Hapaitia te ara tika pumau ai te rangatiratanga mo nga uri whakatipu; Foster the pathway of knowledge to strength, independence and growth for future generations.

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou katoa - greetings to you all.

I hope you all enjoyed Waitangi Day, and spent time connecting with whānau and friends. Over the past week our ākonga have been learning more about Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) and our bicultural heritage. For our younger students, this has focused on learning what a treaty is, and the responsibility we all have if we are part of a shared treaty. For our older students, they have gone deeper into the timeline of events leading up to and after the signing of Te Tiriti, and exploring the different perspectives around Te Tiriti and the partnership between Māori and Tangata Tiriti (non-Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand).

This exploration of Te Tiriti stands alongside the work the hubs are doing over the first few weeks of term. All teams are spending time setting up the routines and expectations in whānau groups and in wider shared groups - looking at how we work together and ensuring that everyone has a strong sense of belonging and is valued and respected for who they are and what they bring.

As we continue to get to know each other in hubs, I will continue to introduce a small number of kaimahi (staff) each week in my editorial, so we can all get to know each other a little more. This week I will introduce Rupert, Gail, Lily and Sophia.

Rupert Webb

Rupert is a teacher in Pōhutukawa Hub. He has one of the two year 4 whānau groups, alongside Sarah, and he is in his third year at Amesbury School. We love his wide general knowledge, his curiosity about how the world works, and his love of sports.

Rupert and his wife, Jodee, are originally from England. They have been in NZ for about 15 years and have two children, Monty and Sabina. Prior to coming to teaching, Rupert was a Practice Manager for a Chartered Accountancy firm.

As well as teaching in Pōhutukawa Hub, Rupert is also our sports lead across the school. He loves a range of different sports, and will happily chew the fat with you about just about any sport. Outside of school, he plays hockey and is a passionate junior cricket coach.

Gail Greenslade

Like Rupert, Gail and her husband, Chris, originally hail from England. They have been in Aotearoa New Zealand for about 16 years. Gail is one of our foundation staff members, having been at Amesbury School since we opened in 2012. She is our financial and payroll manager, and she also oversees our property and health & safety. She is an absolute fount of knowledge about the school, and does many other things around our school to keep everything running smoothly. Gail is usually based in our admin office, but can also be found in reception supporting Rachel and Navy from time to time.

One of Gail’s previous roles was in hospitality as a caterer and it definitely shows! Gail does most of our in-house catering, and she feeds our staff on a regular basis for planning days, conference evenings and events where we are at school late. Gail also runs our annual year 6 graduation dinner, feeding approximately 150 hungry people. Her knowledge of catering is second to none, and she can tell you to the last piece of cheese and pat of butter exactly how much you need of all food items for a camp dinner or an EOTC lunch for 100 children. We adore having Gail as part of our wonderful team.

Lily Patrick-Duncan

Lily has joined Amesbury School as a beginning teacher this year. She moved to Wellington from Dunedin over the summer and is enjoying getting to know Wellington. Teaching is definitely a family business for Lily, with family members in a number of education roles, and she has always wanted to be a teacher. She spent a few months over summer in Queenstown working with four to five years old at an early childhood centre after graduating from the University of Otago.

At school, Lily is based in Koru Hub, in our Kākāriki learning space, alongside Hannah and Aleesha. She is doing a marvellous job getting to know all of her ākonga (students) and forming positive connections with them. Her calm manner and friendly smile really help to make Kākaiki a positive and happy place to be. Lily loves to be creative with ākonga, and enjoys encouraging them to get involved with music, arts and crafts.

Sophia Hughes

Sophia is in her second year of teaching, having started at Amesbury School as a beginning teacher last year. This year she is based in our Kōwhai area with year 2 and 3 ākonga. She works together with Kate and Lauren as a shared group, based largely in Kōwhai (yellow carpet) and Karaka (orange carpet). Sophia’s calm and quiet manner helps to make the space a happy and comfortable place to be, and her passion for student wellbeing and for knowing all students as unique individuals mean that students feel safe and known with her.

Sophia enjoys reading, and seems to enjoy dressing up whenever the occasion calls for it! I also know that Sophia owns a Liverpool football shirt, which means she has excellent taste in sports teams 🙂

I will keep adding in a few kaimahi (staff members) each week until we have learned a little more about all members of our fabulous team. 

Kia pai te rā whakatā - have a lovely weekend and enjoy time with whānau and friends.

Ngā mihi nui, 

Urs Cunningham