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Kathryn Ramel is a former vice-captain of the White Ferns NZ women’s cricket squad.
A new principal took the helm at Snells Beach School at the start of term two last week, but neither she nor the school will need too much of an adjustment period.That’s because Kathryn Ramel has been an associate principal at the school since before it was designed and built in 2008.
She says she feels incredibly lucky to be able to take on the role one term after establishment principal Jill Corkin retired, even though changes will be minimal.
“We already work really closely as a team. Last term we had two associate principals, now we have one and a principal, and the buck stops with me, which is really exciting,” she says.
“I have been here ever since we started in a temporary office, with Jill, Su Henry [office manager] and myself. We appointed all the establishment staff, most of whom are still here, and we had to choose everything, from the building design, to the uniform, to the way the classroom programmes were structured, to what brand of pencil we bought.”
The school opened in 2009 with 120 students and the roll has climbed steadily to just over 200, which is expected to rise to between 230 and 240 as the year progresses.
“We’ve noticed a changing nature in the community,” Kathryn says. “There are a lot more families moving into the area, with lots of parents commuting to Auckland, or dads commuting and mums staying home with the kids.”
But she says the school maintains a country feel, as it is surrounded by paddocks and with the beach nearby.
“Kids have the best of all worlds here, with the beaches, the country and the community,” she says. “And it is a special community, we always feel really supported here.”
Kathryn, who lives at Ti Point, has two children of her own, a daughter who is in Year 4 at the school and a son who will start at the end of the year. Before she joined the founding team at Snells Beach, she was assistant principal at Gulf Harbour School. While she won’t actually be teaching in her new role as principal, she says she joins in activities with the children whenever she can, whether playing the guitar for the kapa haka group, or joining them for a game of cricket.
The latter is something for which she is eminently well qualified, having played for the White Ferns NZ women’s cricket team for nine years, including being vice-captain in 2000 when the team won its first and only World Cup title.
“I stopped playing some time ago, but now there’s nothing I like more than to get my track pants on and hit the ball around with the kids,” she says. “I love sport and the opportunities it provides for kids. It’s one of my things I love to do with them.”
