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The Star: June 01, 2017

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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi<br />

23<br />

Our People<br />

Pursuing a love of learning<br />

St Thomas of<br />

Canterbury College<br />

principal Christine<br />

O’Neill announced<br />

last week she would<br />

be stepping down at<br />

the end of the year,<br />

after 15 years at the<br />

school. She spoke<br />

with Gabrielle Stuart<br />

Thursday <strong>June</strong> 1 2<strong>01</strong>7<br />

Christine O’Neill<br />

MOVING ON: St Thomas principal Christine O’Neill with year 7 boys (left to right, back row) Harry Tullett, Meihana Pauling, Noah<br />

Pearsons and Jackson Punting. (Front row) – Jacob O’Connell and Kaya Wiparata<br />

PHOTO: MARTIN HUNTER<br />

Before you, no other woman<br />

had ever become a principal of<br />

a New Zealand Catholic boys’<br />

school. Did you think back<br />

when you first applied for the<br />

job that you would get it?<br />

Well, it was really bizarre,<br />

actually. I’m from family of four<br />

sisters, I have three daughters,<br />

and before this I had taught<br />

for 10 years at Villa Maria, a<br />

girls’ school. I had taught a few<br />

St Thomas’ boys while I was at<br />

Villa, which is why I applied for<br />

it, but I don’t think I seriously<br />

thought I’d get it. But I got offered<br />

the job in December. So I<br />

spent the holidays stressing about<br />

it, thinking what do I know about<br />

boys?<br />

Was it as challenging as you<br />

expected?<br />

No, since I started here, I’ve<br />

never regretted it. <strong>The</strong>re have<br />

been challenges. <strong>The</strong>re were<br />

plenty of male candidates that<br />

applied for the job, and most of<br />

the teachers here are male. But<br />

I found very quickly that you<br />

proved yourself in your performance.<br />

<strong>The</strong> men here were very<br />

fair and very loyal.<br />

I imagine it’s been a pretty<br />

emotional few weeks since you<br />

made the announcement you<br />

would be stepping down – what<br />

has it been like?<br />

Well, we had another lovely<br />

assembly this morning, with the<br />

boys all singing, and after that I<br />

thought what have I done? I don’t<br />

regret it, but leaving is going to be<br />

really hard. For me been a really<br />

hard decision because this is such<br />

a great community and I have<br />

dedicated a good part of my life<br />

to working here. But you know<br />

how people say you’re ready to<br />

go. <strong>The</strong> job is very complex and<br />

challenging and energy-draining.<br />

It’s like John Key said – not that<br />

I’m comparing myself to him, but<br />

I think the motivation is similar.<br />

<strong>The</strong> school is absolutely humming<br />

right now, and it’s time for<br />

another leader to step up.<br />

What have been some of the<br />

highlights?<br />

I’m really proud of the increased<br />

diversity in the school.<br />

When I started it was about<br />

two per cent Maori and Pasifika<br />

students, but now it’s about 40<br />

per cent, with a rapidly growing<br />

Filipino community.<br />

Another real highlight is that<br />

this year 39 of our 41 staff have<br />

either completed or are completed<br />

post-grad study. It’s a big<br />

commitment and I don’t know of<br />

any other school in the country<br />

that has that happening.<br />

We’ve also put a lot of work<br />

into creating a restorative culture,<br />

working with young men when<br />

they make mistakes, to take the<br />

fear and blame out of it, and keep<br />

them accountable but work in a<br />

problem-solving way. It’s about<br />

being accountable as a school beyond<br />

the school gate, rather than<br />

just kicking boys out.<br />

Without fail, every boy who<br />

has gone himself into a tricky<br />

situation here has been honest and<br />

willing to take responsibility for<br />

it, and that’s right to even the boys<br />

who have been in and out of jail.<br />

To see boys like that turn around<br />

and graduate year 13 is incredibly<br />

satisfying, just as satisfying as<br />

seeing boys reach the pinnacle of<br />

academic achievement.<br />

What have been the biggest<br />

challenges for you?<br />

Last year there was the big<br />

battle around racism (When a<br />

Christ’s College under-14 rugby<br />

player was accused of racially<br />

abusing a St Thomas’ student at<br />

a game). It’s hard to take those<br />

stands, but I think that’s one<br />

particular incident where you’ve<br />

got to honour your community.<br />

It would be easy to let it slide, but<br />

that would be wrong. And we’re<br />

richer for standing up to it.<br />

You’ve faced personal challenges<br />

while principal – like<br />

your battle with cancer. How<br />

did you handle that while doing<br />

such a demanding job?<br />

It was a really hard time, but<br />

there were two things that got me<br />

through. I’m lucky to have really<br />

supportive husband and really<br />

rich family life, and without that<br />

it would be a really lonely existence.<br />

I also have a very strong<br />

leadership team, four men who<br />

work with me at the core of what<br />

we do here. We go through both<br />

our personal and professional<br />

journeys together, so that doesn’t<br />

mean we always agree, but that’s<br />

been a massive support. I don’t<br />

do my job alone.<br />

And if I’m ever feeling a bit<br />

down, because it can be a highly<br />

political job and you deal with<br />

all sorts of issues, but if I’m ever<br />

overwhelmed by that I just do<br />

something with the kids. <strong>The</strong>y are<br />

so uplifting to be around. You do<br />

see negative stuff about teenagers<br />

in the news, but I have so much<br />

hope for the future because they<br />

are such a good group of kids.<br />

What were your own school<br />

days like?<br />

I attended St Dominic’s in<br />

Dunedin, where we were taught<br />

by Dominican nuns. It was such<br />

a paradox, because it was a semienclosed<br />

order but yet many of the<br />

nuns had doctorates or masters<br />

degrees. So they were giving<br />

lectures at the university, then zipping<br />

back to teach at the school.<br />

On the one hand nuns, but also<br />

highly educated, empowered, professional<br />

women. So I was given<br />

a very liberal education, taught<br />

to ask questions and challenge<br />

things, with no sense of constraint<br />

or having to obey religious rules.<br />

It was very different to most<br />

schools then, and in many ways<br />

closer to how we teach now.<br />

Did you get sent to the principal<br />

much yourself, as a child?<br />

I was a good girl at school. I<br />

was head girl and dux. But I can<br />

remember one nun, the music<br />

teacher in the priory, whose<br />

window looked out at the side<br />

entrance gate. Sometimes we’d<br />

try to slip out and get caught.<br />

Some girls snuck out for a smoke,<br />

and I didn’t smoke, but I did try<br />

to sneak out to get lunch.<br />

Why did you become a<br />

teacher?<br />

Well, I loved ancient language<br />

and classics. I really wanted<br />

to go into teaching because<br />

I loved learning. My first job<br />

was at Avonside Girls’, then<br />

I spent a year at Hillmorton<br />

High. Strangely enough, a lot of<br />

principals spent time teaching at<br />

Hillmorton, I don’t know what<br />

it is but the school seems to be a<br />

great place to learn leadership.<br />

<strong>The</strong>n I got pregnant with my<br />

first daughter, so I spent eight<br />

years out of the workforce until<br />

my girls were school age. <strong>The</strong>n I<br />

taught at Villa Maria.<br />

Did you ever teach your own<br />

girls in class? Were they allowed<br />

to call you mum?<br />

Oh, yes, that was hilarious. One<br />

used to call me mum, one used to<br />

call me Christine, and one used<br />

to awkwardly go “you there” she<br />

didn’t know what to say. So they<br />

each navigated it in their own<br />

way. But I taught them classics, so<br />

the three of us share a common<br />

love for classics and art, so that’s<br />

a really special connection. One<br />

now lives in Auckland, one in<br />

New York and one just back from<br />

London, in Melbourne, but we<br />

all talk regularly every week. My<br />

biggest achievement is not being<br />

principal, it’s my girls.<br />

Do you have any advice for<br />

other women going into maledominated<br />

roles?<br />

Well, I do think men underestimate<br />

how challenging it can be<br />

as a female leader or CEO going<br />

into a male-dominated workplace.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y tend to use very male<br />

ways to connect, like discussing<br />

sports or rubbing shoulders in a<br />

rugby game. But I think it’s about<br />

being yourself, building your<br />

competence and expertise, and<br />

building authentic relationships.<br />

So what is the next step<br />

for you? You aren’t leaving<br />

Christchurch?<br />

No, I’ll be in Christchurch at<br />

least for the immediate future.<br />

My husband manages Community<br />

Law Canterbury and he<br />

does some really interesting work<br />

there, and we have a new house<br />

in inner-city so we’re committed<br />

to see the regeneration of the city.<br />

I’m open to whatever comes my<br />

way, and this gives me six months<br />

do some exploration. I would love<br />

to still be engaged in the teaching<br />

world, but equally there may be<br />

opportunities in another field.<br />

I’m passionate about youth justice,<br />

and working with Maori and<br />

Pasifika students. So I’m open to<br />

whatever. I’ve got another career<br />

in me yet.

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