Hometown educator to lead Makoura fight-back

Hometown sporting hero and veteran educator Tom Hullena has trumped contenders from across New Zealand to win selection as the new Makoura College principal.
College commissioner Tim White said yesterday school trustees and staff are "extremely pleased" with the appointment of Mr Hullena, who takes up the post in January after three years with Victoria University as a lecturer, researcher and teacher training adviser and past positions as deputy principal at Chanel and head of department at Kuranui College.
Mr White, who was appointed as Makoura College commissioner in August, said eight applicants had vied for the principal's position from across New Zealand with the application forms including a cover letter describing the post as "exciting (and) full of challenges and potential rewards".
The letter said the school had suffered a steadily declining roll from 425 in 2002, which "resulted in financial pressure, reduced staffing entitlement and a community perception that the school is failing".
Over 8000 people signed a petition for the school to remain open and the financial position is now sound, the letter continued, with an acknowledgement "that this will not be the easiest of jobs".
Mr White said eight of 10 vacancies at the college have now been filled including the principal and two department heads and he is confident of soon filling the two teaching positions in mathematics and technology that remain.
He is also buoyed with ongoing Year 9 enrolments, which are now tracking ahead of numbers usually received at the same time in past years.
Mr White said the appointment represents a belief Mr Hullena "will lead the school forward to a more positive future" through his tested experience of middle management and teacher training, fluency in te reo Maori, and a comprehensive network base he commands throughout a town in which he was born and bred.
Mr Hullena, 50, has taught over an almost 30-year career at schools including Wairarapa College, which he also attended as a pupil, Wairarapa Polytechnic, and at Taumarunui and Naenae colleges.
He is a former rugby player with regional sides, including Wairarapa Bush, Wellington and Wanganui, and he succeeds present principal Chris Scott, who has been at the college helm for 11 years as the second-longest serving head.
Mr Hullena has also captained several club sides as well as the NZ Army team during his time as a military officer and also played for the national combined services team and the New Zealand universities side. He has excelled in softball as well and played at national club and provincial level and was part of the Wairarapa school boy team that won the New Zealand championships in 1975.
Mr Hullena, who shares three children with wife Trudy, said yesterday "all schools have their challenges" and Makoura College deserves recognition as a school of quality performance and opportunity despite community views that run counter to reality.
"It's like the world share market it's all about confidence. Makoura has a tradition of serving the community very successfully and I aim to ensure that tradition is upheld and acknowledged."
He said the school under his lead would forsake a narrow measure of pupil success and instead cultivate "the broad range of talents" powering every classroom.
"The heart of education is the heart of the person. We may change some things we do after I've settled in but I will be taking a positive look ahead and a positive approach to our future."