Section
Practical guidance for the day-to-day work of leading a New Zealand school.
Articles in this section share how-to advice on the operational and relational aspects of principalship: navigating employment law, writing letters of expectation, talking to parents about ERO reports, enacting Te Tiriti o Waitangi in school life, mentoring future leaders, and supporting equity in the classroom. Contributors are working principals, sector specialists, employment lawyers, and education consultants drawing on lived experience in New Zealand schools. Use this section to find tested approaches to common challenges, build your professional toolkit, and learn from the practice of colleagues across the country — from country schools to large urban primaries.
Editor Learning about perspective through pictures of pork The children arrive for the first day of term The entrance to the Enrich Centre is adorned with tiles hand made by the foundation children The converted pub becomes the centre for the gifted Liz Hawes investigates what prominence talented and gifted children have in New Zealand […]
KaihautŪ MĀori, CORE Education Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, affectionately known as TMoA, is a curriculum framework, and the ‘other half ’ of the New Zealand Curriculum. Essentially designed for Mäori-medium schools and classrooms, it encourages the development of localised curriculum that suits the particular needs of students, whänau and communities. Mäori Medium is defined as […]
former Associate Principal, Gifted Kids In the last issue of NZ Principal, we ran the story of a programme for gifted children in Invercargill called Enrich@ILT (see ‘Enriching the Southern Stars’, March 2012, 27(1), pp. 6–8).The programme is fully funded by the Invercargill Licensing Trust with a small contribution from parents. This article outlines a […]
State-of-the-art schooling in a Wellington suburb Liz Hawes meets with Dr Lesley Murrihy, principal of Amesbury School in Wellington, one of the newest schools in the country. They discuss the vision for the school and how that impacted on the design and building process and they explore the learning spaces to observe how they have […]
Education has long been viewed as the vehicle of progression for society. Māori recognised the importance of acquiring and passing on knowledge way before the missionaries or colonists disembarked on our shores and had already developed a strong culture of educating through storytelling, sharing mythologies, and teaching problem solving through practices consistent with the values […]
Mt Te Karioi, the maunga of the area It’s just 46 kilometres out of Hamilton but the difference between the big city and the little coastal community of Raglan is profound. On arrival one’s instinct is to immediately set off on a bush walk, frolic in the estuary or join the local surfers. Raglan is […]
The playground is full of challenges for building confidence This account investigates rural schooling and highlights issues which are specific to students and to the teachers and principals working in country areas. Editor, Liz Hawes heads to the Waikato journeying through the dairy intensive landscape. First stopover is the Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek on […]
Christchurch Bays Cluster Collaboration Model Kim Alexander Principal Redcliffs School, currently located at Van Asch Deaf Education Centre, Sumner, Christchurch The Bays Cluster is a thriving cluster of five full primary schools located in the eastern bays area of Christchurch: Heathcote Valley; Mt Pleasant; Our Lady Star of the Sea; Redcliffs, and Sumner Schools. Between us […]
Senior Advisor, Special Education, Ministry of Education He tika, me mihi tuatahi ki a Ia Te Runga Rawa nāna nei ngā mea katoa. Tuarua, ki ngā mate huhua kua wehe atu ki te pō e moe, e moe, e okioki Ki a tātou te hunga ora, tēnā tātou katoa. It was a new beginning for […]
To stand ankle deep in the ashes of their burnt out class rooms is heart-breaking for any School Principal but watching the children staring forlornly at the skeletal remains of what was once their safe learning haven is a truly emotional experience. Listening to stories from parents about children suddenly having trouble sleeping, bed wetting, […]
Appraisal through Te Ariki lens Principal A: The BoT have just signed off on my annual appraisal Principal B: Are you now a better principal? Principal A: Well . . . This paper is in three parts: a redefinition of teacher and principal appraisal; the question of ‘what does a good1 teacher actually do?’ and […]
MĀORI ACHIEVEMENT IN A MAINSTREAM SCHOOL Liz Hawes asks Bruce Jepsen, Principal of Te Akau ki Papamoa, the key factors which have led to the remarkable lift in achievement for the Māori children in his beach-side Bay of Plenty school. It is the most talked about subject in education today, from the Minister’s office at […]
