He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing?
It is people, it is people, it is people
Nō Mamaku ahau,
Ko Ngongotahā tōku maunga,
Ko Rotorua te roto,
Ko Te Maia tōku tamāroa,
Ko Zara tōku ingoa.
My birthplace of Rotorua has given me a lifelong appreciation and admiration of Maori culture
Rotorua is where I learnt the importance of family and friends and the importance of whanaungatanga and manaakitanga.
Beginning my teaching career in Putaruru and Tokoroa taught me the significance of collaboration and connection and the importance of being part of a supportive community.
Having a 24-year-old son, Te Maia, who has a mild intellectual disability, I have developed an interest in Special Needs and in Inclusive Education. I have also Iearnt the importance of patience, compassion, understanding, selflessness and how crucial it is to get a good night’s sleep!
As Principal of Wickham School, Associate Principal at Knighton School and Team Leader at Te Akau Ki Papamoa I developed my leadership style as a collaborative and relational leader.
My mantra in work and in life is that; “People will only remember how you made them feel.”
Otumoetai Primary is where I have spent the last nine years working as Deputy Principal of the Senior School.
I am passionate about our school and all of its people. The culture at Otumoetai is second to none.
The children are happy and engaged and our whanau are supportive and actively involved in our school.
Otumoetai Primary School’s most recent Education Review Office report identified many areas of strength, and resulted in us receiving a 4-5-year review ERO identified Otumoetai Primary as having a safe and inclusive school culture where diversity is celebrated, a school whose vision and values are embedded and alive, a school with a focus on wellbeing and upholding positive relationships with the school community and a school where teachers are reflective practitioners and who show high levels of focussed and responsive teaching practice.
Zara McIndoe
Principal,
Otumoetai Primary School
