Farewell for Mr Rob Ferreira – Director of Teaching and Learning
At assembly this morning we bid farewell Mr Rob Ferreira, the Director of Teaching and Learning, who has given more than twenty years of service to Palmerston North Boys’ High School and the young men who attend here.
Mr Ferreira was first employed on a fixed term six-month contract in May 1993. In November of that year his position as a Chemistry and Physics teacher was made permanent. That role did not remain long as in April 1994 he resigned to take up a position on a dairy farm. The call of the classroom though was too much for Mr Ferreira to resist, and he returned to a long term relief Science teaching position at PNBHS in February 1995. In January 1996 Mr Ferreira’s position as a Chemistry and Physics teacher was made permanent.
Mr Ferreira was first appointed to a position with leadership responsibility in January 2002, when he was made teacher in charge of General Studies – a programme similar to Recreation for Year 12 students. In January 2003 Mr Ferreira was appointed to the position of Year 13 Dean, a key leadership role which includes the organisation of the annual Mountain Trip. In 2004 he was awarded a year’s leave to undertake university study to upgrade his teaching qualification.
Upon returning from this study leave in January 2005, Mr Ferreira was appointed to the position of Head of the Science Department. This position entails the leadership of more than twenty staff members and overseeing four curriculum areas in one of the largest subject departments in the school. Mr Ferreira continued ion this role until term four 2012, when he was appointed to the position of Acting Senior Master. In January 2013 Mr Ferreira was the first appointment to the newly created position of Director of Teaching and Learning, a new senior management position at Palmy Boys.
Mr Ferreira is highly regarded amongst the staff, who recognise his expertise as a classroom teacher. He has played a significant role in helping to place greater emphasis onto teaching and learning within our school and in the introduction of a range of new teaching and learning initiatives. Mr Ferreira has a genuine empathy for young men and works hard to help provide them with the tools they need in order to achieve, something which has often necessitated him giving up his time to run lunch time and afterschool tutorials.
Mr Ferreira has had an essential role in assisting with staff development, creating opportunities and providing the expertise to assist our teaching staff to develop their knowledge and skills. Again, the emphasis in this role is on helping to ensure the best outcomes for the young men who attend our school.
In recent years we have developed a close relationship with Massey University in terms of the delivery of the new Masters of Teaching and Learning degree, and Mr Ferreira has played an instrumental role in this.
Mr Ferreira has been fully committed to the PNBHS co-curricular programme. He has been involved in coaching and managing a range of sports teams including rugby, basketball mountain biking and squash. Mr Ferreira has been fully involved in providing outdoor education opportunities as well through his involvement with Year 10 and Year 13 camps. He has enjoyed opportunities to support school cultural activities, with an annual highlight for him being the senior production.
Mr Ferreira leaves us to take up the position of Deputy Principal at St. John’s College in Hastings and we wish him all the best for the next stage in his career.
