New to Nayland English teacher Corrin Vedder has always dreamed of writing a book.   She has even started writing one, describing it as a fantasy with a bit of magic, "a bit like Harry Potter".

When teaching at her last school in Southland, Ms Vedder would sometimes read bits of her book to one of her classes. The students always gave her their honest opinions. "They would tell me 'yes miss, that is good, I like it' or 'nah, no miss, just no,'" she said.

Ms Vedder is also a keen reader, not surprising for an English teacher. She enjoys futuristic kinds of movies and books by authors such as Douglas Adams, Brad Bradley and Isaac Asimov.

Among her hobbies are also some that are pretty unique. Ms Vedder does tai chi and has a black belt in Shao Chi Chuan kung fu. She teaches children's kung fu classes twice a week, while her partner teaches adults.

She recently taught herself amagaromi on YouTube. "They are really cute and I'm obsessed with them. [Amagaromi] is a Japanese art of crocheting. They're so fun to make," she said.

Before training as a teacher, Ms Vedder had a background in art, particularly art history. She doesn't regret her career change though. "It's fun to see kids that say 'I don’t like reading' or 'I don’t read', then they find a book they're really into and spark up."

However, she's not counting on having any snow days off at Nayland, like she used to at her last school. "I don't think it's going to happen here," she laughed.