Mr Ben Galletly will be Papanui Primary's new principal in term 2.

Kia ora koutou Papanui Primary School whānau

I am extremely excited and honoured to be taking up the position as your Tumuaki/Principal in term 2!  What a fantastic school Papanui Primary is, with passionate staff, a wonderfully supportive community and inspiring values that guide and grow awesome kids! I am really looking forward to meeting you and your tamariki and building on all of the great things that are happening at Papanui Primary already.

I have been in education for 20 years and love what I do. Most recently I have had the opportunity to be a part of setting up a brand new school at West Rolleston, where I have worked for the past 8 years as Deputy Principal. I have learnt so much about what it takes to build a positive school culture and now I am excited to bring all that I have learnt to the fantastic Papanui Primary school.

My passion and drive is to nurture our tamariki to become well rounded, respectful, curious and resilient lifelong learners who have mana and aroha and want to contribute in making the world a better place. I know that building and maintaining relationships is the key to a successful school. I also know that hauora comes before everything else.The well being of the whole school community is the foundation upon which everything can be built. I will be dedicated to making sure Papanui is a fantastic environment where each individual can flourish!

I am married to Ellie and have one son Charlie who is eight years old. They are my rocks! Outside of school my passions are spending time with my awesome family, dusting off my old vinyl collection, getting out in the garden, attempting a bit of running and settling in to watch a great movie with my whānau.

I finally want to thank Paul, who has already spent a lot of his own time talking with me about all things Papanui. And to Mark and the rest of the Board as well as Debbie and Jo and other staff that I have met, who have made me feel so welcome already. I can't wait to meet you all in term 2.

Ngā mihi nui

Ben Galletly