Quite a bit has changed in the NZPF offices over the past few months. We have a new president, we’ve farewelled long-standing executive officer Liz Hawes, and I came on board in late November! I’ll be editing the NZPF magazine from here on out and providing communications support to the President and the organisation. It’s a big job but I am absolutely thrilled to be here.
You’ll see from my pepeha above that I’m from a happening town called Hamilton. Despite that, my heart lies in the Coromandel and in particular Hahei. If you’ve never been, you must – it’s the township attached to the famous Cathedral Cove and is, indisputably, the most beautiful place on earth. Hereheretaura Pā at the south end of the beach looks out, completely undisrupted, at the endless Pacific Ocean. When I shut my eyes and try to think of nothing, this is exactly where I go. Not too far from Hahei is Tairua where I spent numerous school holidays with my grandparents.
My grandfather, John Maplesden, was a principal. He started out at Ti Tree Point, a one-class rural school near Danniverke, in the 50s, moved to Waipukurau Primary School in the 60s and rounded out his career as the Principal of St Joseph’s Primary School, also in Waipukurau, until he retired in 1989. That was two years before I was born.
Poppa was a keen tramper, maintaining local tracks around Tairua long into his retirement. He was also a craftsman and hobbyist toy maker, and some of his early creations are still enjoyed by his great grandchildren today. Maths was his passion and, when I was younger, it was mine too. In fact, Poppa and I would sometimes do maths worksheets together (fun, I know, but I really, really loved maths). Even though he was retired, he never really stopped being a teacher.
I tell you this because I am not from the education sector and my experience with principalship (outside of my own schooling where, admittedly, my interactions were mainly disciplinary . . .) stops with my Poppa. I tutored at university and even lectured an introductory business course, but this role at the NZPF is the first time I am working directly within the education system. As I said before, I am absolutely thrilled to be here.
While education is not my expertise, communication is. And I want to make this magazine the best resource for you, principals of New Zealand and members of the NZPF. I want it to be informative, practical and, above all else, enjoyable for you to read. In practice, that means I’ll be looking for new ways to showcase the profession and inform you of critical changes in the education system, such as sabbatical reports from principals, plain language policy updates, and other ways we can highlight the awesome work being done in schools across the country and the work we are doing to advocate on your behalf.
In this issue you can read about Wes Va‘ai-Wells, a first-time principal making magic happen in a little rural school in the Manawatū. Our Research and Policy Officer has written a retrospective on education reform in New Zealand, the NZPF office has contributed a lovely farewell for Lizzie Hawes, and you can peruse an abridged version of the NZPF submission to the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill. You can hear from our new President, Jason Miles, and also read musings from our regular columnists Professor John O’Neill and Helen Kinsey-Wightman, as well as NZPF executive member Steph Thompson. High-stakes communication specialist Pete Burdon has joined us as a contributor too. He’s worked with hundreds of school leaders across New Zealand over the last 15 years and will be contributing practical guidance to help principals and other school leaders communicate clearly and calmly when it matters most. Check out his story Why Preprepared Statements for Negative Scenarios are Critical. Sadly, our book reviewers Pat Martin and Pip Desmond have decided to (properly) retire. They’ve unearthed some excellent reads for our young people over the last few years, so I hope that you have found their reviews helpful.
It’s a privilege to be the editor of this magazine and I am looking forward to ensuring it’s always a valuable source of information and entertainment for you. If you have any stories or successes you’d like to share in the magazine, topics you think we should cover, contributors or columnists you’d like to hear from, or feedback on stories, I’d love to hear from you. Send me an email at and we’ll go from there.