LMA 2023 AWARD NOMINATION WITH ANGELA SAYIA – ENGLISH TEACHER, FOUNDER/DIRECTOR OF STUDIES EXCELLENCE SCHOOL CORFU/GREECE

English teacher, founder/director of studies Excellence school Corfu/Greece. Angela founded Excellence school in September 1994 and it has been preparing students of all ages and levels for Cambridge and Michigan exams since then. The school uses technology (tablets, smartphones, interactive whiteboards, smart boards) and takes part in many international projects raising awareness of social issues, like ‘SOS4 love’ and the ‘Climate Change’ project by Koen Timmers in which Angela Sayia was also a facilitator in 2020 and 2021 supporting schools from around the world. The school is now on a list with the top excellent schools from all over the world after this project and is one of very few in Greece. Both projects are internationally known and supported by many organizations like UNESCO, and NASA and raise awareness about global issues. Moreover, the school supports teaching through Drama and Art. Furthermore, it has put on several theatrical plays and organizes charity events where students participate as a group and learn to work as part of a team.

Volunteering is quite important as Mrs Sayia is a warm supporter of Make-a -wish organization as well as several other charity and sports organizations. Moreover, she supports the “Teachers in red capes ‘’initiative offering free English language lessons to students who suffer from Cancer. Angela considers this a life-changing experience that was touching but also rewarding. She has also had her radio show that was broadcast all over the world through the Internet where she invited psychologists and doctors to talk about social issues. She has also had her newspaper column in two local Corfiot newspapers where she has written hundreds of articles about education, parenting, studying and more. Excellence school aims to provide learners with a well-rounded education and offer them the chance to look into what interests them most, discover their talents, and explore topics like: the Environment, Literature, Traveling, and Art, all of which are taught in English. This way, students have the chance to learn the English language better and be exposed to it through videos, presentations, plays, debates, articles, blogs, podcasts, arts and crafts even cooking and experiments.

Our goal is for our students not only to learn the language well but also to love everything about it and thrive. We are particularly happy to see our learners engaged, motivated and interested. Learners learn in teams or alone, they collaborate and use their critical thinking in every possible way. The school won the ELT excellence award in 2021 -using Arts and Crafts to teach Vocabulary. Also the Eagles of Education award in 2019 and 2020, 2021, and 2022, the distinction of the Greek award in 2020 and the Elt excellence award in 2022. Excellence school of English is a lot more than just a school: it is a place where students are taught values and are encouraged to be persistent, kind and true to themselves and their feelings, forming lifelong friendships and helping their community. Academically we wish our students to develop social-emotional skills, self-awareness, and critical thinking. We hope that we empower our students to succeed not only in class but in life as well. Excellence School of English is a school that loves taking the students on field trips, teaching outside in the schoolyard and of course in nature. The beautiful island of Corfu is the best place for this. The school also has an open space and we take our classes outdoors quite often. Angela is now taking a step globally and invites English teachers from all over the world to join her in some of her projects providing all the material and her experience so far, sharing ideas and connecting her classes with schools from all over the world. I want my students to be a part of the community in Corfu town but also nationally and internationally: we try to be innovative in education. Our vision is to help students learn the language in the best possible way and be global citizens. Our goal for the future is to spread Greek culture and Art all over the world through our programs and projects one of which is about Dionisios Solomos the great Greek National poet and his work. If you are a teacher of English located anywhere in the world and would like to connect just find me on social media. There are endless opportunities for us, so join me no. I would like to thank LMA magazine for this unique opportunity and Dr Olubogu Ifeanyi for hosting me. LMA magazine is an inspiration to all of us.