My Account
Principal Steve Collins’ final few weeks at Whangaparaoa Primary are something he will never forget, after each Year group spent a week doing funny pranks and kind gestures for him to mark his retirement.
They included filling his office with glasses of water, taking part in a Mad Hatters Tea Party, cat-themed activities designed by the Year 2s and testing his bike riding skills (Year 4).
He enjoyed the fun and games immensely, with new surprises lined up every week.
Steve is retiring in his 50th year of teaching; he has been at Whangaparaoa School since 2002.
He says growth has been one of the biggest challenges.
When he started, the opening roll was about 501, the school will open next year with just over 700 students.
He has overseen construction of many new buildings, including the recently opened classrooms and administration block. A library is to be built in the Christmas holidays.
“As the school roll has grown, we have always sought to retain, as far as possible, a country and community feel, with a concern for and a belief in family being deeply important,” Steve says. “I believe we have managed to achieve this despite the roll reaching over 790 in the last few weeks. There are programmes for children with learning challenges and for those with high ability. We have an enviable record in sport with examples of students or teams competing at regional, national and sometimes international level and opportunities for music, performance and Kapa haka amongst many other possibilities.”
He says that leaving this school, which he will do this week after a special assembly on December 16, will be significant for many reasons.
“The children communicate a little of their world, their learning and their challenges with you. They greet you in places away from school and later in their lives and that is all quite an honour and one that is difficult to walk away from,” he says. “We also have a really hard-working, capable and talented staff, a Board of Trustees who focus on making the school better and a Parents and Friends Association that endlessly seeks ways to fund the shortfall between what is provided by Government and the level that parents can afford in donations. Finally, we have a community who are keenly interested in what is happening at the school, so leaving all of that will be a significant challenge.”
“Over my 50 years of teaching, the children remained the reason for going to work. I consider I have been more fortunate than most.”
