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    NEXT CHALLENGE: Lee McKenzie has officially stepped into the principal’s role at Horsham West and Haven Primary School. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

Lee McKenzie proud to lead Horsham West-Haven Primary School

The entire July 21, 2021 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

By Sarah Matthews

New Horsham West and Haven Primary School principal Lee McKenzie is relishing the opportunity to lead a community-orientated school with a passion for education and student wellbeing.



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Mr McKenzie, acting principal since early 2020, officially took over the top role last month. 

He said he was proud to lead the school, presiding over both Horsham West and Haven campuses.

“We’ve got great parents and students and our teachers and support staff are wonderful – they go above and beyond,” he said.

“It’s just a really warm and welcoming school community. It’s a very passionate community.”

Mr McKenzie said although he did not have any major changes in the pipeline just yet, he looked forward to working with staff to improve student outcomes. 

“At the moment I’m still finding my feet a little bit,” he said. 

“Now it’s all about setting up our workforce for 2022 and making sure we’ve got all our staff covered.

“Moving forward from there, it’s about how we plan for 2022 and beyond.”

Mr McKenzie first joined the Horsham school in 2013, spending six years at Haven campus, five in a classroom and one as campus head.

“I spent six months at Goroke as acting principal and have been in an assistant principal role at Horsham West campus since mid 2019,” he said. 

“I took over as acting principal at the start of 2020. Prior to Horsham West I was in Melbourne at McKinnon Primary School, which has about 650 students. Prior to that I taught at Jeparit and Rushworth, near Shepparton.”

Mr McKenzie said he never set out to become a principal when embarking on a teaching career.

“I was quite happy in a classroom,” he said. 

“I guess as I became more competent in the classroom, it became the next step. It was the next challenge, career wise.

“Since then, I’ve done a couple of courses that helped me get where I am today.

“I’ve also had some really good mentors who have pointed me in the right direction and been really supportive of me.”