His mother was the deputy principal in 1993 and became the principal in 1996 and held that position until June last year.
Mr Tapsell's children, nephews and nieces have attended the school and the aim is for the next generation to also do the same.
“I realise this role comes with numerous challenges and a great deal of responsibility but I am excited at the prospect of what lies ahead as a beginning principal and the opportunity to grow as a person and as a leader.
“Fortunately, I have some great support who I can call on for advice at anytime such as whānau, close friends and former colleagues and I believe that will be crucial in helping me to navigate the waka going forward,” he said.
Rākairoa Maraki said it was both emotional and exciting, watching the kura welcome her son, as the principal.
“It brought back many memories of when I first started here. To have my son at Te Kura o Manutuke, as principal, was not planned; things just fell into place and aligned, at the right time.
“Ryan has a drive for te reo Māori and a passion for children too. He wishes to make te reo inclusive and attainable for all tamariki and staff of the kura.
“He is a role model for other young Māori men and boys of what they can achieve.
“I am proud of him; the third Maraki to be principal of this kura.”
Mr Tapsell already has some hopes for what he can achieve in this role.
Prior to starting as the principal at Manutuke School Mr Tapsell taught at Gisborne Boys' High School for 15 years.
“As a much larger school and with many more opportunities there that are not available to students who attend kura reo Māori from around our region similar to Manutuke, a large number of students were choosing to leave their kura and attend GBHS.
“There are varying reasons for this, however, the main ones being sporting opportunities at a national level and a wider range of learning subjects.
“The opportunity to learn within a reo Māori context is limited in a mainstream school but at Gisborne Boys' High School we did what we could to continue to nurture the reo me ōna tikanga in an English medium environment.
“We did this through kapa haka, reo Māori/rangatira, whakairo and te ao haka. However, the other subjects the students undertake are through English medium.
“As a result, the reo capability of the students naturally declines unless the reo is spoken within the home.
“So one thing I hope to achieve in this role at Manutuke is to grow the pathways for our students to want to stay at our kura and to complete their education through the medium of te reo Māori,” he said.
Mr Tapsell was a tutor and teacher of te reo Māori for three years at the University of Waikato prior to pursuing a career in secondary school teaching.
He decided to undertake study to complete a graduate diploma in secondary teaching in 2006 and then decided to move from Hamilton back to Gisborne.
At the start of 2007 he reached out to the principal, Greg Mackle at his former secondary High School GBHS where he last was a student in 1997.
“Originally, it was to put my name down as a relief teacher and he offered me a position as a fixed- term PE teacher. Not long after that I was appointed as a te reo Māori teacher and then in 2011 I took over as the head of te reo Māori. In 2015 I became HOD Māori Studies at GBHS,” he said.
In his time at GBHS he co-coached the U14, U15 and 2nd 15 representative rugby teams from 2007-2014.
In 2015 he became an assistant coach in the 1st XV and in 2020 he took over as the head coach of the 1st XV, a position he held until the end of last year.
