A Staff Farewell!

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Leaving Today

Five and a half years ago I was a Principal of a medium sized mono-cultural Pakeha dominated Primary School in the middle of Wellington city. I had spent ten years there and leaving was difficult and sad. It was a great school with awesome staff- many of whom are still good friends and fantastic students, some of whom I’m still in contact with today.

In July 2010 I was appointed as the foundation Principal of a new area school in Te Karaka 32 km North West of Gisborne.

I had been to Gisborne exactly once in my life.

Te Karaka is a small village with a predominantly Māori population with strong links and allegiance to the local marae.

I hadn't been on a marae for 15 years.

As an area school we were going to have a projected roll of 140 Year 1-Year 13 students.

My knowledge of NCEA was restricted to that of a parents, and even that had been six years previously. 

I knew there would be some suspicion of me; I was female, I was white, and further to that I did not have much cultural experience behind me apart from two years as a Principal in Fiji. I came from a Decile 10 school and I was from the primary sector. I could hear the whispers and rumours being spread around the community.  How was I going to understand the needs of kids in a school with a predominantly Maori roll? How was I going to handle the situations, both at school and in the community, when it was evident that people felt a male should be in the lead? How would I possibly understand the needs of, or relate to the kids in a Decile 1 environment? How could I possibly understand the curriculum demands of secondary students, or the intricacies of NCEA?

I’d been involved in, and a part of, some really exciting innovations in the ten years before I came to Te Karaka and I wasn’t prepared to accept that rural kids living in perhaps a more deprived area, than the Decile 10 urban kids where I’d come from, were entitled to anything less.

Things weren't always easy. The kids didn’t always understand the different approaches, and neither did others looking in from the outside. We had a vision for kids to meet their full potential and for that to happen they needed to understand a whole lot about themselves and they needed to become self managing, a concept difficult to understand for those who wanted us to simply exert our authority in a traditional way. 

There are still suspicions from some corners about the way we operate; we don’t look like a ‘normal’ school, and we actually never will. That’s not because we are small, or rural or anything else. It’s because we don’t believe a normal school meets the needs of lots of kids any more, if it ever did.

There have been immense challenges, some to bear and some to guide others through. And there have also been immense rewards. 

Today is my last day at Te Karaka Area School. Before I head into school for the day I reflect on the last five years.

I've had the privilege of working with a group of staff that pulled together and dared to dream, explore and discover new ways of learning that would re-engage these young people in learning that is authentic and real and meaningful for them.
I've worked with teachers and leaders some of whom I am sure are going to make a real mark on the development of education in this country going forward.

Over the last week I've listened to staff working together to plan next year and been able to reflect on where they are and where they’ve come from. There is such strength and such beauty in those conversations I’ve heard. I leave knowing that education on te Karaka is in great hands.

Ive made some of the best friends Ive ever had. Living in an isolated community certainly inspires close bonds and I leave behind some very good friends, as well as having a few now spread all over the country who have left before me.

I’ve met some amazing local people and some incredible young people. 

I've said it a few times now but my life has been forever changed by the experiences I've had and the people I've met in Te Karaka.

I understand bi-culturalism and the history of Aotearoa now on a deep level. I might have thought I knew that before but my knowledge was so superficial.

I understand the difficulties of living in an isolated village, and in an isolated province, with the issues of unemployment and declining populations.

There have been great times, and difficult times, but I’ve never had any regrets about taking this journey. I may not have thought I had the ability to deal with some of the difficulties if Id known what they would be before I came. But I did and I have.

There have been so much I have learnt, and so many skills I have developed.

So as I head off to school for my last official day as the Principal of Te Karaka Area school I say a huge and public thank you to everyone who has allowed me to be part of their lives over the last five years. I’m sure the day will have some laughter in it, and I’m also sure there will also be  tears. But in my heart the strongest feeling is gratitude. Gratitude for what I’ve learnt, for the people I’ve met and the ways my life has been enriched.

Flying In and Out of Gisborne

Sitting on a plane flying back into Gisborne after a full on family weekend and I suddenly realise it is quite possibly the last time I will ever fly into Gisborne airport.

When I leave for good in two weeks time I will be driving.

I've seen more of airports and aeroplanes than I ever realised I would when I made the choice to come to Te Karaka five and a half years ago. There have been months where I've flown in and out of Gisborne three or four times in quick succession.

A combination of holidays and being on various committees has seen me both value and dread flying. I certainly no longer see it as something romantic. It can be exhausting, and when you fly into Wellington on one of the small planes it can be scary. 

But I do have to acknowledge the service from Air NZ. They try really hard to run to schedule and when they cant they keep you very informed of what’s happening. They tell you when it will be smooth and when it will be bumpy. They are always friendly and helpful.

       

The service they provide to the regions is really important. Without the ease and convenience of air travel even less people would visit or ultimately live in more remote parts of the country like Gisborne, and that would be a shame.

I have to also give a shout out to the great check in staff at Gisborne airport. They somehow manage to be extremely professional but have a strongly personal touch at the same time. They've become  very familiar faces over the last couple of years. I've seen them deal with a range of situations, and always keep their cool and do what they can to help everyone travelling.

There is much I will miss in two weeks. People and places mostly. And I will miss the flying. The superb Gisborne air NZ staff and the Gisborne airport I've spent so much time in.

I probably wont miss flying in those small planes to be perfectly honest, but in saying that I have admiration and respect for the men and women flying them.

Thanks Air NZ for the great service over the last five years.

My TKAS Journey is Soon to End

Nearly five and a half years ago, I won a position as Principal of the newly established Te Karaka Area School, 32 km NorthWest of Gisborne. I began at the end of August 2010, and the school opened in February 2011. We are now nearing the end of our fifth year in operation. Many of our learners are vulnerable learners who have not been well served by education systems of the past. Hopefully they are now being better served.

These five years have been amazing. We have all learnt so much. We have learnt that innovation is not only as possible in a lower decile school as it is in a higher decile school, but that it is vital. We have learnt that buildings don't make innovative practice happen- its teachers and students and a trusting BOT that do that. We have learnt that schools can operate in order to be personally responsive to the needs of every individual learner- that the don't need to be a machine focused around restrictive structures like timetables and traditions who’s time is way past. We have learnt that learning can look way different than it has in the past and still be learning.

Ive seen both students and staff grow in so many ways and take some giant leaps of faith that is now represented in their daily practice.

And me, personally- what do I get out of the last five years? I have learnt what it truly is to live in a bicultural world. My life has been immensely and forever enriched by the students, staff and whānau I have worked with; by developing an understanding of their culture and beginning to understand their language.

What I have gained at Te Karaka has been incredibly more enriching than the normal trajectory of going onto be a Principal of a bigger school, like many people expected.

I now understand a corner of Aotearoa I didn't know existed five years ago and I appreciate so much more about the history of this beautiful country and its inhabitants- especially our indigenous cultures and people.

So it was with some sadness last week that I announced to our BOT, staff, students and community that I am leaving at the end of this year.

I feel privileged to have been offered and accepted a position as a Director of Learning at Haeata (formerly known as Aranui Community Campus) in Christchurch. 

http://www.aranuicommunitycampus.school.nz

I am truly excited by this position and the opportunities and challenges it will bring. I am looking forward to the move and the possibilities.

But for now I will spend the remaining four weeks of school soaking up everything I can in Te Karaka.

Thank you to Andy and the eBOT at Haeata for having faith in me and giving me the opportunity to join your exciting venture as the next stage of my educational journey.

and

Thank you TKAS whanau- there will be proper goodbyes said later, but thank you for everything.

Kia Orana

There are holidays to discover.

And there are holidays to learn.

And there are holidays to relax.

Compared to some of the trips I've done in the last 18 months 7 days in Rarotonga was definitely a holiday for relaxing.

I still discovered, and I still learnt.

But there was lots of time for lying in the sun, reading and relaxing.

No internet- or internet that is prohibitively expensive- certainly helped. I finally get what people talk about when the talk about the power of disconnecting from networks for a little while. No emails, no facebook, No twitter for 6 days. I was a little reluctant to turn it back on at the end of the week!


There are some beautiful scenes on Rarotonga.

And some big fish.

Locals who skim up and down coconut trees.

There were lot of interesting connections to Māori traditional, language and performing arts.

I particularly enjoyed visiting the site of where the seven waka left from in the Great Migration to Aotearoa. And the palace of the tribal queen was fascinating as well.

An awesome week of relaxing in the Cook Islands. I'd recommend to anyone needing to just turn off and rejuvenate.

Bula Vinaka

There are trips intended for exploration, and there are holidays intended for relaxation.

I've been lots of places this year and I always felt like I had to keep going and make the most of the places I was lucky enough to visit. Tours, lots of walking and visiting all the "must-see" places.

So 14 years after living in Fiji I have ventured back.

That blast of hot air as you walk off the plane immediately brought back memories!

Went straight from the plane to a cruise ship which departed two hours after I landed.

 

The beauty of a cruise ship is that you actually don't have many options for what you do. Get off the ship onto an island to swim or snorkel- each one more beautiful than the last, or stay on the ship.

I've read more fiction books in 4 days than I think I've read in the last two years, even though I love reading. Thank goodness for Kindle eliminating the need to carry heavy books with you, although I might run out of downloaded books before I get back to NZ, I can always go online and purchase more.

(drinking kava)

And I've swum more I'm the last four days than I've swum in the last four years. This heat makes any wariness about donning togs in public pretty negligible!

Today we visited an island with a cave system. Climbed the cliff face ( ok the company has made some lovely concrete steps which make climbing the cliff face easy!) and jumped into the cold water- much colder than the sea, but refreshing none the less! No sign of Brooke Shields still in the cave though!

So after the first night where I might have had the dubious pleasure of being the first, and maybe only, person to get seasick enough to actually be sick and wonder exactly why I'd set myself up for 7 nights of this, it's certainly become a very relaxing break.

There's still a lot of the world to explore and I wouldn't want to spend every holiday doing nothing but reading and swimming but it's certainly refreshing after a year of hard work and long hours and reviving for the year to come.

 

 

Three more days on the ship and then three days in Fiji where hopefully I might be able to track down a few old friends., enjoy some familiar sights and the wonderful Fijian hospitality.

 

 

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A Year of Journeys Later

Twelve months ago I'd travelled to Australia a couple of times to visit family. And I'd lived in Fiji for 18 months.

And now in the last twelve months I've been to both Auschwitz in Poland and Alcatraz in San Francisco. I've snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef and walked in Grand Canyon.

I've taken groups of teenagers around both the East Cape and North Cape of New Zealand.

I've visited Finland and Poland, and freaked out at airports in Sweden and Amsterdam. And now I now how not to freak out so much!

In Australia I've been to Melbourne twice, Brisbane and Cairns.

In America I spent 10 days in Las Vegas and San Francisco.

I've worked some incredibly long hours this year, but I've also made a deliberate effort to get away from TK in each term break.

What have I learnt:

I have learnt that I can travel:-

• that I can sit on planes for 24 hour
• that I can deal with airports, and foreign currencies and countries and people with different languages ( some big learning steps on the way, but I've learnt)
• that I pack way too much to take away with me, but I am learning not to 

I have learnt that world is a much bigger place than the small corner of it that I've always known:-

• that there are parts of the world with tremendous history
• that there are amazing things to see and be part of out there
• that there were some terrible atrocities in the world in the past and that we all need to be part of ensuring they don't happen again

I've learnt that New Zealand really is an amazing country, and I've  learnt a lot about the indigenous spirituality of areas of New Zealand by travelling with the groups I've done school trips with this year.

I've learnt that my physical limitations are not as limited as I thought they were. I've learnt I could physically push myself a lot further than I have in the past.

I've learnt that anyone can learn new skills. I learnt to use a map, not great at it, but I've started, and can find my way around generally. I learnt that to learn something new you have to want to learn it, that you have to engage with it, and that it sometimes helps to have someone to encourage you, someone who believes in you when you sometimes struggle to believe in yourself.

I know my world has been pretty narrow and I've learnt I can expand my life and try new things. If I can't do them at first I will keep trying. Baby steps are okay.

I've learnt that panic is a wasted state of being.  I've begun to learn how not to panic. I've gained a sense of calm that I can take forward with me into unknown situations. I've  learned to stop dwelling in the past, and worrying about the future. I've learned to stop over thinking about things that might or might not happen. I've learnt that I can't waste time regretting things I've done and said. That I just need to move on and learn from everything.

I've learnt that real learning is in doing. Listening to others, watching others, reading what others have done are all good.  But getting out into the world and doing things yourself...there is no better way to learn.

I've learnt that I don't have to get everything right, especially the first time. And that knowing I might not be able to do something shouldn't stop me from trying it. I've learnt I need to try new stuff to grow into a different person, a better person. 

I've learnt to ask for help. I've learnt I don't have to do everything myself and that it's not failing to ask others for help and support.

I've learnt that travelling myself teaches me a lot about myself. And that travelling with others teaches you a lot about them. And that both of those things are great.

I've learnt that it's a big world out there, and it is full of interesting people to meet and amazing things to see. And that I want to keep doing that.

Thanks to those people who have travelled with me during the year and thanks to those new people Ive met during the year. Whether its been trips with other adults or by myself or school trips with teenagers, I have learnt. You have all helped make me the person I am 12 months after these journeys started. You know who you are, and I will be forever grateful for what Ive learnt this year. You've  helped me to learn all this, so I can go off and do it by myself. 

Next stop: Fiji. Haven't been back since I left in 2000. Looking forward to the sun and seas.