The Board of Trustees has this week announced the appointment of a new Principal for the start of 2022.
He is Matthew McCormick, current Deputy Principal of St Clair Primary School, and he takes over from Wendy Brooks, who has held the position for 18 years.
Matthew heads Special Education at St Clair Primary and has a strong interest in digital technology.
Board Chair Logan Miller says that the Board is very aware of how important the appointment is for the teachers and the parent community, adding, “We were lucky enough to have a very impressive short list, but after the completion of interviews Matthew was a standout for his potential, his educational knowledge, skills, commitment and passion.”
Matthew says he is honoured and humbled to have been offered what is a dream responsibility for him, saying, “I am looking forward to this opportunity to help build on the legacy of the school, which already has such a strong reputation for educational innovation.”
Matthew and his wife Sophie, also currently a teacher in Dunedin, both have strong ties to the Central Otago area.
Wendy will be working closely with the Board on the transition and will be introducing Matthew to key community networks before her departure.
Last term, Wendy completed a study on community engagement in schools, and what parent engagement looked like. Her key findings were that the most effective engagement happens when schools are respected for being the experts on education, and parents are respected for being the experts on their own children.
She is most proud of the school’s fundamental change in learning for children – where learning is visible, and children love it.
She is proud, too, of the school’s restorative approach to behaviour, with its focus on relationships and holding students responsible.
What she loves most is ‘The magic that happens with teachers and kids.’
