Ms. Lisa Hughes Appointed Next Primary School Principal of BMIS

On behalf of Mr. Adrian Moody, the Director of Bishop Mackenzie International School (BMIS) in Lilongwe, Malawi, Search Associates is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Lisa Hughes as the next Primary School Principal of BMIS, to begin August 2024. Lisa shares her excitement:

I have been teaching, leading, and learning overseas for 23+ years, and BMIS has finally met my wish of one day leading a school that is connected to nature and outside a city.  Don’t get me wrong, I do like the city life, but the thought of being in a school that looks and feels like having the outside inside excites me greatly.

Before and during my visit to BMIS, the same joy of learning was conveyed to me by different stakeholders. Plenty of smiles were visible on the faces of both children and faculty and a feeling of genuine happiness was very visible in and around the school.

Lisa, who holds a master’s in education from the Open University in the UK, has been leading a team of over 100 teachers since 2017 as founding Head of Primary at Oberoi International School in Mumbai, India. Prior to this, she was Head of Primary at Hanoi International School, Vietnam. She has also served as Primary Years Programme Coordinator at MIRAS International School Astana, Kazakhstan and MEF International school of Istanbul, Turkey. As both a leader in primary schools and a mother of children in international schools, Lisa understands well the many stresses that come from families moving on to different countries and schools. She says,

My mantra is “Embrace the challenge and embrace the journey.”  I have been very fortunate to spend over half my life living and working in different places, and having my two children join me on the journey. I never take it for granted that my passport allows me to do many things I love to do. So, when times might get stressful, I remind myself of this fact.

Lisa will be joining BMIS in August with Eden (15) and Elsie-Jean (10), who will be entering Grades 11 and 6, respectively. Apart from endless travelling and exploring new places with them, Lisa enjoys finding the time to read. She explains why she always has three books going at the same time:

A book to make me laugh, a book to learn from, and a book to keep me relevant with the children in school. So, I am currently reading, This Much is True by Miriam Margoles, Understanding Play Schemas in Young Children by Stella Louis, and A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.”

Search Associates would like to thank all the candidates who applied for this position, and to everyone who assisted and supported the successful Primary School Principal search process for BMIS. Lisa Hughes adds, “I know this is a busy time of year for recruitment and for teachers moving on for all sorts of reasons. I wish both schools and teachers the best of luck in finding the best fit.”