Tēnā koutou katoa, I grew up in Te Atatū Peninsula out in West Auckland, and in that respect I add even more ‘westie flavour’ to the leaders of learning team here at OJC, alongside Viv and Luke.

While it was out west where I spent my own schooling years, and is certainly one place I call “home”, I have worked and lived for the for most of my 18 teaching years in richness and diversity of South Auckland and am currently a Papakura local. I joined the OJC whānau in August of 2018 when the staff totalled 24 and my MAC of just x11 new kids on the OJC block had just taken our roll to just over the 300 mark! I came to OJC having been the Head of Department for Performing Arts, Dean of Year 9 & 10 students, and Acting Deputy Principal with responsibility for curriculum at a time when the school was going through many changes at McAuley High School - a Catholic school for girls in the mercy tradition - in Otāhuhu, where I had worked since 2015. 

Prior to this the majority of my teaching experiences and philosophies were developed during my time at Rosehill College in Papakura, where I taught across a range of learning areas and teams, primarily in Dance, Drama, Music and Media Studies and also in Social Studies and English briefly as well. All of these experiences have sharpened my interest in the power of curriculum design and innovation to make the connections between bodies of knowledge clear for learners. Learning in 'real life' doesn't fall out of distinct boxes and it seldom lives such boxes when taught well too.

In addition to my role on the team here at OJC, between 2015-2023 I worked for the Ministry of Education through Cognition Education Ltd as the Te Kete Ipurangi (TKI) Arts Online Community Facilitator for DramaNet - this involved leading a resourcing, discussion and professional learning network for 850+ drama educators and practitioners both here and overseas. I was also the Chairperson/Treasurer for the Dance Subject Association of New Zealand (DSANZ) from 2016 to 2024.

Outside of work, I love to cook - you could say I’m a “foodie” and enjoy exploring other cultures through their rituals connected to kai. I play mixed netball (social, summer leagues only!) and, predictably, get out to see as much dance and theatre as I can from the various companies and tours that come into and perform around Auckland. I still regularly direct or work production roles on theatre, musical or dance projects and perform from time to time too.

Creativity has been a major anchor for me growing up and on my journey through education and it continues to play a huge role in my world-view today. Teaching for creativity and through creativity holds huge importance for the future of work here in Aotearoa and abroad too. I believe the creativity our learners here at OJC get to explore and the creative ownership they have within and across their learning is second-to-none, a hands-down game-changer for life and learning, if we work together to harness this potential.

My hope for our OJC learners is that they leave our doors with confidence and conviction in the knowledge that they have engaged in an innovative, personalised world class learning experience and know what more to do with it.

I appreciate, thank and cherish any opportunity to kōrero with members our OJC school and wider communities as we continue our rapid growth, together, and to ensure as a school we continue to be a hub for and of our community; always reflecting the hopes and aspirations we hold together for our youth - and then stopping at nothing to see those aspirations realised.

'Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua...' I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past; the past is my present, is my future...