EDUCATOR’S PASSION AND PERSEVERANCE BUILDS POSITIVE CULTURE
De’Arne Cassidy is all in. And her students are better off for it.
A teacher at Christchurch Adventist School for all but two years since graduating from Avondale, and now deputy principal—head of secondary, De’Arne (BEd, 1994) is proud of the school’s positive faith and learning culture. But maintaining it “often feels like a fluid goal needing constant realignment.” Just as well De’Arne is a person of resilience. She describes Christian teaching not just as a career but as a calling. “Devoting yourself to that each day requires a high level of commitment to school and community.”
De’Arne is just as passionate about a subject she continues to teach. When she began at the school, art used to be offered only to students in Years 9 and 10. It is now offered up to Year 13. As an artist herself—acrylic painting and digital art are hobbies—De’Arne says watching students master skills over that time “is a joy for me each year.”
De’Arne shares her professional life with husband Haami, who also teaches at the school. Their partnership is characterised by a playful balance of power. “We joke that I’m the boss at school and I let him be the boss at home—sometimes.”
The couple’s daughters have inherited De’Arne and Haami’s love of teaching, with Riana working as an early childhood educator and Shardae completing a bachelor’s degree in preparation for postgraduate study in teaching. Raising the girls to become adults who thrive is a “privilege”—and “a job that will never be finished.”
De’Arne’s study plans did not initially include Avondale but after getting a feel for the on-campus experience during a two-day gap year visit, “there was no choice. I was in!” Coming as she did from a large public high school, De’Arne enjoyed freely exploring her faith at Avondale. “The staff members and students were so welcoming. The friends I made mean no matter where I go in the South Pacific, I tend to meet someone I know.”
The Class of 1994 honours De’Arne Cassidy’s passion and perseverance for building positive culture at Christchurch Adventist School.