Summerland Primary

Luke Sumich

Principal, Summerland Primary

Luke grew up in Avondale, “all my grandparents – the Srhoj and the Babich’s – were from Croatia so we had lots of holidays up north.” Luke attended Christ the King in Owairaka and St Peters in Mountain Road and then straight away went to Auckland College of Education where he qualified as a teacher. “In those days at school you didn’t talk about teaching as an option however in that obligatory appointment with the guidance counsellor that all pupils had to have, ours, a Ben Mason, confirmed my inner inclination when he said –‘Sumich, you should be a teacher!’ I reminded him of this when I met him many years later.” Like several others who have featured in this column, Luke’s first school was Kedgley Intermediate in Papatoetoe where he taught for two years. He then joined Onehunga High School as Sports Coordinator with a staff of fifty. Here, apart from organising all sports, Luke coached the first 15 to outstanding success in the premier secondary schools competition of the time. “Clearly my class teaching timetable in those days was light but this was a six day a week job and after eight years, needing to see my kids growing up, I took a principal’s job!” This was Punaruku School about one hour north east of Whangarei, where Luke was principal from 1997 until 2001. Then he was appointed the first principal at Summerland Primary School in Henderson, which opened in January 2002. “We had 100 children on day one and now we have 600 with 30 of the children finishing this year who were foundation pupils. We will be honouring them.” “It’s been great to select a staff and grow with them. I’ve probably learned more from them than the previous fifteen years. We have a wonderfully gifted group of teachers who all have a passion for our children and our community. We have 77 ethnic cultures in the school (more than most schools) and not one is dominant.” It was self evident as we walked around this modern school and entered and interacted with many classrooms that Luke and his colleagues live and breathe the school’s vision which is characterised by words like fun, learning, dynamic teams, and caring and giving.