Weber School farewells passionate principal Janine Satchwell

Principal Janine Satchwell receives flowers from Ruby McKenzie.

Weber School has farewelled its much loved and respected principal, Janine Satchwell.

Teacher Janet Tolley who was MC for the afternoon event said the whole community was sad to hear Satchwell was moving on to Colyton School in the Manawatu, after five wonderful years at the helm of Weber School.

The afternoon was a celebration of the contribution Satchwell had made to her school.

A powerful kapa haka performance reflected its introduction in Janine Satchwell's time at Weber School.

Board of Trustees chairman Jason Leipst said all farmers would like to leave a great legacy behind them and this is exactly what Satchwell had done for her school.

He said because of this Satchwell is well respected by her peers, students and community saying "You like to make learning fun and your passion shines through in everything you do".

He went on to say Satchwell had used professional development to better herself and her staff to "build a culture that is complimented on by many visiting agencies and he added that she has constantly pushed to resource classrooms to provide better learning outcomes for the students.

Janine Satchwell was delighted to receive this wine barrel platter reflecting Vintage 2016, the year she arrived at Weber School. Platter presented by Henry Leipst and Fergus Prouting.

Satchwell had been a key factor in the success of many major school projects such as the new playground, the pool upgrade and 125th celebrations, he said.

The students had their say, presenting Satchwell with a wall collage reflecting memories of the school, a memory book in which each child had written their thoughts, a wine barrel platter and bunch of flowers.

It was also a musical afternoon with the school opening proceedings singing the Weber School Song, performing some memorable kapa haka waiata and haka before concluding with a song 'We Will Miss You' adapted from the Queen hit 'We Will Rock You'.

This collage, presented by Charlie Kjestrup, will be a much-treasured memento of her last year.

In response, Satchwell said she had an awesome time at Weber. There had been a lot of learning and achieving and the gorgeous young people made her smile every day.

She said the wonderful community expected a lot but wrapped around the school in support. She promised to continue to champion their efforts and thanked the whole school and community for making her feel "so proud."

Principal Janine Satchwell thanks everyone for making her so welcome and proud.

Cherry Lee spoke on behalf of the school parents saying "Mrs Satchwell's achievements in such a short time are a testament to her strength of character. Every child needs a teacher/principal like Mrs Satchwell some time in their schooling and memories of her time will ripple on for generations."