Christmas Greetings from St Bede's

Sadly, we have a number of staff leaving us.

George Berry

George Berry started with us in 2019 as our Arts Coordinator. He is an old boy of the College, and we were so thrilled to have him come on board. George was there for the Chapel opening and our move back to the refurbished PAC. In 2020 he was the calm in the storm, putting in countless hours to move our events online to ensure our boys didn’t miss out on opportunities in the Arts due to the lockdown. We wish him all the best in his new role at the Isaac Theatre Royal and in his band ‘The Butlers’.

Dianne Cox

Dianne Cox joined St Bede’s in Term One 2013 in a part time role working on school fees. When Dianne decided to retire in 2017, we decided that we couldn’t do without her and she was offered the trust accountant position in the Community Office. Dianne says she will miss the challenges and company. From our side, we’ll miss her company and her intimate understanding of St Bede’s.

Liam Foley

Liam joined the Staff in 2014. He was educated at a Marist school himself and had an instant rapport with the way the school operated and the values that were at its foundation. Liam has taught in both the Languages and Religious Education Faculties while at St Bede’s. Liam was equally gracious with his time for co-curricular activities. He was heavily involved with Football and was a respected and successful coach of the 1st XI. We wish him the best of luck as he returns to his beloved Hawkes Bay with partner Minnie, knowing that he has made a great contribution to St Bede’s.

Wiremu Gray

Wiremu arrived from Christ’s College in 2019 and quickly established himself in the counselling team. He became involved in the co-curricular life of the school enjoying much success coaching the 2nd XV and Under 15 rugby teams. He brought his experience, expertise, guidance and mentoring to these teams. He is a popular and friendly member of Staff who aided greatly in the establishment of the Centre of Wellbeing in 2020. Wiremu has been developing some Te ao Māori wellbeing initiatives and has recently gained the opportunity to support schools nationwide with their school programs. He is also working with several social service providers in developing their Māori response to wellbeing and biculturalism. We wish Wiremu the best of luck in the future, we will miss his support in the Centre of Wellbeing, staffroom, student quad and sports field.

Elizabeth Gudgeon

The glue that holds the Science Faculty together and keeps its members on task and well resourced. Liz has been in control of the Science Faculty since Easter 1990 and has been from the get-go, the one factor that keeps the Faculty ticking over. Liz will be sorely missed by the whole Faculty and especially those who sometimes struggle with organisation and preplanning. Whoever the replacement is that fills the void left by Liz will have their work cut out for them.

Rodger Lane

Rodger joined the Science Faculty in 2005 as a part time Science Technician and soon became the second member of the dynamic duo that keeps the Science Faculty functioning. He is very efficient and has always been able to resurrect equipment near the end of its life, which has saved a lot of equipment from the scrapheap and meant more equipment for the boys to use and play with. Rodger has always gone above and beyond to help the Science Faculty and he will be sorely missed as he heads into a very well-deserved retirement, time to spend on his own hobbies and projects that have often been put on hold to help out in the Faculty.

Natasha Page

After five and a half years as the St Bede’s HR Coordinator, Natasha took the next step in her HR career and left St Bede’s in October 2021. There are some ‘behind the scenes’ roles that are critical to keeping St Bede’s operating, and payroll is one of them. Throughout Natasha’s tenure, she ensured the efficient processing of the payroll every fortnight. Natasha has taken up a dedicated human resources position in a tech company, and we wish her and her family the very best of luck for the future.

Janine Pearce

Janine joined us in May 2017 as the part-time accountant looking after the Board of Proprietors’ accounts. After a restructure in 2020 Janine’s role changed and she shared responsibility for both the Proprietors and the Board of Trustees. After four years at St Bede’s, Janine is leaving us for an extended break before she rejoins the workforce in 2022.

Brooke Rowland

Brooke joined the Science Department eight years ago as Assistant Physics and Science Teacher moving up to be Teacher in Charge of Physics two years later. Her passion for Physics is easily visible as she tries to convey this to the boys in her class. Brooke is moving onto a new teaching position at Linwood College as the Head of Physics.

Eoin Shiel

Eoin joined us fresh off the plane from Ireland in 2020 just in time to be locked down because of Covid. Eoin has tried his hand at any and all events at the College, any chance to get on a trip or go somewhere new he has leapt at. His classes have been dynamic and interesting with the boys always enjoying them even if they didn’t always understand his accent. Eoin is heading back to Ireland to reconnect with his family and we wish him safe travels in these uncertain times.

Reed Wilson

Reed arrived at the College in 2019 as a first-year teacher. He impressed from the beginning as a well organised teacher with a clear vision for his classes. After gaining his full teacher registration in 2020, Reed has consolidated his teaching and was recently appointed Head of Physical Education at Nukutere College in Rarotonga. Nukutere College website has some great photos of students enjoying classes on the beach, and the principal has shared photos of mahimahi caught just off the shore in a small runabout! An enthusiastic fisherman who loves chasing game fish off Tauranga, Reed will be in his element. Thanks, Reed, for your contribution both in and out of the class and in particular for sharing your passion and expertise in rugby.

2022 Start of School Year Dates

Of course, as we say goodbye to this school year, we look ahead to 2022, with the start dates below:

Monday January 31 Year 11 – 13 Course Confirmation

Tuesday February 1 Year 9 Orientation day

Wednesday February 2 Classes commence for all students

Please see the article in the newsletter for details of these days and for ordering school stationery.

Happy Holidays everyone.

We wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

Until next year.