HeyJaredThe Principals (Aotearoa | New Zealand)
Experienced school leaders and officials share stories and offer tips about leading schools in Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 10
- Latest publication
- Sep 22, 2026
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- Jul 21, 2026
Latest episodes
Season 3, Episode 10: NZEEA winner for quality teaching and instruction – primary – Sommerville School (opens the original)
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In this episode, we celebrate an NZEEA win in the Quality Teaching and Instruction, Junior category with the team from Sommerville School, New Zealand's largest specialist school. We discuss the four pillars behind their award winning workforce strategy and the systems that have helped lift staff retention significantly over the past two years. Hosted by Eleisha McNeill. Our guests are: Belinda Johnston, principal at Sommerville School Emma Cooper, associate principal at Sommerville School.
Season 3, Episode 9: NZEEA winner for quality teaching and instruction – secondary - Avondale College (opens the original)
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In this episode, we talk with Lyndy Watkinson, tumuaki of Avondale College in Auckland, winner of the NZEEA award for quality teaching and instruction at secondary level. Lyndy talks about leading one of the country's largest and most diverse secondary schools, and how that diversity shaped the school's professional learning priorities. She tell us about the the school's Teacher Growth Profile and the principles that underpin it, and how weekly timetabled PLD time has changed the way staff learn
Season 3, Episode 8: Leading through the unthinkable: Christchurch Mosque Attacks (opens the original)
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Leading through the unthinkable: Blair Dravitski's story In this episode, we hear from Blair Dravitski, who was principal at Linwood Avenue School in Christchurch on 15 March 2019, when the mosque attacks took place 300 metres from his school gate. Blair talks about the six-hour lockdown, the decisions he made in real time, and the long work of supporting a community — including Muslim students and whānau — through grief, fear, and recovery. We then hear from all three guests in this series as t
Season 3, Episode 7: Leading through and beyond the Christchurch Earthquakes (opens the original)
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Instinct and aftermath: John Bangma's story In this episode, we hear from John Bangma, who was tumuaki of Mairehau Primary School in Christchurch when the 22nd of February 2011 earthquake struck. Three classes of his students were in the CBD. John talks about how instinct took over, the hours of uncertainty waiting for those children to return, and the years of recovery that followed — including how the school adapted its environment and its programme to support children living through prolonged
Season 3, Episode 6: When crisis hits home: Cyclone Gabrielle (opens the original)
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When crisis hits home: Catherine Bentley's story In this episode, we hear from a tumuaki who found herself on both sides of a crisis at once. When Cyclone Gabrielle devastated Hawke's Bay in February 2023, Catherine Bentley was leading Hastings Girls' High School, Ngā Rau Huia Ākina, while simultaneously losing her home and navigating the trauma of her own family's displacement. Catherine speaks honestly about the decision to be visible at school while not being okay, about leaning on others thr
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