Selwyn Times: May 23, 2018

14 Wednesday May 23 2018
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Our People
SELWYN TIMES
Ronan Bass
Irish eyes are smiling on Ellesmere
About a month into
the job, Ellesmere
College’s new principal
Ronan Bass is enjoying
the new role. Emily
O’Connell talked
with him about his
career, moving from
Ireland and his most
memorable teaching
moment
How have your first few weeks
been at Ellesmere College?
It’s been really good.
Everybody’s been very
welcoming. So we started with a
beautiful powhiri . . . I was very
fortunate to have some
staff members from Hillcrest
High School in Hamilton and
students come down to support
me along with some of my
friends who work in the local
community. So that was a really
beautiful way of being, I suppose,
introduced to the Leeston
and the Ellesmere College
community.
How did you get into teaching?
I went straight from high
school to do a degree. It was a
combined degree in education
and science. Growing up in a
very rural community in the
East Coast of Ireland, I had
always thought about becoming
a vet. And then I worked during
my teens for about three years
in a veterinary clinic and that
put me right off. I don’t know
where it kind of came from,
there’s kind of been a series of
sort of teachers in my family
and it was something I thought
about. I attended the University
of Limerick, which is on the
West Coast of Ireland, and I
did a bachelor of science and
education, specialising in
agricultural science and biology
. . . I spent my first year out of
university working in a school
smaller than Ellesmere College
in probably a town around
about the same size, and then
I was quite fortunate to get a
position at an international
boarding school in Switzerland
for a year. After that I decided
I wanted to see the world a wee
bit and I moved to New Zealand.
Initially, for about six months on
a working holiday visa but stayed
for about five years. And then
went back to Europe for a couple
years and I’ve been back here
ever since.
What put you off becoming
a vet?
I’m not sure actually. Probably,
it’s a full-on job – not that teaching
of any school isn’t. Maybe
it was the goriness of it? I’m not
sure. I’m pretty good with kind
of guts and blood . . . I suppose
maybe the idea that I wanted to
give back more to community
and the idea of social justice and
working with people and being
able to, I suppose, influence and
bring about change.
How long have you been
teaching?
This is my 21st year.
What was the first school you
taught in?
Colaiste Bhride – and that
back then was quite a small
school. It was under 300 students
and it was about 20km from
where I grew up . . . now that
school has actually about 800-
900 students.
What made you apply for the
job at Ellesmere College?
Long-term my plan had always
been to move to the South
Island. Last year I was fortunate
enough to be acting principal
at Hillcrest High School, which
is a school of 1800 students, for
a term while the principal was
away on a sabbatical and I really
enjoyed that . . . when this position
came up, it was very much
a kind of ‘it ticked all my boxes.’
I’ve always wanted to work and
lead a school which is set in kind
of a rural community where you
can see, kind of, I suppose, your
sphere of influence but also be
close enough to a large urban
area like Christchurch so that
you do have a bit more of the
support mechanisms close by.
Two of my best friends work
at two of the local schools . . .
Ellesmere College has a really
good reputation. It’s not that this
school was broken and needs to
be fixed or anything like that.
That it would be going in here to
work with a really professional
group of teachers and support
staff and working collaboratively
with them, moving forward for
the future. One of the big draws
for me was the, I suppose, the
rebuild that’s going to happen
over the next two years and that’s
really, really exciting.
Other than the term of being
principal at Hillcrest High
School, had you been principal
before?
Nope. So I’m a first time principal.
Did that term make you want
to become principal?
Yes, well it had always been
my career aspiration. It was
an interesting thing because
SETTLING
IN: Ellesmere
College’s new
principal Ronan
Bass (centre,
front) gets to
know some
students during
lunch. PHOTO:
MARTIN
HUNTER
when I was acting principal for
term two last year, I was not apprehensive
about it but I was like
‘I’m just going to take every day
as it comes.’ But I really, really
enjoyed it I have to say.
Why have you always wanted
to move to the South Island?
You just have to look at, you
know, how the South Island
looks at the moment and it’s
a pretty easy answer. I think
Autumn in the South Island is
an absolute spectacular time, you
know, the change in colours, and
the scenery, the people . . . I’m a
rural boy at heart.
When and why did you move
to New Zealand?
So it was in 1999. I had family
living here, so on my dad’s side,
my closest cousins in terms of
age lived in New Zealand and
we had seen them sporadically
growing up and I decided well
I kind of wanted a bit of change
of scenery and I’d like to get to
know some of my cousins a bit
better.
SELWYN’S
TOURISM
SUMMIT
2018
WEDNESDAY 6 JUNE, 2PM
LINCOLN EVENT CENTRE
Christchurch has just been announced as the host city for TRENZ 2020!
A number of prominent guest speakers have been lined up to talk to
local tourism operators. Find out how you can be trade ready by
TRENZ 2020.
Places are limited. Please register your interest for this
FREE event by emailing tourism@selwyn.govt.nz by
5pm Wednesday 30 May.
www.sensationalselwyn.co.nz