Fairfield Intermediate School principal Angela Walters (centre) with, from left, head boy Lynx Hill, head girl Leila Steward, deputy head girl Zoe Van der Drift and deputy head boy Lachlan Gibbs. The mural behind them stands for the 24 cultures represented among the school's students. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
Fairfield Intermediate School principal Angela Walters (centre) with, from left, head boy Lynx Hill, head girl Leila Steward, deputy head girl Zoe Van der Drift and deputy head boy Lachlan Gibbs. The mural behind them stands for the 24 cultures represented among the school's students. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
Fairfield Intermediate School principal Angela Walters has won a National Excellence in Teaching Award (NEiTA) after successfully leading the school through tough times.
Walters received the NEiTA Founders Principals Award for Leadership after being nominated by a parent, Annelle Botha, who says Walters helped make Fairfield Intermediate a school that parents want to send their tamariki to.
“Thanks to Ms Walters, the school is uplifting its entire community and every child, parent and whānau that is part of the school feels grateful for that.
“[She] is leading the teachers to specifically support the educational aspirations for Māori learners. Te ao Māori is strongly promoted within the kura and they are always working towards equity and excellence for all,” Botha says.
“Come rain or sunshine, Angela will be at the gates every morning to greet each child by name with a warm welcome and a beautiful smile.”
Walters was deputy principal to former principal Andrew Shortcliffe who resigned last year after having taken three years of extended leave. When Shortcliffe went on leave in 2018, she was appointed acting principal before receiving the permanent position last year.
Walters studied at the University of Waikato before becoming a teacher at Peachgrove Intermediate in Hamilton. Before becoming deputy principal at Fairfield Intermediate, she was deputy principal at Morrinsville Intermediate.
When Walters took over, the school was in trouble: It had declining enrolments and was under government review with an Education Review Office (ERO) review from 2018 criticising the school’s management.
Under Walters’ leadership, the school roll has increased from 550 to 825, the highest it has ever been and is even further on the rise with up to 900 students anticipated for next year. The school also received a positive ERO review in 2021.
According to Walters, Fairfield Intermediate has “always been a successful school” and was now finally seen as such.
“People [now] see us as a top option, as a school of choice.
“[But] we went through a bit of a phase. The important thing is we’ve come back out the other end and are now stronger than ever,” Walters says.
Fairfield Intermediate is a multicultural school with students coming from 24 different cultural backgrounds. Parents are sending their kids to the school from all over the Waikato with students coming from as far as Raglan, Ngāruawahia and Te Kauwhata.
When Walters first received the notification of the award nomination, she couldn’t believe it. “I thought it was a scam,” she says.
Fairfield Intermediate principal Angela Walters with the NEiTA Principals' Award for Leadership. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
Finding out that she won, she says she was completely “blown away”.
“I was in shock, really. That I made it out of all those practitioners around New Zealand, it’s an honour.”
The award is endowed with a $10,000 grant for professional development. While Walters hasn’t decided what to use the money for yet, she says she is going to make sure it will ultimately benefit the school.
Walters says she puts the school’s positive development down to team effort.
“We all worked hard to get the school back to where it needed to be.”
She is very passionate about the school and proud of its journey.
“I am proud of ... the strong and positive school culture, the sense of whanaungatanga [close connection between people],” Walters says.
“It’s a culture around being inclusive, we all want our children to do the best they can. We have a focus on engaging the students, making it a place they want to come [to]. We have strong learning programmes ... sporting and leadership opportunities. We take a holistic approach.”
From left, Fairfield Intermediate head boy Lynx Hill, head girl Leila Steward, deputy head girl Zoe Van der Drift and deputy head boy Lachlan Gibbs, all in Year 8, in front of the mural called kotahitanga - together as one , which represents all cultures at the school. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
Together with the students, the school developed the three new core values of whanaungatanga (close connection between people), manākitanga (kindness, support) and kaitiakikanga (guardianship).
Walters says once students would come to the school, they were part of the “whānau” [family] and the school would back them “100 per cent”.
“But we do have high expectations and strict rules on manners and etiquette.”
The NEiTA awards, now in their 28th year, received a record number of entries this year with almost 2000 nominations across Australia and New Zealand. NEiTA chairman Allen Blewitt says the large number of entries reflects the enormous respect and gratitude felt by the wider community during these “exceptionally difficult” Covid, and post-Covid periods.
Blewitt says: “Teachers being the superheroes they are, have contended with heavier workloads than ever before, as well as increased student anxiety and disengagement due to the pandemic.”
The NEiTA award winners 2022
● Shea Bowden (Auckland), deputy principal of Manurewa West Primary School (Apple Award)
● Jane Jarman (Northland), head of History at Kerikeri High School (Apple Award)
