The Star: June 01, 2017
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<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.