A former New Zealand police detective sergeant with strong ties to Waitaki Boys' High School started the second term as the school's new hostel manager yesterday.
School commissioner Nicola Hornsey said while the school had yet to fill its vacant rector's position, she was pleased old boy Daniel Keno would fill the hostel manager position.
The school was also hiring for a newly-established position at the hostel after a ‘‘reasonably common theme'' emerged through parents' feedback.
A hostel-specific ‘‘nursing manager'', whose role was to create a ‘‘home-away-from-home atmosphere'' for boarders, would be filled by the end of May, she said.
Ms Hornsey has been school commissioner since October 2014 when three independent reports identified serious issues at the school, including a ‘‘toxic environment'' for staff, and has overseen in her tenure the stepping down of the previous rector, Paul Jackson, who left at the end of the 2015 school year; and two subsequent rounds of applications for the rector's position, which have resulted in no appointment being made for the top job.
Seven applications were received for the role of rector in December last year, but the position was re-advertised and another 12 applications were received.
Still, the six-person hiring panel came to the conclusion in March they had not found the right person for the job.
Under acting rector Clive Rennie's ‘‘experienced, reasonably firm, and very calm'' leadership, Ms Hornsey said she was confident the school would see continued improvement and the school would not begin to seek the former Otago Boys' High School rector's replacement until the third term this year.
By then, the requirements for the role might have changed, she said.
‘‘The type of school and the type of leader we might have needed ... last year compared with what we might need in September this year I think will be quite different,'' Ms Hornsey said.
‘‘Schools change all the time and it may well be that the school ... by the time we go back to that recruitment phase, it may well be that what we are looking for has changed as well.
‘‘The feeling I get now when I walk in there is it is very settled, and I think it's a result of clear leadership and clear communication with the staff and with the boys. Everyone is really working well together.''
The new nursing role created at the hostel was similar to roles held at other schools where boarders experienced something similar to the support of a parent while living away from home, she said.
The nursing manager or pastoral care leader would be separate from counsellor positions at the school and especially help the younger boys boarding at the school.
The nursing manager would constantly monitor boarders' wellbeing, including sleep and nutrition, and would keep parents informed about their sons' welfare, she said.
The new boarding manager, Mr Keno, moved on to the campus with his family during the term break, she said.
As well as having a career as a police officer, Mr Keno also once worked as a boarding house supervisor in Lower Hutt.
‘‘The boys seem very happy and that's the most important thing,'' Ms Hornsey said.
Deputy hostel manager Ross Ovens, who was acting as hostel manager after Troy Looms left the school, would continue to assist Mr Keno.
