Kaitiaki Luke Fairbrother and deputy kaitiaki Emily O’Neale standing proud outside their school. PHOTO/DARREN KERR
Shea Turner
Whareama School is hopeful it will find the right person soon as they look to replace outgoing senior school teacher Sandy Taylor.
Principal Darren Kerr is disappointed to lose such a valued teacher but is also excited at the opportunity to bring someone new into the team.
Whakatutuki [year five to eight] teacher Sandy Taylor will be making a change from teaching to return to work on her farm.
Kerr said there was a massive shortage in teachers in Wairarapa, and it was always a little more challenging to find teachers in the mid-year.
Being a rural school, the length of travel can quite often deter applicants, but Kerr thinks it’s well worth the drive.
“We are pretty spoilt here; the kids and community are fantastic.”
Kerr commutes from Masterton and enjoys the chance to debrief on his day and finds it good thinking time when travelling to and from school.
Whareama is looking for somebody who is able to fit in and continue to develop their outlook.
The graduate profile for pupils of Whareama is to have strong literacy and numeracy skills, be exposed to many opportunities outside of class and to have good learner qualities and dispositions.
Kerr said they wanted their pupils to be able to self-manage, problem-solve and be team players.
He has found that all of their pupils have done well when moving on to secondary school.
He said they had no applications yet, but they were still open for another week and was hopeful for a last-minute application rush.
They were in no rush and would find the teacher that had the best intentions for the pupils.
