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Canterbury Tales Magazine

Canterbury Tales 2017

By 23rd December 2017No Comments

Editorial

Dear viewers and readers … 2017 has come to a close and we say farewell to our Principal and with sadness I watch Christine leave; as she has been a security for the staff, a strong leader for many new staff: teachers and support staff and a true friend to many. 

For over, nearly two decades, I have worked with Christine. First at Villa Maria; with me as a real newbie causing some mayhem but learning a lot from this senior teacher. Then through to St Thomas of Canterbury after being hooked back to New Zealand from Nottingham. We have been through earthquakes, redevelopment of school buildings, rebuilding of personal lives and many morning and afternoon coffee conversations. To say that life at STC will be different is too quick a statement; but change is a constant and technology makes connections easy to keep … but the fact that we all cannot just pop-in and chat to Christine will be the real difference. We all wish her the best success with her launching into the field of Principal Appraisal and work for the Ministry.

Challenges, change and “what or who next” are what makes a school the exciting and vibrant places they are. The buildings are ever changing but only the shell of what goes on inside them.  The only constant is that there will be a whole new set of faces, stories and families entering the gates in 2018 – eager to start, waiting for new friends, full of expectation and hoping that they will grow into their uniforms fast as their parents will craftily try to get an extra few years out of their purchase. 2018 will also see 4 to 5 new staff who will bring their skill and talent which will further flavour the years to come.

Enjoy and treasure this record of 2017. The video allows us to keep the moment, the song, the sporting event or actual student alive as at the age they were recorded. I am sure that these moments will be shared on screens around the world in the years to come. Farewell to all the other staff leaving in 2017 and we all thank you for your energy, enthusiasm and laughter. 

I can rest now for 2017 and put the camera aside for a month until 2018 when I will again seem like a pest with the camera as an attached appendage and be chastised for being “that guy” with the camera again … or the one who can put an audience to sleep with my explanations of NCEA.

Enjoy Christmas with your families, stay safe and I look forward to more fun … but not as much cake in 2018!

Cheers Brendan Biggs

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