This video is part of our Leading Through A Crisis series. To view the rest of our interviews and webinars, head this way.
In our second Leading Through A Crisis webinar with principals, we speak with three school leaders for whom COVID-19 was far from the first crisis to deal with.
Drawing on experience from the Christchurch earthquakes, 2019 mosque shootings and more, Springboard Trust CEO Dale Bailey speaks with:
- Shane Buckner, Principal at Wairakei School, Bryndwyr
- Blair Dravitski, Principal at Linwood Avenue School, Linwood
- Suzi De Gouveia, Principal at St Teresa’s School, Riccarton
Leading Through A Crisis: All Resources
This video is part of our Leading Through A...
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About our principals
Shane Buckner – Principal of Wairakei School, Bryndwr, Christchurch
Kia ora. I am husband to Sarah and father to two young men; one an engineer in Nelson and the other starting his tertiary education at Victoria in the NZ School of Music.
I have been teaching for 30 years, and a Principal for 13. I absolutely love my school, where I have been principal for the last 10 years. Wairakei School is in the northwest of Christchurch and currently has around 250 children. I am deeply passionate about inclusive education and in developing holistic educational pathways through a responsive and relevant localised curriculum.
I am honoured to be the current president of the Canterbury Primary Principals Association and enjoy the many challenges that this responsibility brings. I love good coffee and enjoy cooking and competing in low and slow bbq competitions, and generally sharing bbq with friends and family.
Blair Dravitski, Principal of Linwood Avenue School, Christchurch
Blair Dravitski has been in education for the last 15 years working in schools from Ashburton to Papatoetoe and is currently the principal of Linwood Avenue School. This is Blair’s second principalship after spending 3 years as principal of Ohakune Primary School in the Central North Island. Blair started at Linwood Avenue School in October 2016 and currently has a school roll of 420.
Linwood Avenue School was the first school to go into lockdown on March 15th 2019, and is located approximately 350m from the Linwood Avenue Mosque. This was Blair’s second experience in lockdown after previously going into lockdown in Ohakune for 8 hours.
Suzi de Gouveia, Principal of St Teresa’s School, Christchurch
Suzi de Gouveia has been at school since she was 5! Education is in her blood and she is passionate about educating the whole child in an ever-changing world. She is principal of St. Teresa’s School in Riccarton, a state integrated Catholic school with a maximum roll of 175 multi-cultural, delicious children.
