Brian O’Connell commenced as Principal of Whangaparaoa College in February 2004. Along with the establishment Board he was responsible for developing the direction of the college and appointing key staff. Brian was previously Principal of Otahuhu College and before that he was Deputy Principal of Mount Albert Grammar School. He was also involved in the development and implementation of NCEA, New Zealand’s national qualification.
Brian believes very much in the basics of literacy and numeracy being extremely important and sees this as an important focus at Whangaparaoa College. For learners in the 21st Century there is also the importance of digital technologies as a learning medium. The development of Whangaparaoa College is to be a ‘lead school of learning’ and digital technologies are an important part of that.
Brian maintains a blog called Whanged (http://whangabrian.blogspot.com/index.html) on the development of this learning environment. Brian lives in a small cottage in Glenfield which he is slowly renovating. He has two children Annie and Lucy and is a keen photographer and tramper.
