‘Something in it for everybody’: over 240 attend conference

Gary Shirley leads one of his two ukulele workshops at the North Otago Primary Principals’...
Gary Shirley leads one of his two ukulele workshops at the North Otago Primary Principals’ Association teaching and learning conference last week. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
The North Otago Primary Principals’ Association Teaching and Learning Conference was held last week.

More than 240 principals, teachers, learning support and administration staff attended the two-day conference.

Three keynote speakers came from out of town for the event and the attendees took part in a series of workshops.

There was "something in it for everybody", conference chairwoman Deidre Senior said.

"For many schools, we had all of the education staff so we had teachers, teacher aides, learning assistants and the admin staff."

Mrs Senior was especially pleased with the "exceptional" keynote speakers.

Even though they were from quite different fields, they all had a message about overcoming adversity.

"That’s just something we have to think about with the kids in our schools and classrooms [and] how we can ensure that everybody gets the opportunity to excel."

The next conference will be held in 2026.