One of the teachers that will be departing from TISA this year will be Mr. Leon McCluskey. Although his students will miss him greatly, Mr. McCluskey will be starting a new adventure in Canada with his family. He spent a total of 8 years in Baku, teaching MYP Individuals & Societies and DP History.
Once in DP History class, Mr. McCluskey recited a memory of his right before he came to Azerbaijan. He was based in Moscow at the time, and although as a history teacher he knew about Azerbaijan, the first time Azerbaijan caught the family’s attention was when they were watching TV, and an ad for the ‘Land of Fire’ came up. His wife, Mrs. Romita Khindira, was particularly intrigued, and maybe it was that travel advertisement that ignited an 8 year long journey!
Unfortunately, Mr. McCluskey has been in Canada teaching online for the past year, but I am sure that every single student that has crossed paths with him in the past 8 years will never forget his contagious smile, enthusiasm for history and the Soviet Union, as well as his love for teaching.
Not to forget that Mr McCluskey also taught DP Geography for a year, giving his best to lead his students to fulfill their potential in that class.
He was also the DP Pastoral Coordinator for many years, and as a member of the Class of 2021, on behalf of all my classmates I am very happy to say that he always provided us with the greatest support possible, even through a laptop. As the pandemic was a very tough period of time for our class, with being the only class to not go to school in the current academic year, he made us feel successful, proud, and grateful.
For many people in my class who were not particularly interested in history, especially in M5, Mr. McCluskey was the person who made it more interesting than ever to them, giving them a glimpse of how wonderful studying history can be.
Many students of the Class of 2021 were very saddened by the news of Mr. McCluskey leaving, as they understood that when they come back to visit, they won’t be able to run up to the Chalets in order to see their favourite history teacher.
Mr. McCluskey will be continuing his career in Canada with his family, and they are very excited as it will be the first time he and his daughters live in Canada.
On behalf of the Class of 2021 and all of TISA, we wish Mr McCluskey and his family all the best in their new adventure in North America. We are sure that he will continue to spread joy, happiness, and his love for history. We hope to hear about his successes from the other side of the world, and hope that we made Baku memorable for him. All the best to the McCluskeys!
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