There are a large number of changes to start the year - new staff, promotions and appointments within existing staff, and we farewell staff

It’s a pleasure to welcome so many new staff to UHC – the largest number in recent years:

Katie Ayrton – TiC Awhina

Nathan Bayliss – Social Sciences

Cory Broad – Social Sciences

Ivy Chen – Science

Louise Clarke – HOD Music

Rebekah Gray – Maths

Olivia Hammond – English

Alex Jaffrey – PE/Health

Grant Miles – HOF Technology

Parani Morgan – Guidance Worker

Hannah Shaw – English

Caleb Sherriff – English

Starsha Wright – Science

In other staff news, Kath Cowley has been appointed Assistant Principal, Erike Knebel-Mulholland is now Assistant HOD English, and Julie Sayers steps into the Assistant HOF Social Sciences role for two terms.

Kirsten Eichler is now the Assistant HOD Science, with Scott Riordan becoming the TiC Chemistry and May MacFarlane the TiC Biology. Bruce Thomas is Acting HOF Technology for Term 1, and Hayley Charles is our Specialist Classroom Teacher.

We have some changes in the Deans area with two new additions - Seth Weakley will be overseeing Year 11 and Ashley Delaney (Thomson) will be Year 12 Dean. Teresa Cargo is now Year 9 Dean.

Catherine Harrington joins us in a permanent capacity as one of our Counsellors, Dennis Feaver brings a wealth of experience to his new position in the Property team and we are happy to see Catherine Burnett, Colin King and Hugh Lawrence spending a lot of time with us as relieving teachers in Term 1, at least.

We farewell Will Jessep, who is moving to a new Science position at Onslow College in March, and wish Peter Sinai, our Caretaker, all the best as he retires after 15 years in the job. Michael Browne has also left us and we recognise the contributions he has made to the school in his 11 years as a teacher in the Hard Materials area, and especially as a keen supporter in the restoration and moving of the carvings from Parirau to Te Manawa Atea, and the placing of carvings into the School Office area.

We recognise too, the departure of Nick Booth, HOF Technology at the end of 2021. A teacher of DVC and Engineering, Nick had a vision to develop a strong Technology Faculty for our students and he worked hard to develop a collegial staff base and provide a range of subjects and learning opportunities for students - he recognised how important this learning area is for so many of our students and their career aspirations. He was also a rock-solid leader when the Technology block lost 5 classrooms to an arson attack in 2019, and he oversaw the development of the temporary Foods classroom area and the re-siting of the DVC and Textiles teaching spaces.

Change is good for a school – fresh blood and new ideas reinvigorate our thinking, and with the number of changes we have for 2022, it’s looking like an exciting year ahead!