Kia ora and welcome to your Emerging NLP forum. It has been created to connect and network with like-minded leaders in education around the country. We would love to get to know you before we meet in person at our first retreat so please comment below with a short mihi/introduction of yourself. You can also like and comment on other people’s posts.
28 Responses
Kia ora everyone,
My name is Rowie O’Driscoll and I am a Team Leader, Within School Lead and year 8 teacher at Bohally Intermediate in Blenheim. I am originally from Timaru but moved up to Blenheim in 2019 with my husband to start my teaching career. In my spare time I like to stay active my running and walking my beautiful french bulldog Bear. I am looking forward to extending my leadership capabilities and meeting you all tomorrow!
Kia ora
My name is Bronwyn Jones and I have not long returned from teaching in Malaysia for 3 years in an international school. I am enjoying the seasonal weather here in New Zealand. I am teaching year 8’s at Bohally Intermediate in the sunny town of Blenheim. In my spare time I walk my 3 dogs – a Chihuahua a Labrador and a Heading dog. I am looking forward to developing my leadership skills.
Kia Ora everyone, I’m Pratima Achari. I have been Assistant Principal for two years at Ngaruawahia Primary School. Looking forward to this journey and upskilling myself.
Tena tatou,
Ko Emiemi te maunga,
Ko Whangaroa te moana,
Ko Mataatua te waka,
Ko Nga Puhi te iwi,
Ko Ngatihine te hapu,
Ko Krystal Harris toku ingoa
Kia ora everyone, I’m Krystal. I teach at Tai Waananga ki Ruakura here in the mighty Waikato. I teach English to years 9-13, am primary trained and take care of the literacy kaupapa at my kura. I have four tamariki, (all still at home) and a husband who supports my teaching obsession by cooking epic kai every night. I enjoy fitness and exercise & love to read crime fiction when I get a spare minute.
I look forward to meeting you all soon and learning from your experience,
Ngaa mihi nui
Krystal
Kia ora e te whanau,
my name is Annette and I am currently teaching at Woodford House in the Hawkes Bay. Hailing from the west coast I never saw myself living on the opposite side of the island – but sometimes life has a different path than you envisage. I am a PE and Health teacher, currently HoF as well as a Pastoral Dean. My passion is supporting akonga to achieve their personal excellence; whatever this looks like for them, and stretching them to think differently about the world around them. I look forward to meeting all of you and learning on this leadership journey together. Nga mihi
Welcome Annette. Looking forward to catching up on Friday.
Hi Annette, I’m a Woodford old girl! Rouncil forever 😛
Kia ora ,I’m Sheree teaching at a beautiful rural school , Elstow-Waihou in the Waikato. We are sheltered by our beautiful Te Aroha mountain. I am the deputy principal in my second year at this kura. I have been teaching for over 30 years and am still passionate about our profession. I am a mum of 5 children aged 26,24,22,20 and 12. I am a keen hockey player, love to sing with the kids at school. I strongly believe that building strong and positive relationships with our colleagues, students and families is the key. My nick name is Shorty and you will see why when we all meet !!!
Kia orana e te katoatoa.
Tōku ingoa ko Linda Tyrrell.
As the Assistant/Deputy Principal of Flaxmere Primary School/Te Kura o Pāharakeke since 2012, I’m thrilled to connect with like-minded leaders in education. Working alongside an incredible Principal, dedicated staff, fantastic tamariki and a supportive community, there is always room for continuous learning and improvement in my leadership. I aim to inspire and empower our senior leadership team with insights and strategies gained from my experiences this year. Looking forward to exchanging knowledge and ideas with the team.
Meitaki ma’ata.
Kia Ora,
I’m Kelly-Anne and I reside in Whangarei, Northland. I teach year 5 and 6 students at Hurupaki School and am an Across School Leader for our Kahui Ako. I have been teaching for 16 years and this is my 2nd year as an ASL.
I have 3 beautiful boys (aged 9, 7 and 5) and enjoy spending time with my family, playing sport and being creative.
I am looking forward to growing my leadership capability and getting all I can from this course.
Kia ora koutou. I’m Kate Cvitanovich, I’m currently teaching Year 5/6 at Mosston School in Whanganui and we’ve just returned from a 4-day camp! I’ve been teaching for about 11 years, in Nelson, London, and back in my hometown of Whanganui now for 7 years. I’ve been a team leader for a couple of years now as well as a WSL for our Kāhui Āko. I also lead maths and Te Reo me Tikanga Māori for our school. I’m excited to grow as a leader and learn new skills and strategies to take back to my team!
Hi. I am Pratima.
I live in Hamilton. I am the Leader of the Technology Centre and an Assistant Principal of our Kura, Ngaruawahia Primary School. Nine other contributing schools attend our Technology Centre. I am looking forward to this journey and acquiring new knowledge and skills that I can use and share with my team. This opportunity gives me the time to meet and reflect with others in our profession and how to become more effective in my role.
Hi Liv It kind of seems as if your life and mine have overlapped at various times. You are Assistant Head of a Department I have taught in although I also went on to be HoD Social Science there. We also share a HB connection. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person!
Hi Everyone
My name is Tania and I live in the beautiful Hawke’s Bay. I am teaching at Hereworth School which has been a boys only school for nearly 100 years and we are now into our second year as a co ed full primary school. I have three sons, 20, 16 and 8 years. I have been at my current school for 5 years but have been teaching for nearly 30 years. In this time I have taught various levels and in different positions including team leader and curriculum leader positions. I am looking forward to the opportunity to attend this course and discover where my leadership aspirations take me next. I am currently teaching Year ones.
Kia ora koutou,
Ko Ahuroa School taku kura
Ko Claire taku ingoa
My education journey began at Ahuroa School over a decade ago. I started out as a Mother Helper, then became a Teacher Aide, caught the “teaching bug” and completed my GradDipTchg (Primary) at Massey University in 2015. I have taught at Waioneke School (100 students), Kaukapapa School (300 students) and Wellsford School (400 students) and now I’ve come full circle back to Ahuroa School (60 students) as a Year 2/3/4 teacher and “emerging leader”. I’m one of 3 classroom teachers; we have a principal, an office manager and 2 TAs job-sharing one full-time position.
This really is my “dream job” although some days the dream does seem like rather hard mahi! I am very involved in the wider community, living just 7 minutes down the road, with a horse riding daughter (there’s a lot of horses in Ahuroa!) I’m a member of the local Hall Committee and an honorary member of the PTFA – my three teens are all at secondary school and beyond now. I am excited to have won the “emerging leader” position in Term 3 of last year, and I really want to do my best by the school students, staff, families and wider community. I am passionate about education – I see it as a personal and shared taonga that supports us all to lead happy, healthy lives.
That is a long and special association with Ahuroa School! I love your last statement – what an absolute privilege to have a job you see that way. Welcome to the programme.
Kia Ora everyone,
My name is Lucy! I was born in the Wairarapa and my husband and I moved to Blenheim two years ago. I work at a school called Bohally Intermediate, teaching year 8. I am a team leader this year, and a part of this role is working on learning support in my kura. Through my time working in education I have taken on many sports and cultural roles as well as being in charge of literacy in our school. I am looking forward to being a part of this awesome opportunity to grow as a leader!
Ata mārie,
Ko Rangipoua te maunga
Ko Haparapara te awa
Ko Mataatua te waka
Ko Te Whānau a Apanui te iwi
Ko Rutaia te hapū
Ko O Tu Whare te marae
I tipu ake ahau i Wairau
Ko Paige tāku tamahine
Ko Dan tōku hoa tāne
Ko Wikitoria toku ingoa
Kia ora, I’m Wiki and I am currently teaching at Bohally Intermediate School in Blenheim. I have been teaching for 13 years and have taught various age groups both here in Aotearoa and in the UK. I am a Team Leader and one of the three WSLs here at kura. My passion in education is pastoral and behaviour, I believe the power of building and forming positive relationships is priceless. I have a daughter, P, who is 12 and in our bilingual class here at kura. So, with that, my spare time is usually hijacked by playing taxi driver, watching sports or dancing, being an ATM, cooking, gym, cleaning and trying to stay ahead of a hectic schedule. I’m looking forward to seeing and learning about the nuggets of information that will be laid out in front of us during this journey and what I can take from and bring to the table.
I love your description of parenthood, Wiki! Your passions in education are also real needs in schools at the moment so I’m sure you bring a lot to your kura. Great to have you on the programme!
Naumai Wiki I am going to really enjoy working with you this year. I love the Bay of Plenty and was up there at Christmas although went no further than Ōpōtiki. Do you get back to Te Kaha much? I was curious as to where Bohally was so thank you for clarifying that.
I’m looking forward to meeting you in person!
Kia ora koutou! I’m Sorayah Lindstrom. I am a year 8 teacher at Bohally Intermediate in the beautiful sunny Marlborough. I have two beautiful girls aged 2 and 4. This is the ninth year of my teaching career. This year I am starting my master’s in special education to take this passion further. I am in my third year of being a team leader and I really enjoy being part of our SLT team. My passion lies in the fields of the arts, literacy, and special education. I’m looking forward to building my leadership capabilities and working on where I want my next steps to be in my career.
Talofa lava, Mālō e lelei, & Kia ora koutou!
I’m Erica. Born and bred in the capital, Wellington, and residing in Wainuiomata. I teach English & Tikanga at St Mary’s College, Wellington. I am also Year 11 Dean, and am on the Senior Leadership Team (stepping in during the extended leave of our principal who has now resigned). I am still part of SLT and have loved being on this journey! I am learning so much in this role, and am eager to continue learning about leadership within schools. This is my 7th year as a teacher, and 6th year at SMC. Looking forward to seeing what I can get out of this course and use all the learnings into the teaching profession.
Hi Erica Welcome to our course. I have a soft spot for Deans having been one myself in the distant past. I always think it’s the best preparation for leadership as you are so much the ‘go between’.Im looking forward to catching up.
Kia ora koutou! I’m Aimee. Currently, I’m an assistant HoLA of English and Kāhui Ako Across School Lead, based at St Mary’s College in Wellington. This is my fifth year at St Mary’s – and thirteenth year teaching. Since about June last year, I’ve also been standing in as a senior leader during the extended leave of our principal (and now his resignation and the search for a new principal). I have really enjoyed being part of SLT over the past nine months or so – way more than I expected to! I’m looking to figure out exactly what it is I want to be in education, and what the steps are along the way to get there!
Welcome, Aimee. It’s great that you have enjoyed the experience 🙂 I’m sure throughout the year you will be able to map out the path that is best for you.
Welcome Aimee. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person and to having some big talks about what the future holds for you.
Hi everyone,
My name is Femke and I hail from the Mighty Waikato where I have been a teacher for the last 14 years at Matamata Primary School. Originally from Taupo, I moved to Matamata with my now husband and have since had 2 beautiful boys, now aged 6 and 3. I have been a leader of different areas of our school but am looking to upskill and take on my next step in leadership – hopefully as a group/syndicate leader someday.
Kia ora, I’m Liv! I originally hail from the beautiful Hawkes Bay but have made the Bay of Plenty my home from the day I met my now husband. We are parents to 2 young boys, aged 5 and 7. I am the Assistant Head of English and Year 13 dean at Rotorua Girls’ High school, I’ve been here since 2015. My passion lies in-the fields of pastoral and guidance; special education; and all things where creating connections and relationships with students and whanau exists.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what I can get out of this course. I feel it is my time to step into the next level of leadership – whatever that may look like.