Upper Harbour Primary School assistant principal Sarah Graham will take up the position in term three this year. Miss Graham was part of the foundation management team of the Auckland school before it opened in 2006.
"Starting a new school is an incredibly exciting role to be part of and I'll bring some understanding of what's involved, in terms of resources, creating relationships, technology, furniture, and making the vision of what the community wants Remarkables Primary School to be."
Miss Graham is experienced in the development of curriculum programmes and Inquiry Learning.
She has family in Invercargill and was looking forward to living in the Wakatipu, where her family had spent their holidays.
RPS principal Debbie Dickson and the board will begin recruiting teachers next term. The number of teachers sought in the first drive was yet to be confirmed, but positions would be advertised in the New Zealand Education Gazette.
Mrs Dickson told the Queenstown Times the school would also be recruiting two team leaders to begin in term four next year.
The principal and trustees were developing the school charter and working with the Ministry of Education to confirm enrolment and transportation schemes. Technological implementation was being devised and architects Babbage Consultants was involved in planning internal fitting-out.
A total of 22 Naylor Love Construction staff and eight subcontractors were working on the $17.3 million development, on 1.6ha of land off Lake Ave, in Frankton.
Earth 6m deep by 17m wide and 50m long has been excavated to make way for the administration, hall, library and gym block, and the open-air amphitheatre.
Thirty foundation pods have been buried to anchor the building in case of earthquake and another five pods will be added. The steel framework for the first "learning pod" will be erected in mid-July.
The school's 460 pupils and more than 20 teachers will be kept warm by an electric in-floor heating system, supplemented by air conditioning.
The southern end learning pod and the stand-alone early childhood centre will open first in 2010. RPS administration will be based in the centre before Frankton Playcentre moves in.
Naylor Love site manager Peter Taylor said the project was going well.
