Last month, AISB’s Secondary Principal Jonathan Cain announced that this will be his last year at the school. This, of course, prompted many questions–most importantly, who will take his place? Read below to find out about our future leader, Viktor Novakovski.

Who is Mr. Novakovski?

After graduating from university in the U.S., Novakovski worked as a psychology and economics teacher, high school principal, and deputy director. Currently, he is the director at the NOVA International School of North Macedonia.

Novakovski is married with two children and a mini-Maltese dog. He has lived in Budapest and Skopje, as well as several cities in the U.S. like Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. In his free time, he loves to listen to jazz and classical music. He also enjoys playing tennis regularly.

What is he like as a principal?

“As an administrator, I practice the art of listening in order to better understand,” says Novakovski, when asked on how he’d describe himself as a school leader.

Then he continues, “No matter how great the academic or pastoral challenges we’re facing, we need to understand the reasons, rather than simply deliver the consequences. And then react from a place of empathy.”

Lastly, he emphasizes that great schools create the right context for learning by establishing positive relationships with their members. “In my experience, ambitious academic and personal goals can best be supported if there is a strong sense of belonging and trust by the learner.”

Why did Novakovski come to AISB?

Novaski says that he visited Romania about half a dozen times and enjoyed every visit. “What has always been my impression [of the country] is how open, warm, and communicative Romanians are.”

And each time he stopped by at AISB, he saw the school as “a place of great potential, of highly qualified faculty and staff, of supportive families, of caring and dedicated local members, and of great leadership.”

On an ending note, Novakovski comments that he looking forward to working with our community and the current director Peter Welch, who he describes as “a great leader and an educational thinker.”

Tell Us: What are your thoughts about the new secondary school principal? Tell us in the comments below!