Our Team, Our Opening Hours and How to Reach Us

Christian Rütti is a bilingual Swiss citizen who was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved to Switzerland in 2001.

Before stepping into the role of principal at SIS Pfäffikon-Schwyz in August 2020, he was principal of a private school in Basel for two years. Prior to that, also in Basel, he was managing director and personnel manager of a language school for adults for several years. An additional 12 years of teaching experience before that, both in Switzerland and in South Africa, round off his professional experience within the field of education. Christian Rütti’s qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in education and a Swiss diploma in the field of personnel management.

His professional aim has always been to do everything possible to motivate and guide students and staff alike to achieve their full potential. He is a firm believer in encouraging students to nurture a healthy and balanced lifestyle and a positive attitude towards learning and life in general.

Christian Rütti is an avid cyclist and outdoor enthusiast who loves to explore nature with his family throughout the seasons. He enjoys working and interacting with people from various cultures.

Andrea Oettinger is an American who was born and raised in Boston.

For her undergraduate degree, she attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where she studied elementary education. After completing her bachelor’s degree, she moved west to Colorado and taught for six years in the Denver Public Schools. Andrea Oettinger went on to attain a master’s degree in education policy at the University of Colorado and then moved back to Philadelphia where she completed a doctorate in education in Teaching, Learning and Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania. From 2013 to 2017, Andrea Oettinger worked as the Director of Mathematics for several schools in the Philadelphia area, which involved training teachers and leaders on implementing conceptual mathematics instruction in the classroom.

Andrea Oettinger is an avid skier who grew up in the cold, small mountains in New Hampshire and Vermont. She travels to the mountains as much as possible to ski in the winter and hike in the summer. She also loves to read in her free time.

Amaia Tollinche is a multicultural and multilingual American. She was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to a Spanish mother and Puerto Rican-American father, and was raised in Miami, Florida. She moved to Zürich, Switzerland in 2005, where she currently lives with her Swiss husband and two daughters. She grew up as a bilingual speaker of English and Spanish and has an intermediate level of German due to her studies and her Swiss-German family. 

Amaia Tollinche graduated from Florida International University in Miami, Florida, with a degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the school of Arts and Sciences. She completed her Education studies, specializing in Social Studies (Humanities) for middle and high school students. She has worked in a variety of international, private, and IB schools in both Miami and in several cantons in Switzerland. 

A lover of the beach, sun and seas, she is an avid world traveller and collector of many things. Her colourful classroom displays her collection of books, and mementos from her travels, to inspire her students to learn about all things global. She greatly values diversity and loves working in an international community, such as SIS Pfäffikon-Schwyz. 

With her outgoing and amiable personality, Amaia Tollinche enjoys working with teenagers, supporting them in their academic and social needs. Most importantly, she strives to make learning fun and making her students laugh.