowledge Bowl team made it into the top eight teams out of 22, which was a fantastic result.  Last year, we had more students sign up for this ASA than ever before, so we were able to enter two teams into the CEESA competition.  This year I am looking forward to our students being able to compete against other schools face to face again.

In my spare time, I like to visit the wonderful cafes, restaurants and museums in Istanbul, go to the gym (in an effort to counteract the effects of the amazing food here in Turkey), and play board games. One of the unexpected pluses about living in Istanbul is the joy of seeing and patting the beautiful street cats.  My husband and I feed about 25 cats every morning outside our apartment building.

My name is Dana E. Abizaid, and I have been coaching at IICS for 13 years. I’ve enjoyed coaching Basketball, Cross Country and Softball while also being the Speech & Debate Advisor. My coaching philosophy is similar to my teaching philosophy: I assume that students and athletes are strong and must be encouraged to challenge their limits.  Since pushing beyond our comfort level is key to individual growth, I consider mental and physical strength an important component of education. 

My coaching philosophy has been greatly influenced by Artur Shvratsberg (aka Iron Wolf), David Goggins and Bill Belichick. Mantras and slogans are an important part of this philosophy. Some of my favorites include: “Pain is weakness leaving the body”, “Don’t rest when you’re tired; rest when you’re done” and “Do your job!”

I have been in International education for the last 20 years and coaching has always been the best part of it. I was lucky enough to coach in CEESA, KAIAC and AISA conferences and those relationships we build with student-athletes outside the classroom and experiences we have together during the competition, trips and tournaments is something that lasts beyond the graduation. In this process I was fortunate enough to meet amazing students and coaches. We are always looking forward to our next season and next challenge. 

For the past 19 years I’ve been teaching MS and HS Physical Education and coaching a number of different sports including X-country, Volleyball, Basketball and Soccer. In IICS I’ve coached Varsity Girls’ Soccer, Varsity Girls’ Basketball and Middle School Girls’ Volleyball Teams.

Sports and fitness are my passion, as I myself was a handball player. My goal is to share that passion with my students in class, as well as with the student-athletes I coach. 

Team sports are special to me as they provide a unique setting where student-athletes and coaches are given an important task of developing a team of individuals, with the emphasis on building relationships.

Maintaining an active and balanced lifestyle is my motto, and my mission as the PE teacher and coach is to instill it in my students as well.

My name is Bas Kienhuis, also known as coach K. and I am from The Netherlands. I can not believe that I have been coaching already for over 20 years. Time flies by when you have fun! I started coaching sports in Warsaw, Poland where I coached MS volleyball, basketball, football, and HS volleyball, football, tennis. This is my second year at IICS and I am enjoying coaching MS football, and HS volleyball and cross country. I am very excited that we are back in coaching and traveling with teams again. Traveling and competing against other international schools is such a rich, and memorable experience for our students. Students might forget some of the things they learned at school but they don’t forget their sports and activities experiences.

This is our 4th year at IICS and beginning my 3rd season of coaching the  junior girls basketball team.  Prior to this I coached volleyball, football and a little ski racing in Canada. For me the most important part of it all is to share my knowledge , the passion I have for sports and how it helps shape us as individuals.  Sports and other activities often bring people together from all walks of life, there is magic in it. I see and experience this so often when I’m on my mountain bike, no matter what the age, gender or level of experience. I want to help others realize how much fun we can have while doing sports and activities.  

Hello, My name is Seda Alakuş. This is my 8th year in IICS, working with the Primary Team and I have been coaching several sports for several grades mainly for volleyball and basketball over the last 6 years including MS Speech and Debate this year.

I played volleyball when I was in highschool and my passion for volleyball never faded. In IICS, I always coached for the girls teams, both HS&MS and that  makes me feel even luckier, because I believe in girl power! :)

For the last 6 years, we competed in several tournaments, traveled abroad several times, witnessed so many victories and some defeats and sometimes even miracles! We always  worked hard, played hard and gained a lot of rewarding experiences together.

My main focus as a coach is to help my players to always believe in themselves and just guide them to reach their own best while having fun of course! Being a teamplayer is not as easy as it might look, so helping our young athletes develop their social skills and learn how to work as a team towards a common goal, just makes me happy and excited!

Hello! My name is Dina Abizaid and I am the Head Librarian. This is my 8th year at IICS and my 3rd year coaching HS Speech and Debate. I really enjoy sharing my knowledge with the wonderful group of students and excited to go on a trip for the first time since 2019. 

I love dancing and pilates, as well as I am obsessed with tennis. I love taking tennis lessons and enjoy watching my child playing tennis and get ready for his first competition under 12 years old.