Iris Weuster

Besides her role as Vice Principal, which she executes since 2018, Ms. Iris Weuster is the school's Director of Studies and teaches German, History and ICT. Before joining the German School Jakarta, Ms. Weuster was a Senior Teacher and Educational Technology Specialist at the German School Singapore.

In this capacity, she headed a specialized and collaborative e-learning program connecting schools within South East Asia. Further career stages were the cities of Cologne and Aachen in her home country Germany. Competence in education and a heart for children are the pillars of Ms. Weuster’s daily work, as well as the tireless commitment to creating a happy future for tomorrow.

“My teaching belief is: Every child is born a genius. (Albert Einstein)”

Nina Hefner

Nina Heffner oversees KITA management at DSJ, bringing a wealth of knowledge in social education and international experience. She graduated from the School of Social Pedagogy in Stuttgart and holds qualifications as a systemic family counselor, specializing in family counseling.

With a background in youth welfare spanning eight years, she embarked on a global journey, gaining valuable expertise in crisis and project management through her work with various NGOs in the Philippines, Uganda, and Congo. Additionally, she received part-time training as a specialist in teaching German as a second and foreign language. Currently, her primary focus is on supporting the youngest age group. As a KITA director, she applies her diverse experiences to enrich the daily lives of kindergartners in Accra and now in Jakarta.

True to her motto, "Life is like a book, and those who do not travel only read a little of it!" (Jean Paul), she is particularly excited about the DSJ's intercultural and linguistic diversity.

Helly Born

Ms. Born is our Principal of Kindertagesstätte. She graduated from LPK Tarakanita and earned her Diploma in Business Management. She has been teaching at the German School Jakarta since January 1996, which means she has over 20 years of experience in Kindergarten under her belt. Previously, she worked at DSJ as the headmaster’s secretary from 1982. In 1986, she moved to Germany with her family. After she returned to Jakarta, she started to work as a Kindergarten educator at the German School Jakarta again.

“The thing I like the most about teaching at DSJ is being able to work with the children and watch them grow up. Since I have been working at DSJ for so long, I've had the opportunity to see them grow and become successful and happy adults. I really like how we, at our school, are like a family and always keep in touch with each other throughout the years.”

Carmelita Cajumban

Coming from a Filipino-Indonesian heritage, Carmelita has been exposed to cultural diversity and different education systems from a young age. These differences opened her eyes to see and reflect the impact that schooling and teachers have on an individual, which prepared her for the unique challenges and responsibilities at the German School Jakarta that she joined in 2012, taking care of our Trilingual Programme.

Her journey led her through coaching, mentoring, interpreting, and teaching different age groups, and various positions in the field of education since 1995, mainly as an English teacher and debate coach, kindergarten coordinator, and secondary coordinator at private schools. She pursued her Master's in New Zealand, focusing on Education for curriculum development, ICT, and professional development.

"I find joy in seeing the spark light in the eyes of children when they realize that they achieved more than their expectations. It is a privilege to be able to contribute to a positive impact in the community that we live in, in hopes for a ripple effect."

Pascale Mandel

Pascale Mandel has been the head of primary schools at the German School Jakarta since 2018. After completing her university studies in French and Elementary School education, as well as the mandatory second phase of state teacher training, she worked as a class and subject teacher at elementary schools. 

After gaining a diverse experience and expertise in the field since 1999, she has been entrusted with the responsibility of school management in 2006, first as a vice-principal, and subsequently as principal. Simultaneously, Pascale Mandel worked for many years in cross-border cooperation (Switzerland, France, Germany) in the PAMINA area, supervised kindergartens and primary schools in intercultural and language projects, and regularly offered further training in this regard for educators and teachers.

From this wealth of experience, she developed an affinity for the topic of heterogeneity in its entire range. She holds the belief that the guidance and support, the monitoring of individual learning processes, and the resulting learning successes of the students in a trusting, motivating, friendly and child-oriented learning environment are a guarantee for a great education.

"It fills me with great pride to see how each student develops individually in all their areas, and it makes me very happy that I am able to participate as a teacher."

Dieter Müller

Dieter Müller has been the Middle level coordinator at the German School Jakarta since 2017. He has many years of teaching experience in the subjects of German language, history, pedagogy, and theater, teaching at various schools in southern Germany.

After studying at the university in Würzburg and completing the first and second state exams, he dealt intensively with the pedagogy of Maria Montessori, which ultimately resulted in successful further training as a Montessori teacher for secondary school. In the following years he studied as a counseling teacher and completed further training as a theater teacher, which he was able to successfully complete. 

"Based on a positive and holistic view of mankind, I focus on the students with their multifaceted personalities."

Friedrich Fuß 

He graduated from Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and worked for about six years in Stuttgart as Upper School and MINT Coordinator, after having worked three years at the German School Den Haag and one year at the German School Istanbul. While being a Director of Studies, he searched for a new challenge abroad and joined the German School Jakarta, not only because of the great impression he got from the school and our team, but also because it has been important for him to have a great environment to spend his leisure time with his family and do a lot of sports.

“I hope I can have a positive experience in this part of the world, which is still completely foreign to me as of today, and get to know the country and people better. I'm always happy when I can share my fascination for my subjects with my students while they are learning. In the school organization, I hope to be able to make my contribution to a smooth and professional process."

 Rina Arbiyanti

Graduating from the Jakarta State University majoring in German language led Rina to seek opportunities to work at DSJ as a German teacher before deciding to instead pursue a career at the school's administration starting in 2010.

Working in the field of education and having a keen interest in exploring Human Resources, inspired Rina to developing herself further, so she took up a Masters degree focusing on Education Management and trained for a professional Human Resources certification.