WHEN Maurie Jackways began teaching physics at Mt Aspiring College (MAC) in 1991, there were nine pupils in year 13, then called the seventh form. Now, there are more than 100.
Just over half of the year 13 pupils are locals. The others were attracted to Wanaka by MAC's outdoor and lifestyle programmes.
It is an astounding statistic, confirming again - if it is needed - the trickle of immigrants to Wanaka has become a river.
Mr Jackways, the MAC principal since 1997, smiles with pleasure.
"What I am most happy about is even though [the school] has trebled in size, it still has that small community feel," he said in an interview with the Otago Daily Times this month.
In his new career as an education leadership and management adviser, the community still keeps him grounded.
His work with newly appointed school principals throughout Otago and Southland may mean he will spend quite a bit of time away from Wanaka in the future, but home is where his heart is.
Mr Jackways was seconded to his present role last year, leaving the school in the hands of deputy principal Wayne Bosley.
Since then, the number of new principals in the region has grown from three to 15, more than half working in rural areas.
This is more evidence of a region and sector undergoing important change and Mr Jackways has another three "new hats" designed to address issues of change.
He is involved in the National Aspiring Principals Pilot, a combined Otago and Canterbury universities programme to prepare deputy and assistant principals for the role of principal.
More recently, the Ministry of Education asked him to do mentoring work for the Wellington-based e-Principals Programme.
Twelve e-principals are each responsible for a cluster of schools throughout New Zealand.
The local model is OtagoNet (comprising 12 rural schools, including Mt Aspiring College), which provides some of schools' teaching and learning via high-speed video conference technology.
The e-principal runs the cluster and helps deliver high standards of education for the schools, which are often unable to offer their pupils the same range of subjects as city schools.
Mr Jackways' fourth hat comes from the Hillary Leadership Programme at Auckland University, where he is one of 30 people from a variety of professions awarded scholarships last year to develop leadership skills.
"I am really happy at where I am at after 10 years [as MAC principal]. Tapping into all those things gave me the confidence to move on," Mr Jackways said.
Rural upbringing
Mr Jackways was raised in Wellington and studied at Otago University.
He and his wife Sally did not know Wanaka when they arrived in 1991 but like most newcomers they were attracted by the rural lifestyle.
"In truth, Wanaka in those days wasn't anything like it is now.
It wasn't as sought-after as it is now. but we wanted a rural upbringing for our children.
We liked that it was a small town where everybody looked after everybody and looked out for everybody . . .
Our children got involved in so many different sports. And in the weekend their choices were swimming in the lake, fishing, going for a bike ride," Mr Jackways said.
Mr and Mrs Jackways both have physical education and teaching qualifications. Mrs Jackways is also a qualified librarian and Mr Jackways also has a BA.
Tim (27), Will (25) and Frances (23) have excelled in their chosen sports. The boys are professional snowboarders and live overseas most of the year.
Frances, a lawyer, was an Otago Rebels netballer and now lives in Auckland, where she captains the Auckland Waitakere netball team.
While many are like the Jackways' children and leave town to explore other opportunities, Mr Jackways believes Wanaka is now of an age where many people can develop careers and have the lifestyle.
Of course people still like to meet face-to-face occasionally, so there's a bit of travel.
But when he is home, he is working just as hard and using best practice technology, such as Skype video conferencing, to keep in touch with colleagues.
"We can't go on in schools about technology and teach it to kids and then go back to the old ways and meeting face to face," he said.
Wanaka still has heart
Despite Wanaka's constantly changing face, Mr Jackways still feels it has a heart.
At the college, older pupils looked out for the younger ones and all took a genuine interest in each other, he said.
"It happened naturally for a long time and now to protect it, we run this whanau system with vertical form classes. That provides peer support for young ones and leadership skills for the older ones."
He feels "incredibly proud" of the all-round nature of MAC pupils and how hard the school has worked at developing sporting, cultural and service skills.
The two words pupils might associate most with Mr Jackways are 'self responsibility'. "I am really, really hot on developing self responsibility in the student.
"Nothing annoys me more than somebody trying to blame somebody else for something they have done," Mr Jackways said.
"It used to really bug me when there was something written in the newspapers that describes an activity occurring over the weekend and the misbehaviour was being attributed to the college when clearly it was a parental function.
"While we are quite willing to accept some responsibility for that behaviour and some responsibility for trying to improve that behaviour, it still annoys me that it was always thrown straight back at the school."
One hurtful allegation was made last year after lights on the Earth From Above outdoor photographic exhibition were vandalised.
Community leaders unleashed their wrath through newspapers against an alleged group of unnamed youths and called for, among other things, public floggings.
"That really got me, because I was hearing things in the community all the time. When it was worked through, it was found they weren't even pupils," Mr Jackways said.
He accepts not all teenagers are angels.
The school, which has about 600 pupils, has had its share of the usual issues, such as reported thefts, misdemeanours or the appropriateness of pupils' sexual activities.
Mr Jackways has never evaded media questions about such things but has always - and reasonably - chosen to take police advice and not comment on the activities of youths being investigated, facing charges or receiving police youth aid.
He prefers to focus on "99% of the activities" that are positive.
"I was reading a quote just this morning from Aristotle, who said the trouble with the youth of today is they are unruly and have no respect.
"It has obviously been the same throughout history," he said with a smile.
On the whole, he has been very happy with the "fantastically positive press" the school has attracted.
"[Mt Aspiring College] is a mature organisation now. In the years we've been developing - and that's been [former principal] Mike Allison before me, and more recently me - we've got our school well established, well renowned.
"It should not feel unconfident about that it is and where it is going," he said.
