National Presenters

Camilla Antonie

Camilla Antonie frequently facilitates online courses for TSSA, conducting workshops on various thinking skill strategies, particularly Visible Thinking Routines and Growth Mindset. As an experienced English teacher, she regularly integrates Visible Thinking Routines and a Growth Mindset approach into her classroom practices. Camilla currently teaches English at St Stithians Boys’ College.

Traci Willis

Traci Willis is Director and Founder of Triple-I-Consulting, which is an educational consultancy that focuses on inspiring, innovating and supporting schools in their transformation of approaches to teaching and learning. Traci, who has her IEMA Masters Degree in Leadership and Change (Cum Laude), is also the Director for Tournament of Minds (South Africa) an international problem-solving event, founded in Australia, and active across 13 different branches globally. Traci spent just over 10 years living and working across international schools in Hong Kong and Asia Pacific. She was also appointed as an International Baccalaureate Global Trainer, Programme Leader and School Team Visitor for Asia Pacifica, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Authorising and Evaluating IB World Schools. She was the key lead in bringing the IB PYP to South Africa, and led 8 schools in achieving simultaneous IB World School Authorisation - which is a world first.

Traci's focus is to address and relook at approaches to teaching and learning, that ensure the learning engagements and conversations taking place are relevant, challenging and engaging for students who are experiencing the exponential changes taking place in the world of today and influencing the world of tomorrow.

Anrieke Olivier

Anrieke Olivier views her role as a calling to prepare a generation that is ready for the real world. She holds an Honours Degree in Early Childhood Development and Foundation Phase Education and has completed postgraduate studies in Barriers to Learning and Learning Difficulties. She specialised in learning difficulties during her postgraduate studies due to her passion for identifying and solving problems. She believes in early intervention, and she has seen many success stories in her teaching career.

Her early career focused on developing assessment instruments and conducting teacher training workshops across South Africa. Since joining Mountain Cambridge School in 2011 as a Grade 2 educator, she has completed numerous specialised certifications and played a key role in obtaining accreditation and establishing MCS as a Thinking School with the University of Exeter in the UK. She recently hosted teachers from a Lithuanian school to build international network and to learn from best practices globally.

Anrieke teaches Foundation Phase Mathematics and she now serves as Headmaster of the Primary School. She recently co-authored two children’s books with her Pre-Primary and Foundation Phase teachers to encourage critical thinking.

Sabrina Stammers

Sabrina is a dedicated teacher at SACS Junior School, where she teaches Grade 7 English and serves as Head of Academics for the Intermediate and Senior Phases. As a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Portfolio, Sabrina works to ensure that every boy, parent, and staff member feels a strong sense of belonging and connection to SACS, making it their second 'home.' Alongside these roles, she cares for her two daughters and provides guidance as Head of Hostel to 24 boys from Monday to Friday. Sabrina has been selected as an Action Researcher for the International Boys' School Coalition (IBSC) and looks forward to presenting her findings at the 2025 IBSC Annual Conference in Boston.

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Tarryn McLaren

Tarryn was the Head of the Junior School at Kingsmead College, where she had been a part of the community since 2014. Over the years, she managed various portfolios, including Cognitive Education, Student Affairs, Academic Support, and Earth Sciences, along with other leadership roles. Tarryn played a key role in driving the school’s holistic and strategic vision. She values individuality, fostering enthusiastic and confident students who ask big questions, express their opinions, and are eager to explore ideas. With a BPrim Ed and BEd Hons focused on inclusive education, Tarryn’s passion for cognitive education has led her to emphasize the explicit teaching of thinking skills, enhancing both academic performance and holistic growth with her students. She is dedicated to sharing practical ideas with fellow teachers to help students become increasingly effective and independent learners.

Sally James

Sally James is Deputy Head at SACS Junior School in Newlands, Cape Town. Sally holds a Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties from UCL, having specialised in educating individuals with learning difficulties. Sally is also a qualified occupational therapist and has been a TSSA trainer for twelve years, focusing on Thinking Maps®. She teaches Thinking Skills to Grades 1, 2, and 3, helping students understand how their brains process information to become successful learners. Sally played a key role in securing accreditation for SACS Junior School as a Thinking School through the University of Exeter, making SACS the first public school to achieve this status. At SACS, Thinking Maps®, Habits of Mind, and Bloom's Taxonomy are integral to classroom practices.

Kerri-Lyn East

Kerri-Lyn East serves as the Deputy Head of Academics at Herschel Girls' School in Claremont, Cape Town. She has been instrumental in helping Herschel transition to the IEB assessment curriculum and examination system. Throughout her career, Kerri-Lyn has contributed to the Thinking drive teams at both Kingsmead and Roedean, where she has witnessed firsthand the positive impact of explicitly teaching cognitive skills and strategies on students’ academic growth.

Kerri-Lyn is passionate about creating learning experiences that empower students, especially girls, with real-life problem-solving skills. She believes that fostering creativity, critical thinking, and adaptability is essential to preparing them for the workforce and helping to close the gender gap. Currently, she is working on further integrating these skills into the existing curriculum—a project that is still evolving.

Sjaneen Pretorius

Sjaneen Pretorius is Deputy Head Academics at Kingsmead College Junior School. She has been in the teaching profession for 15 years as an innovative educator with a passion for Future-Focused education taught through an Inquiry approach. Her greatest aspiration as an educator is to meet each child at their level, helping to cultivate their individual confidence, sense of purpose, and equipping them with academic skills to reach their full potential. She believes that every child is gifted; it is simply a matter of helping them uncover their unique talents and purpose in life.

Linda Cowie

Linda Cowie is the Intersen Head of Department and Head of Integrated Studies at Herschel Preparatory, where she has dedicated 28 remarkable years—22 of them as a Grade 6 teacher. Her passion for Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) was ignited through transformative TSSA courses and Trevor Mackenzie's inspiring IBL program in South Africa. Linda has championed the integration of IBL at the Preparatory, spearheading its growth across the school. As an innovative educator, she is deeply committed to empowering children to ask bold questions, explore their ideas, and craft solutions to real-world challenges. With a focus on critical thinking, research, and confident communication, Linda fosters a love for learning that inspires students to thrive in an ever-evolving world.

Diane Horsten

Diane's journey in education spans over three decades. She began her path in a government school for seven years, followed by a transition to pre-primary education. For the past 24 years, Diane been a dedicated educator at Holy Rosary School, with 21 years spent in Grade R and, more recently, working with Grade 5 pupils. She is currently the Head of Curriculum Advancement at Holy Rosary School.

Guided by Ken Resnick's philosophy that the rest of school should resemble kindergarten rather than the other way around, she passionately advocates for a child-centred approach to learning. Diane is currently working with her Intersen phase colleagues to develop a curriculum which covers both content a well as an inquiry and metacognitive approach.

As an accredited Philosophy for Children (P4C) trainer since 2019 through DialogueWorks, she has significantly expanded her repertoire of educational tools. She has co-facilitated numerous workshops and introductory P4C courses alongside Monica Baart and Kemble Elliott, sharing her expertise with fellow educators. Further enhancing her skills, she has also trained with DialogueWorks as a Thinking Moves trainer—a program designed to simplify the complex task of metacognition.

Monica Baart

Throughout her 32 years in primary education, Monica has embraced the joys and challenges of shaping young minds. Her journey with Philosophy for Children (P4C) began in 2015 when she attended an inspiring introductory workshop by Karin Murris, sparking a deep passion for the approach. Since then, she has completed Level 3 P4C training (2019) under the mentorship of Dr. Pieter Mostert and endorsed by Roger Sutcliffe of Dialogue Works UK. For the past six years, she has been a qualified Level 1 trainer, leading numerous professional development workshops and in-depth training sessions alongside Diane Horsten and Kemble Elliott, equipping educators to integrate P4C into their classrooms and curricula.

Monica has also completed training in Thinking Moves through Dialogue Works. Incorporating Thinking Moves and its metacognitive language into her teaching has been deeply rewarding. Her educational philosophy is grounded in the six strands of P4C, with a particular emphasis on enquiry, dialogue, and concept exploration. As a Visual Art Teacher, she finds immense fulfilment in combining P4C with art lessons, fostering critical thinking and creative expression in her students.

Over the years, Monica's teaching journey has taken her to Holy Rosary and Redhill schools, a brief stint in the UAE, and a humbling year in a local government school. Now, in 2025, she is embarking on a new chapter at Dainfern College as a Visual Art Teacher, where she will continue to share her passion for Art and Philosophy for Children.