Hi team. The 2023 finish line is coming into view.....slowly!!! We are now in a position to communicate with you next year's structure, including welcoming some new staff as well as farewelling some of our amazing team.

2024 Staffing

Once again, 2024 is shaping up to be an exciting year at Te Ahi Kaikomako Rolleston School. We are incredibly excited about continuing to grow our strategic direction and school-wide values based on growing an E Tū Tāngata mindset. We have already done a significant amount of new planning in these areas and look forward to sharing these changes with you in the new year. 

Te Ahi Kaikomako Rolleston School has such a large staff and each year we usually farewell existing staff members and welcome new staff to the Te Ahi Kaikomako Rolleston School team. Once again, we are lucky to maintain the majority of our amazing team.

Farewells

We farewell one of our amazing Team Leaders, Mrs Emma Woolford at the end of this year. Emma is an outstanding educational leader and has deservedly won a Deputy Principal Position at Ararira Springs School In Lincoln.  Emma is a deeply valued and highly respected educator and colleague at Te Ahi Kaikōmako Rolleston School. She has left a lasting legacy during her time here and will be missed by students, staff and our community. We wish her all the best in her next adventure.

We say safe travels to Miss Georgia Tuatini at the end of Term 1, 2024. Georgia has taken a year's leave from her permanent position to travel the world. We are so excited to have Georgia with us for a little bit longer as she will take up a long term relieving position in Term 1 in Team Pōhutukawa (8B4) while we advertise for a new Yr 5/6 teacher and team leader to begin in Term 2 2024. 

We also say goodbye to Miss Casey Brown from Te Ahi Kaikōmako Rolleston School. Casey has managed to secure a position at Ohoka School next year which will certainly cut down the travel time from her home in Woodend. It has been a privilege working alongside Casey in her first year as an educator and know she will go from strength to strength.

We also farewell Bradley Whitefield & Maria Escudero, two of our amazing Teacher Aides. We wish them all the very best and hopefully will see Bradley working as a relieving teacher around the school next year. 

Welcome

We are excited to welcome Miss Madi Taylor to the Te Ahi Kaikōmako Rolleston School whānau. Madi will join the Pōhutukawa Team (Yr 5/6) next year teaching in 8B8. Madi is a beginning teacher who will complete her first year of teaching at the end of this year working in a Yr 6/7 Classroom at Seven Oaks School. Madi is a bright and vibrant person who has passions in Outdoor Education and Sustainability. I am sure we will make Madi welcome when she visits late this term as part of our transitions programme.

We welcome back Mrs Mel Falkingham to the staff. Mel returns from maternity leave and will once again lead the Year 3 Kowhai team. It is great to have Mel back.

We also officially welcome Sarah Munro to the Te Ahi Kaikōmako Team. Sarah will join our amazing release teachers, providing classroom release time to staff in Team Pōhutukawa. Sarah is a well known and well respected relieving teacher who is incredibly popular with our students.

2024 Structure

With the majority of the teaching team confirmed for 2024, I have inserted the following table below. This highlights what team our new and existing staff will be working in next year. Like always, due to numbers, some of our amazing staff will be bringing their skills to another team and/or classroom within the school.

As mentioned above, Mel Falkingham returns to the Te Ahi Kaikōmako Rolleston School staff. As a result she will once again lead Team Kowhai which will focus on the Year 3 students within our school. With the refreshed NZ Curriculum focussing on three key “transition” points, Yr 0-3, Yr 4-6 & Yr 7-8 we have decided to create a straight Year 3 Team and straight Year 4 Team. This will allow us to align with the NZ curriculum. The rest of the teams and classroom structures are similar to this year. With the additional classroom release time provided by the government next year, Mrs Aimee Stewart will return to her usual position of providing quality classroom release across Team Kahikatea.

At the beginning of next year, we will advertise for a new educator to fulfil the vacated Yr 5&6 Team Leader position left by Emma Woolford. As mentioned above we are excited to announce that Miss Georgia Tuatini will be teaching in 8B4 throughout Term 1. Mr Darryn Aitchison will be acting Pohutukawa Team Leader during Term 1, with Miss Ellie Stuckey (8B6) acting as day to day point of contact. More information will be communicated to Team Pōhutukawa whānau early next year.

We are incredibly excited about the 2024 teaching team and the opportunities and skills we can offer the students of Te Ahi Kaikōmako Rolleston School.