Welcome back to Term 1. We trust you had a lovely break from school routines over the summer holiday and enjoyed the warm weather.

It was wonderful to catch up with most of you at our ‘Meet the Teacher’ sessions before school started. We believe that these meetings were a valuable way for us to get to know you and your child and gain an insight into how they best learn and their learning needs. If you were unavailable to meet with your child’s teachers, please arrange a time to see them as soon as convenient.

Our school day begins at 8:50am and we request your children arrive at school between 8:30am-8:45am, so they can get themselves organised and resourced for their learning day. Encourage your child to listen to the RRAP News to hear about sports trials and leadership opportunities. Some of the extracurricular activities that will be occurring in Term 1 are: Norwest T-ball, Norwest Swimming, lunchtime Badminton, Choir, Band, Wastewise, and many more.

With our collaboration focus, the teachers plan together and meet regularly to discuss student progress and how to best meet the needs of our learners. We are excited to have six committed and enthusiastic teachers in our learning areas. The teachers in our year levels include:

Mrs Tara MacLean, Year 5/6 Learning Leader and Digital Technology Leader- Tara joined the Hobsonville team in 2018. In 2019 she began her journey with the boys only class and is still enjoying this role. Tara has over 10 years of experience teaching and particularly enjoys leading other teachers to think outside the box and find their passion to learn alongside the students they teach. Because of this interest, Tara also mentors beginning teachers and student teachers. She is very creative, organised, and enjoys teaching all curriculum areas. Tara is especially passionate about growing independent agent learners who think flexibly, try new things, and strive to be the best they can be. She will be working in the Blue room in H3, alongside Harrison this year.

Mrs Clare Letting, Year 5/6 Learning Teacher, Literacy Co-Leader and Whiria Te Tangata Within-School Lead - Clare joined Hobsonville School in 2016 in the junior school teaching new entrants and Year 1 students. In 2020 she returned and last year taught Years 5/6. She has taught Years 5/6 for the last 3 years. Clare enjoys developing a nurturing relationship with her students and working alongside them as we strive to be the best we can. In her spare time, Clare enjoys camping, reading and catching up with friends and family. She is hoping for a lockdown free year working in H1 alongside Julie!

Mrs Julie Kim - Julie joined the Hobsonville team in 2020 and has many years of experience teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL and EFL) in Korea. She is a caring and passionate teacher who strives to motivate learners to become life-long learners, try new things, and be creative. She enjoys teaching all curriculum areas and developing relationships with her students. She is excited to rejoin the Year 5/6 team and will be working in H2, alongside Clare this year.

Mr Harrison Sanders Year 5/6 Teacher - Harrison is rejoining us at the start of 2021. He is familiar face within the Hobsonville school community, as he was a past pupil of Hobsonville School, and was previously on a placement with us in 2019. He is excited to be embarking on his teaching career with us, and this shows as he has been relieving and coaching basketball at the end of 2020. Harrison enjoys teaching all areas, and wants to ensure he helps his students to be the best they can be. Harrison has a lot of fresh, new, and exciting ideas. He will be working in the Blue room, in H4, alongside Tara this year.

Mrs Leta Fabricius, Year 5/6 Teacher and Pasifika Co-Leader - Leta joined the Hobsonville team in 2020. She is at the beginning of her teaching career, has removed her training wheels and is ready to embark on the next journey with her new students. She is brimming with enthusiasm, is passionate and can tell a very good Dad joke (or so she says). Leta loves teaching all curriculum areas and travels her journeys alongside her students. She has high expectations of all her learners, and like Tara, strives for students to be the best they can be. She believes strongly in the schools RRAP values: Respect, Responsibility, Attitude and Pride, and encourages students to use them in their everyday behaviour. She will be working in the Red room, in H5, alongside Kara.

Miss Kara Sanson - Year 5/6 Teacher, Physical Education co leader - Kara is originally from Lake Taupo and enjoys camping, fishing, surfing, paddle boarding and all things adventure. She joined the Hobsonville team in 2019, teaching Year 5 and 6 students. Kara is familiar with this year's Year 5 students, having taught Year 4 last year. She is passionate about the successes of her students as learners and supports each student in being the best they can be. Kara is open minded and believes strongly in a lifetime of learning, enabling her students to be creative, curious and self directed learners. She will be working in the Red room, in H6, alongside Leta this year.

We hope your children are looking forward to the opportunities being offered this term.

Remember that we have an open door policy, so please do email us if you have any questions or queries.

To keep up-to-date with all relevant information, please visit our website www.hobsonville.school.nz, check out our Facebook page, log in to Seesaw and download our school app (go to the App store on your Apple or Android device and search 'SchoolAppsNZ' to download the app onto your device. Then search for Hobsonville School to find our school's app).

Ngā mihi,

Mrs Tara MacLean - Learning Leader, H3 
tara.maclean@hobsonville.school.nz

Mrs Clare Letting - Learning Leader, H1
clare.letting@hobsonville.school.nz

Mrs Julie Kim - H2
julie.kim@hobsonville.school.nz

Mr Harrison Sanders - H4
harrison.sanders@hobsonville.school.nz

Mrs Leta Fabricius - H5
leta.fabricius@hobsonville.school.nz

Miss Kara Sanson - H6
kara.sanson@hobsonville.school.nz