iThemba Cognitive Immersion
Meet the Speakers
Meet the Trainers
Annelize Clark Hendry
Director of Programmes | HOD Professional Awards at Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. | Accredited FIE Basic 1 Trainer
Annelize Clark Hendry is the Programme Director and Head of Department of Professional Awards at Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. She is an Occupational Therapist and Remedial Teacher with a Masters in Early Childhood Intervention. As a trainer for FIE Basic, she implements the ethos of cognitive education in all training and learning opportunities, in both adult training and directly with young learners as part of their curriculum intervention.
Annelize is passionate about metacognition as a thinking strategy. She firmly believes that when we teach individuals how to think about their thinking, we provide them with the most powerful tool available to navigate the complexities of learning and life.
Romy Ancer
Educator at Bellavista School | Accredited FIE Basic 1 Trainer
Romy Ancer is an educator at Bellavista School with a passion for cognitive education, mediated learning and helping learners recognise their potential. She is a remedial teacher and occupational therapist. Her work focuses on developing thinking skills, metacognition and self-regulation through the principles of Feuerstein’s Structural Cognitive Modifiability and Mediated Learning Experience.
Romy is also an accredited FIE Basic Trainer at Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. and is trained in FIE Standard as well as the administration of the LPAD assessment. She is deeply passionate about helping learners build confidence, develop cognitive functions and discover their true propensity. Through her work, Romy is committed to supporting learners of all ages with diverse learning needs and empowering teachers, parents and therapists as mediators of learning and development.
Lauren Davis
Director of Cognitive Education at Bellavista | Clinical Director of Bellavista iThemba | Accredited FIE Basic 1 Trainer
Lauren Davis is the Director of Cognitive Education at Bellavista and the Clinical Director of Bellavista iThemba. Her work as an experienced Speech and Language Therapist focuses on cognitive education.
Lauren works with children, teenagers and adults. She is passionate about human modifiability and helping individuals and families to recognise learning potential, build cognitive functions and always find hope. Lauren is an accredited FIE Basic Trainer at Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. and is trained in administering the LPAD assessment. She is a strong advocate for the role of parents, teachers and therapists as mediators of learning and development in a child’s life. Lauren is committed to sharing her work in cognitive education with the broader South African community through Bellavista iThemba.
Samantha Levings
Educator at Bellavista School | Accredited FIE Basic 1 Trainer
Samantha Levings is an educator at Bellavista School with over 10 years of experience across multiple departments in education. She is an Instrumental Enrichment Basic Trainer through Bellavista SHARE and is passionate about emotional literacy, mediated learning experiences and understanding the needs behind behaviour. Her work and interests centre around the connection between emotion, cognition, metacognition, bodily experience and learning. Samantha is deeply curious about how children learn, think, regulate and make meaning of their experiences, with a particular interest in the role of emotional safety, connection and co-regulation in cognitive development. Drawing from the principles of Feuerstein’s Structural Cognitive Modifiability and Mediated Learning Experience, she is passionate about helping parents, teachers and therapists better understand how connection and regulation create the conditions for thinking, learning and growth.
Debbie Behrens
Specialist Educator at Bellavista School | Accredited FIE Basic 1 Trainer
Debbie Behrens is a specialist educator at Bellavista in Creative Arts and Earth Sciences. Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment guides her teaching practice in this regard. This informed the development of Global Collaborative Design at Bellavista.Â
Debbie is a certified F.I.E. Trainer for Basic, a mediator for iThemba and an LPAD Digital Assessor. Her passion is enhancing critical thinking in children and adults alike. She believes that sharing F.I.E. practice enriches both learners and teachers by explicitly mediating their thinking processes. iThemba offers the opportunity for critical thinking tools to be mediated in future education.
Fleur Durbach
Independent Remedial Education Specialist | Accredited FIE Standard 1 Trainer
Fleur Durbach is an independent remedial education specialist with over forty years of experience. She is a trained instructor in Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment Program. Fleur served as Deputy Principal at Bellavista School in Johannesburg for twelve years. She still works part-time with Bellavista SHARE, where she teaches the Feuerstein method and tutors postgraduate students in Dyslexia and Dyscalculia courses. Fleur holds a master’s degree in Inclusive Education. Her research focused on how teachers can best support effective reading and thinking skills through mediation. She is passionate about helping learners with reading difficulties and has explored many different approaches to improve reading and numeracy.
Currently, Fleur works part-time with the Knysna Initiative of Learning and Teaching (KILT). There, she leads workshops for teachers in under-resourced schools, helping them enhance their teaching and support learners with special needs.
Evening Talks
Sharon Moonsamy
Keynote Speaker | (PhD) Speech-Language Pathologist, Audiologist, and Remedial Education Consultant.
Topic : Cognitive Education in a Digital World
Cognitive education in today’s digital era blends technology with learning to foster active participation, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Technology is used to make learning more engaging and interactive. Foundational theories—such as constructivism, cognitive development, and social learning—have adapted to meet evolving learner needs and societal priorities. Tools like gamification and online platforms have become integral to modern teaching, reshaping traditional approaches. The overarching aim is to build a smart educational community that equips students with the knowledge and skills essential for thriving in the 21st century. So how do we achieve such engagements in a rapidly changing learning environment?
Monday, 22 June 2026 , 17:00-18:00 | Book HereÂ
Alison Scott
Keynote Speaker | Executive Head Bellavista School
Topic : When Cognitive Tools Open Up Opportunity to Differentiate
Teachers feel over burdened at the best of times. When they don’t know how to differentiate their lessons and teach every learner, they feel defeated. Apart from preparation and planning, how will they assess knowledge and skills if the learners complete a variety of tasks? This talk will explore the integration of cognitive strategies into existing lesson and assessment planning to meet their goals for individualisation without tripling their workload.
Tuesday, 23 June 2026 , 17:00-18:00 | Book HereÂ