Moving from being principal at a Haast School, with 12 pupils, to Omarama School, with 55 pupils, has helped her widen the scope while staying true to her small school roots.
Ms Green took over as Omarama School principal last month, and was relishing the opportunity.
After retraining as a teacher 10 years ago, she worked in large schools in Wanaka and Christchurch but found they were not for her.
"I found my niche in Haast, and wouldn’t go back to a huge school again."
She found many similarities between Haast and Omarama — there were "country children", and a strong focus on the outdoors.
Being principal at Omarama provided a change, she said.
"I have a teaching component to the job as this is my first passion in education, and we have great sports and outdoors opportunities.
"I was also ready to have more colleagues around me and take on a new challenge."
Her first few weeks in the role had been exciting, and she was impressed with the pupils, who had a great enthusiasm for life and "healthy country lifestyles".
The school also had a good support network in its staff and its board of trustees, which was dedicated to its children, she said.
She intended to make the school a happy and challenging place for learning, and make the most of Omarama’s environment.
Having a solid education base was important and a stepping stone to the rest of a person’s life.
"We are lucky in New Zealand to have a curriculum that allows this, and gives us the opportunity to make our students lifelong learners."
