Her "relaxed and very inclusive" style of leadership will see the pupils form a school council, in which they can come up with initiatives and make submissions to the school's board of trustees.
"The children will not only have an opportunity to develop leadership skills, they will also have a say in how some aspects of daily life at the school will be run," she said.
Ms Harlick was principal at St Leonards School for the past five years, and was officially welcomed as principal of Arthur Street School yesterday morning.
She is only the second female to be appointed to the position at Dunedin's oldest primary school.
Ms Harlick was excited about the new job and was looking forward to rolling up her sleeves and working with the staff and community to develop the school.
"I've inherited an exceptionally talented staff, a stable and supportive community, and there are strong curriculum structures in place.
"The first thing on the agenda will be to grow our school in terms of roll size - particularly in years 7 and 8.
"We want to be a really competitive alternative to intermediate schools," she said.
