On Wednesday, 11 November a special assembly occurred where staff, students and whanau both past and present gathered in the school hall to say a heartfelt thank you and goodbyes to our wonderful Gail Paul also known to many Aunty Gail.

She works tirelessly to support her students to be the best version of themselves and has shown faith and belief in them when they themselves have stopped believing. She is the master of the home visit to whanau to bridge the gap between home and school and her compassion for people is relentless.

Aunty Gail is the prototype of a community hero, it’s never about her, it’s always for the greater good. There are not just one or two students or families and wider whanau that Gail has made a significant difference for, there is an endless stream of them

As she moves into retirement from teaching and heads up North with Walter I have no doubt that another community is about to receive a precious taonga. A wonderful human being who will leave a massive gap but who has influenced so many of us to clearly remember what’s important around here, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.