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Photo by Lesley Murrihy

Hellos and goodbyes

Lesley Murrihy —

It is that time again, when we say goodbye to some people and hello to others.

We are saying welcome back to Gail who reduced her hours for a fixed period of time a year ago now, but who will be resuming her full time role next term. Gail is a powerhouse and we are looking forward to having her back. Sadly, this means that Helen's stint with us has come to an end. She came for three months and has been with us for a year. Helen has always been lovely with students as she has tended to their little (and occasionally, big) injuries. We wish her all the very best for her future. She will be missed. 

Gem,  with her bubbly personality and a great teacher, has only been with us for a little while, but she is moving on and Anna-Maria, an Austrian trained early childhood teacher, along with Angela, will replace her. As the numbers grow in Te Rito, which they will over the year, Angela will spend increasing amounts of time teaching in Te Rito. Angela is an amazing teacher, so the kids in Te Rito are pretty lucky! The wonderful Gemma is going to make her first foray into leadership, mentored by Angela, and take on the role of Te Rito Team leader. Big congrats to Gemma. 

Anna has left for her big overseas experience teaching at an international school in Hong Kong. She is a very capable teacher and has been Koru Hub team leader for the last year. We wish her all the very best and many wonderful experiences in the years to come. Mike will take over as team leader, and his wife, Chrissy, also a teacher, will join the Koru Hub Team next term and provide Mike's leadership release from classroom duties (one day per week). Chrissy is an experienced teacher who will be returning from maternity leave. We are also very pleased to welcome back Andrea from maternity leave for two days a week. Urs and Andrea will fulfill the teaching role that Anna was carrying out. 

Not too much change in Harakeke Hub. Natasha left in week 6 and Kalesha has come in to replace her. Kalesha is a year 1 - 13 trained teacher and has more recently been teaching in secondary schools. We are very pleased to have her capability in Harakeke Hub. Other than that, everything continues as usual in Harakeke Hub.

I think that is it. We wish all leaving staff the very best and we welcome new/returning staff with open arms. We are looking forward to a quieter (hopefully!) third term - this one has been manic - as students continue with their core learning and inquire into gamification and other interesting digital technologies. 

Ka kite.