He simply loves it. Bayly celebrated 40 years of teaching at the kura in April. At 62 years old, he has been there longer than most of the buildings, and he was teaching children and grandchildren of former students. The $22m upgrade the school is undergoing was another example of the constant change Bayly has long endured. He moved to Northland aged 22 after graduating from Massey University and his first practical teaching experience at Auckland Grammar School. Bayly remembered Te Kamo High School’s first computer, which only two people knew how to operate. “It sat in the library like a shrine,” he laughed. Back then, the high school was very semi-rural, which felt like home as he came from a farming background. Bayly’s Taranaki roots meant it was not unusual for students to see the teacher in shorts and a polo top during winter back in the day. “I ended up here in Northland because they told me it was warm and didn’t rain. “I think it rained from Easter through to Labour Weekend that first year,” Bayly said. From the moment he stepped foot in Te Tai Tokerau, he got stuck in. He coached and played for the Kamo Rugby Club, worked as the school bus co-ordinator, joined the local church and Surf Life Saving Club at Waipu Cove. He even met his wife through the surf club, and one of their first dates was the school ball. Despite Bayly’s extensive community involvement, it was probably within the walls of Te Kamo High School where he made the biggest difference to people’s lives. The best moment for him was when a student “gets it”. “You just see the penny drop, and they just say, ‘Thank you!’” What kept Bayly teaching was the constant change of students and staff, who brought fresh ideas and new perspectives. “Since the late 80s, there’s been nothing but change,” he said. “Education is changing all the time, and whether you necessarily agree with things or not, you’ve got to adapt.” The Young Enterprise programme was a highlight for him. His classroom had often served as an incubator of big ideas. Well-known local businesses, such as Active Attitude, started within those very walls. “You get parents that have said my child has never talked about school, and now they come home every day and talk about it,” Bayly said. He was also involved in writing the first Financial Literacy Unit Standards for NZQA that have been used in schools and institutes countrywide. Daughter Mikaela Sweeney, who also teaches at Te Kamo High School, was once a student of her dad’s in Year 13. She recalled how once he had a stack of chairs on top of desks and climbed on top to visually demonstrate hierarchy. Sweeney had posted on Facebook asking for people to comment on their favourite memories of the famed “Mr Bayly”. What followed were hundreds of comments and private messages, outlining little to big moments that made a difference in students’ lives. She printed off every single comment and put them on a wall in the staff room in celebration of his 40 years. “All the feedback was very much that he made sure every student could understand it, and taught in a way that every student was able to learn and grow,” Sweeney said. Many students were grateful that Bayly’s class had been a safe space where they could be themselves. Bayly said it was truly humbling to see the impact he had made. “I can’t reply to them all, but I was just like, ‘wow’. “I’m so honoured to be part of people’s journeys.”’ Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.