Congratulations to Catherine Parkes. On behalf of the Wairakei School Board of Trustees, I am delighted to advise that we have offered the role of Principal/Tumuaki to Catherine Parkes and that she has also accepted the position that will start from the beginning of Term 1 in 2022.

Via our recruitment process, we received 13 strong applications and our panel shortlisted these down to 5 to take forward to the interview process. Last Saturday we received a presentation from each candidate on what they brought to the role then followed up with a series of questions from the panel. All 5 candidates brought some excellent skills and had a lot to offer but on balance the panel felt that Catherine's style of leadership, her ability to build and maintain connections across the school community, her unwavering focus on the hauora (well-being) of our young learners, plus the perspectives that she brought around Vision, Strategy and Transformation along with excellent comments from her referees helped Catherine shine through and cement for us all that she was the right choice for the role.

This is a wonderful next step in Catherine’s career in teaching and leadership and builds upon her already rich contribution that she has made since joining the team at Wairakei School in 2006. I am sure you will join me in wishing Catherine congratulations on her new role at Wairakei. Well done Catherine and we look forward to working with you into 2022.

Jason Bretherton

Chairperson - Wairakei School Board of Trustees.