Staff

After graduating with a BA Hons Degree and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from Hull University, I began my teaching journey in the UK. It wasn't long before my career path took me all over the world! I have worked in Asia (where I received my TEFL Certificate), Europe, New Zealand, U.S.A. and South America. In 2004, I decided to hang up my rucksack and settle at LIS - where the world now comes to me!  My biggest aim in the classroom is to encourage my children to feel comfortable, secure and happy in their working environment. Once this is achieved, then their potential knows no bounds! I expect my students to work and play hard - after all, ‘play is the work of children’ is it not? At the end of the day, if my students have had an opportunity to learn, inquire, create, imagine, construct and at the same time have fun, then I can go home feeling satisfied. I love the Primary Years Program for not only encouraging all the above, but for allowing the students to be responsible for their own learning, and to follow their bliss. Moreover, I am most passionate about the 'action' component of the Program, which inspires the children to make their world a better place. LIS is a melting pot of nationalities and therefore, I believe, the perfect breeding ground for such world changing action! 

I was born of both British and Bahamian parentage in London, UK and moved to the Bahamas in 1974 schooling both at Queens College and  Kingsway Academy in Nassau. I returned to the UK in 1981 winning a Scholarship to Brighton and Hove High School for girls and then on to Brighton College for V1th form prior to receiving a  Law Degree (LLB) at the University of London .I  trained as a Foster Carer for children with Emotional and Behavioral needs and this is when I found my passion for working with children. Upon completion of my Post Graduate Certificate of Education I began teaching at Stablecare School, East Sussex, UK. This was a small private institution for children with social and behavioral challenges who were unable to remain in mainstream education. During my 5 years there  I  became Vice Principal and was also the Exam Co-coordinator for the London Board  GCSE and A level Examinations.I moved to Grand Bahama Island in 2006 and taught at Sunland Baptist Academy for the last 12 years in their Early Childhood Department and was  Co- Head of the primary school in 2011.

I was delighted in 2018 to be given the opportunity to join the staff at Lucaya International School  as the Year 1 teacher. The Primary Years Program fits well with my philosophy on allowing the child to be fully involved in their learning experiences.

The inquiry process allows for a well rounded experience in the classroom and I hope to be able to share my love of reading and learning with the children during this important foundational stage of their journey.

I love the island life and enjoy spending time on the beautiful beaches or being out on the water. I enjoy art, a good book or just relaxing with friends and family.

I am the Head of Secondary and am currently teaching IB Mathematical Studies. I love working at LIS because it creates global citizens and prepares our students to follow the IB Diploma Programme which is not only academically challenging, but produces well-balanced young adults who are well prepared for success at university and life beyond.  My children have attended L.I.S from Pre-Kindergarten and we have all benefited enormously by sharing the learning and teaching experiences with a diverse range of staff and students from around the world.  My interests revolve principally around my family and I enjoy helping out at various organizations on the island. My hobbies are largely artistic based - I enjoy photography, DIY and craft work and love a long, quiet walk on the island's beautiful beaches.

I was brought up in rural England, where I gained by qualifications in Biological sciences. I then moved to Jamaica to instruct Gliding and soon returned to the classroom, after 15 years teaching in Jamaica I moved to the Bahamas.  I am now in my 5th year at LIS and enjoy teaching and contributing to the development of our young students. I strongly believe that students should be exposed to the outdoors and encourage them to participate in The Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. I am known for my determination never to bring a car to school and to cycle everywhere.  I participate in local triathlons and am also a keen scuba diver instructor.

I was born and raised in Canada, however I have been living and teaching in Freeport, Grand Bahama for the past three years. I received all of my education in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, where I attended Laurentian University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, double majoring in French and Religious Studies. I then attended Teachers College and received my Bachelor of Education. I began my teaching career at a high school in Bonnyville, Alberta Canada, where I was a double department head for Fine Arts and English. I also taught French, Home Economics, and Religious Studies. After four years under my belt in the cold north, I had decided to follow my heart to the beautiful and tropical island of Grand Bahama! I taught at a local  school for three years, and now I am absolutely elated to start my new adventure at LIS. I am a passionate individual who enjoys learning and growing and I look forward to professionally advancing in my career! In my free time, I adore drawing/painting, journaling, reading, going for beach walks, boating, spearfishing and golfing.

Michael Fitz-Gerald is the Design and Technology teacher and he is very excited to be at LIS to help develop and expand the Design program.  Michael’s family is from Exuma and he has worked and lived in a wide variety of countries.  Michael holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Fuels and Materials), a Master’s degree in Defence Studies, a PGCE and a level II TESOL certification.  Michael believes that a teacher’s role is to guide and provide access to information rather than acting as the primary source of information.  A student's search for knowledge is met as they learn to find answers to their questions in realistic and authentic situations.  In teaching Design, he feels that giving students access to hands-on activities and allowing adequate time and space to use materials that reinforce the lesson being studied creates an opportunity for individual discovery and learning to occur.

 I have been working at LIS since 2009. I teach middle school science, lab science and mathematics. I am originally from Jamaica and am an alumna of The Mico University and The University of The West Indies where I acquired my teaching qualification. I have been a teacher for 25 years yet I am still humbled by the privilege I have been afforded to help mold young lives. I miss performing and travelling with the world renowned Carifolk Singers of Jamaica but I enjoy singing with The Apple Elliot Band while in The Bahamas. I also channel some of that creative energy by assisting with directing LIS high school productions, singing with other local groups and occasionally being involved in theatre productions. I enjoy walking and painting. It is my aspiration to one day master playing the guitar. I also love watching a good movie, laughing, listening to music, relaxing with my family on the pristine beaches and playing with my daughter who attends LIS.

I was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada where I spent the first 10 years of my teaching career before I began to wander. I took a year off and sailed my boat from Canada to the Bahamas and on to Panama. I went back to Canada for a year then started my international career with four years in Korea. Then I took another year off and sailed my boat from Panama to Florida. After that, I spent two years teaching in Uzbekistan and four years teaching in China. When I got my job at LIS, I sailed my boat from Florida to Freeport so I could live aboard her. That makes me the only teacher who brought his whole house to Freeport with him! I love pretty much anything outdoors: sailing, scuba diving, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing, and camping in my Volkswagen camper van. I’m looking forward to re-establishing the sailing school at the Grand Bahama Sailing Club and helping out with the Governor General’s Award. At my last school, I ran our program for the Chinese version of the Award. My bike is not as fast as Sylvia’s, but it gets me to school happily from the sailing club every morning.

My name is Kerry Gray. I'm an English teacher and Head of Department for English at LIS. I'm originally from the UK which is also where I trained to teach. As well as teaching in the UK, I have taught in South Korea, Russia and the Netherlands. I've held various roles in the schools I've worked in and am experienced with the IB and IGCSE curriculum. My favourite thing about my job is enabling students to thrive academically and personally, and I aim to create a caring and engaging classroom environment where I can be responsive to my students' needs. Students of course are the best part of the job! Living in The Bahamas is a completely new experience for me and I'm enjoying settling in and getting to know our school and this beautiful place in which we live

'In every school I have taught in, I have placed a focus on developing effective approaches to teaching and learning. This has included pedagogical leadership roles as well as those as a teacher-researcher. Within these roles I have helped support colleagues in developing school wide curricula and have led teams in various research projects. Some of these projects have been short and small scale, involving challenges experienced in a particular area of my schools and some have been larger, involving collaboration with Universities over a number of years, in order to produce published research papers. Regardless of the role, supporting student wellbeing and learning is a priority. Teaching is part science and part art, it involves a deep understanding of context and those within it, as well as pedagogy. This is what makes education interesting, it's dynamic, messy at times and requires creativity and reflective thinking to help students and colleagues move in the right direction, I think that's why I like it so much.'

I moved to Grand Bahama in 2019. This is my 10th destination teaching country and I have been in education for over 30 years. I grew up in Brighton, England and gained my degree from Cambridge University in Classics and English, moving to my first job in Singapore shortly after graduating. Since then I have spent only 3 years living in the UK! Earlier on in my career I worked for the British Council as an English as a Foreign Language teacher and teacher trainer and have a Masters in TESOL Education. I met my husband Steve, who is with me in Freeport, in Japan and as we were raising two young boys, I switched career to become a High School teacher of English and History so that I would be around for them in the school holidays. I qualified in the UK and we moved as a family to Egypt, then Czechia, then Italy. Along the way I have taken on a number of other roles and at the moment am passionate about developing TOK in LIS. I am so glad I switched. I love teaching teenagers; their curiosity is a real boost every morning. 

We are enjoying life on Grand Bahama. We moved here from city life in Milan:  we spent a lot of time (and money) on operas, I played double bass in a symphony orchestra and we travelled round Europe by road and rail. Those opportunities are not available but no matter! We are keen members of the Grand Bahama birders, curious naturalists and cyclists. We have our small boat for fishing and snorkelling and love the island. The lack of a miserable winter is a definite plus and as soon as lockdown allows we look forward to exploring more of the country, the Caribbean and South America.

Originally born and raised in Maui, Hawaii, I have spent most of my life, and my entire teaching career, on different islands around the world. I earned both my Bachelor degrees from Colorado State University: one in English with a concentration in Education and the other in General History. It is my belief that without literature you cannot have history, and without history you cannot have literature. After graduating I moved to the Kingdom of Bahrain where I taught for five years at an international high school. During my time there I served as an  English teacher, IB English Literature teacher, Extended Essay Supervisor, Head of Department, and co-ran the theater program and high school activities. In my free time I enjoy being in and around the ocean as much as possible, cooking, and of course reading a good book. I look forward to continuing my journey here at LIS teaching IGCSE Literature and IB Language & Literature!

Originally born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas I am the last of five siblings. I received my formal education at St. Johns College high school where I graduated in 1996. I moved to Freeport in 2004 after living in in Tampa, Florida for 6 years where I was able to obtain an associate’s degree in electronics and computer engineering and completed my bachelors of education degree in operations management technology both from Tampa Technical Institute in Tampa Florida. While living in Florida I had the pleasure of working with America Online for one year and then as a technical support agent for General Electric. In 2015 I received a CCNA certificate for computer networking. Here in Freeport I’ve been employed at the Grand Lucayan Resort for 13 years as a System Administrator in the I.T. department. In 2009 took on the added responsibility of working part time at Lucaya International School also as I.T. System Administrator. I have had one or two nick names given to me but the one that seems to follow me the most is MacGyver. That being said, my hobbies vary.  I can truly say that being at L.I.S has been an adventure that I look forward in continuing for many more years to come.