Winchester Rural School

It is an honour, with great excitement, and more than a few nervous butterflies that I arrived this week as your new principal of Winchester Rural School. I’m so thrilled to become a part of this kura, and South Canterbury community.

As a very brief introduction, I have moved here from the West Coast with my partner Jon, youngest son Ryder and two dogs; Buzz and Woody. We have 3 other children, Maddison, Freya and Ashton, and they go to high school in Westport and Christchurch. Me, I love being outside adventuring or exploring new places, I love the ocean… watching it, being near it, in it, on it or under it, never fails to sooth my soul. I am happy with a great book, or binging a great series on rainy day, I am quite attached to my many, many houseplants, and am a sucker for great cup of coffee! That’s the abridged version, but we have plenty of time for the rest in coming weeks and months.

To the Kaiako, Kaiāwhina and all the staff here at WRS, your dedication to our tamariki is the backbone of this school. I come here ready to support you, to listen, and to work collaboratively as we navigate the ever evolving scope of education. Our mahi is important, and I am so looking forward to working alongside you all, and continuing to foster an environment where you can be your best selves, working in a field you are all so passionate about.

To our parents and whānau, you are our partners in this journey. Your insights, your support, and your dreams for your children are invaluable. I'm committed to supporting their growth, encouraging their curiosity, and ensuring they feel valued and included every single day. I am excited to meet and get to know you, to have open lines of communication, to build on the trust you have already placed in our great team, and to ensure that this school is a place where your voices are heard and respected.

And to our most important VIPs, our rangatahi, the superstars of our school. You are the reason we are all here, and your happiness, your well-being, and your success is my priority. I can't wait to get to know you all, to explore, discover, and learn alongside you, and to celebrate all the amazing things you will achieve. We're going to have heaps of fun, share lots of laughs, and maybe even face a few challenges. But through it all, we'll stick together, and I know it will all be just awesome!

As we embark on this next part of the journey together, my hope is that we continue to have a school environment where every child feels valued, every teacher feels supported, and every family feels connected to our vision; we will be inquisitive, we will be connected, and above all, we will be kind. Let's embrace the principles of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga as we grow and learn at Winchester Rural School.

So once again; Nō reira, I am looking forward to walking this path with you all.

Ngā mihi nui, and let's make it an awesome journey together.

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It's been so wonderful to meet some of you this week as you have popped in and out of kura and the office. Please come and introduce yourselves to me when you can, I can't promise I'll remember everyone the first time, but I would love to meet you.

If I don't see you before, there is a community BBQ/picnic next Thursday evening that it would be wonderful to see you at. It will be held at the school, from 5pm. Please look out for more information early next week.

Thanks everyone for such a warm welcome to Winchester Rural School!

Mā te wā, 

Gemma