As you may have heard we are saying farewell to our Principal, Jennifer Ioannou, at the end of this term. Jennifer has been appointed as the Director of Primary at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School from 2020. While we are sad to lose Jen, this is a fantastic career step for our high achieving Principal where she will be leading a bigger team.

We hope you will be able to join us at a special assembly to farewell Jen on the last day of term, Friday 27 September at 1.45pm. Further details on this event will follow.

To thank Jen for all her hard work, we will be giving her a gift in the final week of Term 3. If you would like to make a donation towards this gift, please see Yvonne in the school office by 20 September 2019.

This article highlights the fabulous work that Jen has done for our school over the past four years. Jen always keeps the students at the very heart of every decision she makes for the school. She is passionate about enabling all students at St Anthony’s to reach their full potential. The respect and admiration that our students hold for Jen are demonstrated by the interactions we witness daily (hugs, smiles, needing to tell Mrs Ioannou what they got up to that day!)

One of the key ways Jen has delivered superb education to our students is through attracting and building a team of incredible staff. We are very fortunate to have a highly capable and dedicated staff who provide the very best education for our students. Jen has continuously stretched our staff and helped to maintain their passion for teaching through the provision of targeted professional development and ongoing support. Setting an example, Jen has also ensured continuous self-improvement undertaking many courses and programmes over the past four years – of particular note is the completion of her Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and Leadership in 2016.

Excellent staff are essential for a top education but so are resources. Through careful budget management and planning, Jen has improved the resources at St Anthony’s. This includes new classrooms for all our students through close coordination with the Archdiocese of Wellington (making sure we made the most of every last cent), brand new ergonomic furniture, re-surfacing our backfield for year-round play, and significantly increasing our technology equipment (including smart TVs, devices and robots). Jen has also been actively focused on developing our school’s communication systems, which has produced an effective Website and Newsletter, as well as an informative Facebook page for the school community.

The Board has greatly benefitted from working with such a professional and high performing Principal. Jen has been an integral member of the Board, providing us with all the information and guidance we have needed to effectively govern the school. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with someone who shares our passion for our students’ education and wellbeing.

And finally, two very important external ticks of approval that were achieved under Jen’s leadership are the outstanding report that the school received from ERO in 2017 that made mention of strong leadership at the school, and the equally excellent Catholic Character Review that we received in 2018 from the Catholic Schools Education Service.

We are extremely lucky to have had Jen for the past four years, but it is now time for her to take her rich experience and joy of leadership and education to Samuel Marsden. We wish Jen all the very best for her new role; we are sure she will excel.


Kind regards

St Anthony's Board of Trustees