CAS farewells much-loved mentor

Alison (Ali) Menary has recently stepped down from her longheld position firstly as a teacher, secondly as deputy principal at Collingwood Area School. A school-only poroporoaki was held to farewell the much-loved and highly respected mentor.

After working as a long-term relief teacher at Rockville School in 1989, Ali began working at Collingwood Area School (CAS) in her first full-time role in Golden Bay in 1990. Prior to then she had spent a few years raising her three children and doing some relief teaching at Tākaka Primary School.

At CAS, Ali worked with new entrants for a few years, then with Years 2-3 and 6-7 until 2010 when she became deputy principal. She had held leadership roles both in the primary syndicate and 15 years as special needs co-ordinator, which Ali found very rewarding.

In an effort to achieve unity between the primary and secondary factions within CAS, Ali attended both syndicate meetings.

“Then I was able to bring each together at the senior leadership meetings. I had perspective of both, and I was able to bring that to the whole leadership team and get us all working together. It’s going along really nicely I think.”

Thirteen years in the role of deputy principal saw Ali filling in as acting principal several times, which has been a highlight for her. Board of Trustees chair Brendon Richards gave credit to her capable management of the school during those periods.

“…You were strong in that role. You had great consistency and calmness in the way you approached your leadership... the school progressed through those months also… A lot of the work you do is behind the scenes – you haven’t got an ego… and I believe that if everyone in this room took a small dose of the humility and kindness and loyalty that you live and continue to live every day, our community and our world would be a better place.”

Ali said she found her most recent role very rewarding. “In the last couple of years, it’s been nice working with Hugh and the leadership team… I’ve also enjoyed mentoring younger teachers and helping them step into leadership.”

Working with senior students undertaking Gateway projects over the past two years has also been enjoyable for Ali.

“It’s been really nice to work closely with them, help guide them and help them decide what direction they might want to go in for their careers.”

Further highlights include school trips, long-time friendships, and special connections with people in the school community. Then there are the students Ali persevered with during her years of teaching reading recovery to six-year-olds. She found it rewarding working through their psychological/emotional/ mental barriers to achieve success.

Credited with attributes such as calm centredness, patience and kindness, Ali will be sorely missed by the entire CAS community.