Pegasus Post: July 08, 2021

PEGASUS POST Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Thursday July 8 2021 9
‘You want kids to learn rather than be taught’
• From page 6
From there, he became
principal at the old St Paul’s
School in Dallington, then
Our Lady of Fatima School in
Mairehau, before taking on his
current role in 2015.
A Catholic himself, he felt
Catholic schools focused on an
element which state schools did
not.
“That is that spiritual
dimension, which I think is really
important.”
The best part of his role was
seeing pupils trying their best
with help from teachers.
“The highlights are really the
staff you work with and the kids.
“Those are the things I’ll
always look back on and hold
dear.”
Uncertainty was the biggest
challenge of being a principal, he
said.
“You come to school and you
don’t know what you’ll be dealing
with.”
He has faced events such as the
February 22, 2011, earthquake,
the 2019 terrorist attack and the
Covid-19 pandemic.
“They’re not necessarily school
issues but you have to deal with
them at school. School really
reflects your community and the
things that are happening in it.”
TOP JOB: Denis Aberhart at a press conference with Cricket NZ operations manager
John Reid to announce his appointment as coach.
Technological changes aside,
the biggest change he saw over
the course of his career was how
it became common for both
parents to work outside the
home.
“There’s sometimes not that
same engagement with the
families as there was in the
past.
“Teachers are probably
expected to do a lot more in loco
parentis but in the end, the kids
are the same.”
Starting out in his career, his
mission statement was “to get
more and more out of kids rather
than put more and more into
kids,” he said.
“That’s still the same. You
want kids to learn rather than be
taught.”
Seeing former students grow
up and contribute to society
with good jobs and children was
always rewarding, he said.
“It’s great, especially if they
remember you fondly.”
He felt now was the right time
to leave.
“I think the school’s in
good heart, we’ve got an
increased roll and quality staff
and we’ve just had some building
work done.
“We were in the mid-120s and
now we have 236 (pupils).
“We’ve got a really good
cultural mix, passionate hard
working staff and a school
community that supports
what’s going on. It’s ready for a
new person to come in and take
over.”
The next principal, Collette
Sandilands, who is currently
acting principal at Sumner
School, will step into the role at
the start of term three.
Top of Aberhart’s to do list in
his retirement is spending time
with his two grandchildren.
He is also interested in taking
up a new role in education
or cricket, and could also see
himself leading tour groups
around wineries.
“I’d like to keep doing
something else on a part time
basis, something to keep me out
of trouble.”
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