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ŌTOROHANGA College students were stumbling over their seats to be part of a haka performed to new principal Lyndsay Kurth last week. The rousing display came at the end of a ceremony to officially welcome Lyndsay to the role, an appointment which came after a period as acting principal since Traci Liddall’s departure at the end of last year. Lyndsay said she grew up in the small Scottish town of Galashiels and always wanted to be a teacher. That dream led her to Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh where she got her Bachelor of Education. A love of travelling saw Lyndsay travel to New Zealand in 1998 after four years teaching at Ardleigh Green Junior School in London. She began her Kiwi teaching career at Maihiihi School and moved to Ōtorohanga College at the beginning of 1999. Lyndsay told the school and guests from the community on Thursday about the culture shock she experienced as she travelled from Auckland and into the King Country. She said she had to figure out what quintessential New Zealand terms like “rattle your dags,” “wopwops,” “yeah nah,” “tu meke,” “bit of a dag,” and “bring a plate” meant. “It did not take me long to love Ōtorohanga and its community, however, when I secured a teaching position here at the college, I knew that I had found my home away from home.” Lyndsay said secondary schooling was an exciting and important journey for young people as they developed greater awareness of the world and began to pursue further education, training and employment opportunities. “Our vision for all Ōtorohanga College students is to be empowered to succeed and we have a dedicated team that works very hard to make our vision a reality.” Board of trustees’ co-chair Duncan Coull said the college had been through a long period of instability. “It’s important it has stability going forward and Lyndsay can provide that.” Lyndsay had proven leadership ability, having stepped up as acting principal three times during her time at the school, and all the attributes the board was looking for, Duncan said. Those attributes included being someone who created a culture where staff felt empowered to achieve teaching and learning outcomes and promoted an inclusive environment which celebrated the school’s identity and the cultures it represented. He said the board was looking for someone who promoted best practice in student learning to maximise student achievement, who could work with the board around strategic decision-making and who was proactive and positive when engaging with the local community. “Mrs Kurth espouses all of these qualities and has an unwavering focus on delivering great learning experiences for our students.” Duncan quoted the proverb “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” and said the school’s vision had to now be on working together. “My observations in the short time I’ve been on the board is that we haven’t always been together. “This has been a handbrake; it has been disruptive and detrimental to great learning outcomes for our rangatahi. “Together we can achieve great things and together we’ll go far.”
