Past Principal Remembers

When I arrived in Paeroa in 1975, ostensibly for two years to complete my ‘country service’, I had no idea that it would be my privilege to lead the school from 1993 until the middle of 2007.  I know that the decision to remain in Paeroa beyond the required two years country service had a great deal to do with the school itself, but I also believe it had a great deal to do with the community as well.  I have often thought that the two are intrinsically inseparable.  The school is a reflection of the community and much of the success in the community is a reflection of the calibre of graduates from the college.  The school continues to enjoy the support of these ‘old students’ in its every day operations.

During this period, the school was literally re-invented insofar as the educational aspect of the school was concerned while being mindful of its rich past history.  With the rapid development of technology and the need for our students to be able to take their place globally the school had to develop new teaching and learning strategies not only to keep up with the immediacy of the students’ world but also to future-proof their learning capacity in the years to come.

The school, together with other SOAR@PAEROA schools, was fortunate to be selected for the cabling and upgrading information technology trial by the Ministry of Education.  Secondly, this was supported by the Paeroa Rotary Club in the provision of a whole computer suite which was vital in enabling the school to offer world-class computer facilities.  In conjunction with this, the school also developed opportunities for video-conferencing allowing students to undertake courses of study which may not have been available to them before.

It was a period when the academic success of the school was clearly recognized and our students gained entry to tertiary courses that they chose as well as gaining useful scholarships to enable them to undertake those courses.

It was also a period where our sportsmen and women gained an outstanding number of national selections in a wide variety of sporting codes.

We participated in a Sister City Exchange within the Hauraki District Council’s programme with students and staff having the opportunity to visit Jiading, Shanghai to learn more about the Chinese culture and educational system.  Our Kapahaka group also had the opportunity to represent the district in a visit to Jiading in 2007.

I enjoyed my whole period of 33 years at the College but I really enjoyed my time as Principal. I am proud to report that I achieved all of the goals I set when I was appointed Principal and I left the school in the knowledge that it was in good hands, that the culture of the school was sound and that my legacy of: “Paeroa College – Achieving Personal Best” was a real and true homily.

Lois Craill

Teacher, HOD, DP 1975 – 1992

Principal 1993 - 2007