New Masterton Intermediate School principal Russell "Mr T" Thompson is pleased to be back home and plans to learn the faces and names of each of his students.
At a powhiri yesterday, students, teachers, the board of trustees and former staff welcomed the return of Mr Thompson, a deputy principal who had left in 2011 to take up a post as principal at Tokoroa Intermediate School in Waikato.
After kapa haka performances, Frazer Mailman, who had also left his post as principal at the same time as Mr Thompson but was appointed acting principal this year, said it was like deja vu.
He had been principal with Mr Thompson by his side as deputy for many years and said it was an exciting time for everybody. "I can tell you kids he's a lot like me but he's got no hair," he said.
Mr Thompson, of Ngati Kahungunu and Rangitane, said he and his wife Lianne had come back to Wairarapa because it was home and because their children Samantha and Blair live in Masterton.
