Jozef Sopoliga, Mgr.
e-mail: jozef.sopoliga(st)essmt.sk
Phone: 421-905-517-181
Jozef Sopoliga is the principal of LAMS since the school began. His main responsibility is to take care of development of the school in all necessary areas like setting up mission and vision of the school, developing new school curriculum, hiring staff members, building new facilities and securing additional financial sources like e.g. EU funding, fund-raising etc.
He likes to learn new things and to teach. He is goal-oriented and strong analytic. He likes to get people of different talents together due to developing high quality programs and projects in environment that is driven with strong vision and values.
He spent 2 months in the USA observing schools in St. Paul area, MN. He likes to swim, run, bike and read books.
Education:
1993 Grammar school, Vranov
2006 Nature Science Faculty of P . J. Šafárik University, Košice
Experience:
1999-2004 Bible school in Martin, Theology department
2004-onward Lutheran Academy, Martin, Principal
Dana Bednárová, Ing.
e-mail: dana.bednarova(at)essmt.sk
Phone: 421-918-112022
Dana Bednárová is an English teacher and the high school’s vice principal. Her classes include advanced translation and grammar, which is appropriate because she is also the official translator on staff. She also has the unenviable job of schedule coordinator for the entire Academy. In addition to these roles, Dana acts as liaison between the Academy and foreign schools, helping potential foreign teachers in transitioning between their homes and Martin, Slovakia.
Education:
1981 Grammar School, Rimavská Sobota
1986 University of Economics, Banská Bystrica
1995 University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, English Teacher, Prešov
Experience:
1986-2000 Vocational School Revúca, teacher of Economics, later English
2000-2011 Lutheran High School Tisovec, English Teacher, Head of English Department
2011-onward Lutheran Academy, Martin
Tomáš Gulán, MDiv
e-mail: tomas.gulan(at)essmt.sk
Phone: 421-907-448762
Tomáš Gulán is a teacher of religion at our high school. He leads high school and middle school band, focusing on active participation on students in school worship services. He is responsible for public relations of the school, communication with city magistrate and the school´s parents´ association. He coordinates school´s social ministry program targeted at interaction with socially disabled gipsy community in Martin. He is responsible for school´s international relationships in the area of volunteering, student summer exchange programs and summer camps.
Education:
1997 Lutheran bilingual high school, Bratislava
2002 Lutheran theological faculty of Comenius University, Bratislava
2004 Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Experience:
2005-2008 Bible school in Martin, Theology department
2008-2012 Department of Religious Studies, University of Žilina
2012-onward Lutheran Academy, Martin
Natália Kacianová, MDiv., PhD.
e-mail: natalia.kacianova(at)gmail.com
Phone: 421-918-616586
Natália Kacianová is a pastor at the Bible school and Lutheran Academy in Martin, in charge of the work with the preschool and elementary kids. She is responsible for the school worship services, teaches religion and shepherds teachers and parents in the need of understanding Christian values and mission of the school. She does pastoral care in forms of private conversations, small bible study groups, helping non-church people to find a place in the school community. She is also a coordinator for the family worship services, connecting families of the school with the Lutheran congregation in Martin.
Education:
1996 Lutheran bilingual high school, Bratislava
1998 Gettysburg seminary, PA, USA
2001 Lutheran theological faculty of Comenius University, Bratislava
2006 Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Experience:
2005-2015 Bible school in Martin, Grief and Bereavement program
2015- onward Bible school and Lutheran Academy, Martin, School pastor K-4
Ľuboš Froľo, Mgr.
e-mail: lubos.frolo(at)essmt.sk
Phone: 421-948-122097
Ľuboš Froľo is a teacher of Religion and English at our elementary and middle school. He is a home class teacher of 5.B. class. He is responsible for English department at the middle school. He teaches with CLIL method which involves English language in Religion classes.
Education:
2000 Grammar school, Vrútky
2007 University of Žilina, teacher program English Language and Lutheran Religion
Experience:
2007-onward Lutheran Academy, Martin, teacher of ESL and Religion
Jana Bosáková, PhD.
e-mail: jana.bosakova(at)essmt.sk
Phone: 421-904-929624
Jana Bosáková is a school pastor, teacher of religion at our middle and high school. She leads the middle and high school staff and students in fulfilling the purposes of evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, service, and worship; implementing strategies and programs to assist in spiritual formation. She prepares weekly church services, morning devotions, teachers´ bible studies and leads the high school Peer Ministry group.
Education:
1996 High school, Zvolen
2001 Lutheran theological faculty of Comenius University, Bratislava
2004 Pedagogical faculty of Universtity of Žilina
2016 Pedagogical faculty of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra
2018-onward – Philosophical faculty, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava
Experience:
2001-2012 Lutheran high school Tisovec, school pastor, teacher of Religion
2012-onward Lutheran high school Tisovec, school pastor, teacher of Religion
Adrian Kacian, doc. RNDr, M.A., MDiv., PhD. et PhD.
e-mail: adrian.kacian(at)gmail.com
Phone: 421-918 828 560
Adrian Kacian works for the Center for Christian Education, Martin Slovakia as a Director of Development. He is in charge of fundraising activities that finance development of the Lutheran Academy, Martin Slovakia. He also oversees the international affairs of CCE, exchange of teachers and students including mission activities like summer camps and VBS. He is also part of a Slovak biblical scholars group that works on critical commentaries to various biblical books. He has a beautiful wife Natialia and three children Terezka, Timothy and Adrian Nathanael. He enjoys playing the trumpet and swimming.
Education:
1993 Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava; Mgr.
2000 Wheaton College, M.A.
2000 Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava; PhD.
2001 Lutheran Theological Faculty, Comenius University in Bratislava, M.Div.
2006 Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
2007 Faculty of Natural Sciences, Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica, RNDr.
2008 Lutheran Theological Faculty, Comenius University in Bratislava, PhD.
2016 Theological Faculty, University of Trnava, Trnava, doc.
Experience:
1993-1995 Lutheran High School. Tisovec, Slovakia, Teacher of Mathematics and Physics
1995-1996 Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, PhD. student and teacher
1996-1997 Slovak Technical University, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
1997-1998 Institute of Mathematics, Slovak Academy of Science, PhD. student and teacher
2000-2014 Bible school in Martin, Academic dean, Director
2001-2004 Evangelical Lutheran Church of Slovakia, Pastor
2001-2018 Faculty of Humanities, University of Žilina, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies
2008-2010 Faculty of Humanities, University of Žilina, Vice-dean for International Affairs
2014-onward Center for Christian Education, Director of Development
2018-onward Theological Faculty, University of Trnava, Trnava, part time research scholar
James Baxter
e-mail: james.baxter(at)essmt.sk
James Baxter grew up in Newport, a town of about 10,000 people in Shropshire, central England. He graduated in English in 1991 and gained a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education in 1997. Nearly all of his teaching career has been spent outside his home country. He was a volunteer for Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO – similar to the US Peace Corps) in China from 1992-1996. From 1998 until 2003, he was an English teacher in a bilingual school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and have been working in Slovakia since 2003 and at LAMS since 2013.
At LAMS, besides regular teaching, he has a role which involves assisting students who want to apply for English-medium university courses, whether in the UK, US or countries like Denmark, the Netherlands etc. His other school-based passion is Model United Nations (MUN) conferences. Our school tends to participate in at least three of these a year, and this year we organized our own conference for the first time.
Benjamin Chandler, MFA
e-mail: benjamin.chandler(at)essmt.sk
Benjamin Chandler feels privileged to work in every level of the Academy in Martin. An American lector, he teaches various subjects—e.g., science, social studies, history, visual arts—in English at the Academy’s kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools. He is also a puppeteer during the church’s monthly family services.
Education:
1998 BS in Art Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2005 MFA in Book & Paper Arts, Columbia College, Chicago, IL
Experience:
1998–2001 Elementary art teacher, Samuel Clemens Elementary School, Milwaukee, WI
2005–2011 Junior kindergarten & art teacher, Grace Lutheran School, River Forest, IL
2008–2011 Adjunct faculty, Concordia University-Chicago, River Forest, IL
2011–onward EFL & art teacher, Lutheran Academy, Martin, Slovakia