I feel very lucky and privileged that I can call Shotover Primary School my place of work. It is a fantastic place to come to every day and I am grateful that I get to work and learn alongside such an amazing group of professionals.
Originally I am from England and my intention was to stay in New Zealand for 18 months before going home, but 20 years later I am still here, and Queenstown is my home. Prior to teaching, my jobs centered around hospitality, tourism and small business management and what I loved about all of those roles was helping people, problem solving and connecting with others. Your child may have told you stories about the “one-legged teacher” and these are true! I had my leg amputated below the knee in 2004 after a random blood clot. This in no way affects what I can do, as I love to ski, swim, bike with my family and take advantage of all the other amazing opportunities we have for getting out and about by living here.
What do I believe?
I believe that in order to grow and develop lifelong learners we need to be teaching children the interpersonal and social, emotional skills alongside the core curriculum areas. Play based learning is one of the methodologies that encourages this. I love seeing children progress in all aspects of learning, from making friends and sharing resources, to conquering the fearsome heights of the spider web.
Each child comes to us with a unique set of attributes which we can nurture and grow through making the learning authentic and real, finding out what sparks an individual and involving them in the design for learning.My passions include maths, science and technology, and I’m curious about anything to do with learning.