If records were being kept on attendance for Broadlands School staff, then principal Graeme Taylor might be up for an award.
Taylor has been the principal at the small rural school in Reporoa for the last 20 years, which is quite an achievement – and will be marked with a small celebration on Thursday (September 10)
“I arrived in mid-2006 so it's just past 20 years,” he says.
“Back then, a roll of around 70 and I was teaching… one and a half days per week in class. Then it was the new entrant year one class, which was a bit of a change because I had been Dean of Year 8 in Hamilton for 16 years, so quite a change.”
The school, now with a roll of just under 130 and based amongst dairy farms, certainly has a country character and charm, he says.
“And what delights me… having been here for 20 years, is working with up to four generations now of people, family members, who I know. We get even the third generation coming through from students who I've taught, coming back into the school community again. So that's always a real pleasure.”
That type of continuity has been important in helping establish a good school culture, Taylor says.
“With smaller country schools, principals move on and what was important for me was you can't build and sustain school culture over just two or three years; that's built and sustained over time. And I think that's what I've been able to give the school and over the 20 years it's certainly been appreciated by the community.”
He confirms the celebration next week is an anniversary not a leaving party.
“No plans to retire quite yet… it is a celebration of the 20 years… just a luncheon.”
He says he’s hoping to see a few past acquaintances who've moved elsewhere return to see him and the old school.
“We have a lot of past staff members who do come back on a relieving basis. We've had quite a number of maternity leaves in recent times, and they’ve all come back as well, post-maternity to take up teaching again, so that’s always a pleasure for me too. That they want to come back and continue teaching here.”
While kids are kids, he does think rural ones are somewhat more innocent than their city counterparts.
“I think it's fair to say there is a degree of protection for those who live rurally. They're generally not as streetwise as those who live in larger towns or cities. And we don't mind that at all…
“We have the odd challenge, but we are a virtues-based culture and that's a very strong part of our school and school community. So, that certainly helps with overall behaviour and attitudes towards life and learning.”
The school is a bit of a hub for the community, he says. “We get an excellent turnout for any major school event. And even commitment or engagement online through our learning sharing app, Seesaw, there’s a high level of engagement there…
“We have quite a few sports teams and we've always got parents who will either manage or coach the teams. So excellent support in the sporting area as well.”
But there are still some urban-type issues as while the surrounds and outlook are fairly calming, the school is on a busy arterial route between Taupō and Rotorua, so cars travelling past at speed is still an issue, he says.
“Pretty much every day, but we do what we can to manage that.”
He says the school is well staffed with six full-time permanent classroom teachers, and four, soon to be five, teacher aides, but there is still the opportunity for Taylor to interact with his students.
“Just this morning I came out of adjudicating the Year 5 speeches. We've got speeches on all of this week. So right through Year 3 to Year 6 they all get to deliver a formal speech. And our 5-year-olds present a nursery rhyme, and our 6-year-olds present a poem.”
And while he doesn’t think excessive use of AI is a problem at the moment among the students, Taylor thinks it will be eventually.
“We're not quite there, but it's certainly going to be an issue in time.”
Meanwhile however he is looking forward to catching up with some former staff and maybe even some old students.
“I know one is coming along who was the head of school, or head boy, when I arrived in 2006. And I haven't seen him since he left as an 11-year-old. So, he's catching up to me, age wise.”
Age might also be catching up with Taylor who is not sure he’ll still be at the school in another 20 years.
“That's probably unlikely, but I'll give it a shot.”
